Alabama does what is expected, finally, to earn must-win romp
By David Wasson
Published:
That’s more like it.
If there was a single sentence that reverberated both inside and outside the Alabama Crimson Tide locker room Saturday night, there it is.
That’s more like it.
The Crimson Tide likely spent the 7 days prior to Saturday night living the kind of existential crisis that comes only when one underwhelms so completely as Alabama did in the 2025 season opener at Florida State.
When you get pushed around so completely as a near-2-TD favorite by a team that went 2-10 the season before, and in the process go from the No. 8 team in America to barely inside the Top 25, distress and anxiety could have easily set in within the Alabama football complex.
After all, Saban knows Crimson Tide Nation was losing its collective minds about that 31-17 loss to the Seminoles. Hurried learning about coach Kalen DeBoer’s buyout (close to $70 million), frequent hyperventilating about defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and griping about the general sense of malaise from players was the tizzy being stirred up inside the ticket-buying public.
Enter UL Monroe. No one outside the most hardened of Warhawks faithful saw the visitors representing the Sun Belt Conference as providing anything close to as tough a test as Florida State. Then again, few saw Florida State doing what it did to Alabama, either.
Still, the sigh of relief that emanated from Bryant-Denny Stadium once the 73-0 destruction finished was palpable. Because in doing what is expected, Alabama righted the proverbial ship – at least for this week.
That’s because the Crimson Tide bullied the Warhawks like, well, they were supposed to. Alabama’s 83rd-straight victory at home against a nonconference opponent was over at halftime with the home squad enjoying a 42-0 lead (getting there on just 36 plays) and only continued in the second half with wave after wave of backups hitting the field.
Tide quarterback Ty Simpson called it a night right at halftime having turned in a 17-for-17 passing performance for 226 yards and 3 TDs. His backup, Austin Mack, played a series in the second quarter and completed his first 4 attempts before finally uncorking an incompletion midway through the third. Even talented freshman Keelon Russell got some valuable reps in the fourth quarter – precisely the way DeBoer and Co. hoped it would turn out.
Alabama’s offense was devastatingly effective all night, racking up 583 total yards, scoring on all 11 drives (10 touchdowns and a field goal) and not even requiring the services of punter Blake Doud. Mack and Russell each added 2 touchdown passes in the rout – the only time Alabama has had 3 different quarterbacks throw multiple touchdowns in a single game in the past 30 seasons.
On the other side, the Warhawks didn’t eclipse the 100-yard mark against Alabama’s defense until there were 5 minutes to play. ULM quarterback Aidan Armenta passed for just 28 yards, the Warhawks registered ran only 5 plays in Alabama territory and witnessed the Tide rack up 12 tackles for loss.
Not all was spectacular, as Alabama defensive back Dre Kirkpatrick Jr. was ejected for targeting in the fourth quarter – which means he will miss the first half of next week’s home clash against Wisconsin. But that is a next Saturday problem, as the kids say, because Alabama certainly feels like it got proper value out of the $1.925 million paycheck it scratched UL Monroe for the visit.
Ah yes, next week. Wisconsin certainly will provide a sterner test than what the Warhawks were able to muster. Big Ten football is Big Ten football, and the Badgers are 2-0 after victories over Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee State. In other words, Wisconsin might feel a little like… Florida State, the very team that de-pantsed the Crimson Tide with devastating effectiveness.
In other words, all the euphoria that comes with dominating a team like UL Monroe should dissipate about as quickly as the postgame thirstys at Gallettes wandered off into the night. The largest shutout win since 1951 was bought and paid for handsomely, after all, and you can’t help but to figure both programs felt like their investments were sound ones.
Unlike the craziness that went down in Gainesville or in Starkville, alas, this one mercifully played out precisely to script for the embattled DeBoer and the embarrassed Crimson Tide. For 1 week, at least, Alabama football felt a whole lot like Alabama football once again.
That’s more like it.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
