College football Week 5 overreactions: Kalen DeBoer states his case as best coach, Ole Miss collapses again

Alabama earned the signature win of the 2024 college football season Saturday evening, holding off a furious rally from Georgia 41-34 to advance to 9-1 against the Bulldogs since 2008. More than anything, it was a statement that the Crimson Tide aren’t going anywhere, even if Nick Saban isn’t patrolling the sidelines anymore. 

Alabama just traded the greatest college football coach of all time for, arguably, the best college football coaches in the game right now. The hiring of Kalen DeBoer wasn’t just a home run — it was a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning. 

With Saturday’s result in the books, DeBoer is now 29-3 in less than three full seasons as a Power Four coach. That includes a 6-0 showing against Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian and Oregon’s Dan Lanning. Smart and Sarkisian each ranked ahead of DeBoer in CBS Sports’ list of the top 25 Power Four coaches in college football entering the 2024 season, while Lanning wasn’t far behind at No. 9. 

DeBoer has only won fewer than nine games once as a coach — 2020, when Fresno State only played six games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After carrying a Washington roster with scant few blue-chip high school prospects to the College Football Playoff National Championship last season, beating Texas in the process, DeBoer now has the keys to a Lamborghini. 

To put it plainly, he’s a national title-caliber coach with a national title-caliber roster. That is a parting gift from Saban, but DeBoer was the perfect man to fully tap into it. 

It’s time to stop buying the Lane Kiffin hype

Normally, Kiffin waits until Ole Miss plays either Georgia or Alabama to completely drop the ball. The Rebels have been overmatched against superior competition in recent years,…

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Author : Will Backus

Publish date : 2024-09-29 14:19:29

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