Alabama shows it can play at its level against Wisconsin. But can it compete with Georgia?

MADISON, Wis. — The final 36 seconds of Alabama’s first half against Wisconsin on Saturday offered a glimpse of what the Kalen DeBoer era should look like. Leading 14-3 with the ball on its 27-yard line, Alabama could have played conservatively, run out the rest of the clock and gone into halftime with a lead and momentum, plus the ball to start the second half.

This was not contemplated and will probably rarely be contemplated under DeBoer.

Two plays later, Alabama was in the end zone on a 73-yard drive in just 19 seconds. Both plays were passes from quarterback Jalen Milroe, who scored five touchdowns. What happened right after halftime ended the game for good: a five-play, 75-yard drive for a touchdown to start the second half, creating an insurmountable 28-3 Alabama lead.

DeBoer’s aggressive nature is why Alabama has scored 13 touchdowns of 20-plus yards in three games, the most in college football, and why the Tide is averaging 49 points per game.

“We’re going to be aggressive,” DeBoer said. “When you have playmakers like we do, you want to give them chances to make plays and every possession counts. We gave it our all.”

WOW @AlabamaFTBL it only took 17 seconds to find the end zone on this drive ⚡️😳 pic.twitter.com/MCPphanT0a

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 14, 2024

Almost everything went right in Alabama’s 42-10 victory, its first real test of the season, which came on the road against a Big Ten opponent. With a bye week ahead, it didn’t take long for questions to start swirling about Alabama’s next opponent.

“Some say this offense is working right now, but will it work against a team like Georgia? What do you think?”

“Respect everyone, fear no one,” Milroe said.

Alabama’s dominant performance and Georgia’s likely victory Saturday night will set the stage for the most anticipated game of the year so far: a Sept. 28 showdown in Tuscaloosa. Georgia is also off next week, so both teams will have plenty of time to prepare. Few series have been as important in recent years as Alabama-Georgia, and this year’s matchup has new facets.

There was some question about how Alabama stacked up against Georgia after last week’s game against South Florida, where the Tide committed three turnovers and took 13 penalties. A much cleaner, more dominant performance against Wisconsin (zero turnovers, four penalties) gave some confidence that the team was on the right track. It was a feeling that reverberated throughout the program all week. The team was finally comfortable with the change: in the scheme on both sides of the ball, in the daily routines like the move to morning practice, and in the personnel from last year to this year (including the coach).

And the results were visible.

“There’s a lot of nuances that you don’t realize unless you’re in the thick of it with the guys,” DeBoer said. “There’s the rhythms of the game, the way we take the field and the way we communicate; there’s so many nuances that great teams have, and we’re still developing.”

“It takes reps for everyone, and we were a lot more in sync this week, whether it was today or all week because of our game planning.”

Bama didn’t hesitate in Madison 💪 pic.twitter.com/TiMfVIbX6A

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) September 14, 2024

What this means for Alabama’s long-term outlook is that the team has plenty of room to grow, an important consideration with the College Football Playoff field expanding. In the immediate term, the turning point and big win provided a much-needed boost of confidence heading into a true benchmark test.

When Alabama and Georgia play each other, there’s usually something big on the line, whether it’s the SEC championship like last December or the national championship in the 2021 season. In two weekends, it’s about positioning in the SEC going into the season, but there’s a story behind it: the next chapter in determining who is “the gold standard” in college football.

For the past two decades, Alabama has been the benchmark against which other top programs are measured. Lately, that role has started to shift to Georgia, and the question posed to Milroe Saturday was proof of that. As dominant as Georgia has been with 48 wins in its last 50 games, Alabama regularly beats Georgia in head-to-head matchups. That includes last year’s SEC championship, when the Tide reaffirmed its place as the conference’s benchmark.

But that was with Nick Saban. The biggest question that hung over DeBoer when he was hired, and still looms, is how much the excellence will diminish between Saban and the next coach, no matter how good he or she is. Sept. 28 is DeBoer and his staff’s chance to answer that question.

While we speculate from the outside, Alabama will start by focusing on itself.

“This holiday will be a good opportunity to reflect and determine where we need to improve,” Milroe said. “This week will be all about us.”

Alabama has focused on itself and has served the program well since DeBoer’s transition in January. It started with retaining rosters and building a team culture, then turned to developing existing talent and merging new players, and now it’s about making improvements during the season, week after week.

Some might wonder what Alabama is and what it will do in the future, right up until the kickoff against Georgia. But the feeling coming out of Madison is that Alabama is still the same Alabama. In two weeks, DeBoer’s Alabama can show that.

(Photo by Jalen Milroe: Jeff Hanisch / USA Today)