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Kalen DeBoer explains decision to go for it on 4th-and-22 vs. Tennessee
By Mark Kern
Published:
Kalen DeBoer and the Alabama Crimson Tide have now lost 2 of their last 3 games after losing to Tennessee 24-17 on Saturday in Knoxville.
With the team trailing 21-17 with 1:48 remaining in the game, the Crimson Tide were facing a 4th-and-22 from their own 18-yard line. Alabama had all 3 timeouts remaining, and the DeBoer’s team could have chosen to punt the ball, but he decided to go for it.
After the game, DeBoer talked about what into the decision to go for it.
Kalen DeBoer explained why Alabama went for it deep on their own side of the field late against Tennessee and what went wrong on the conversion attempt. pic.twitter.com/a3JqB3gvYK
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) October 20, 2024
“Either way, it’s going to be a punt and you’re going to get the ball back if you stop them,” DeBoer said. “We are going to have to get a touchdown on our end either way. You are going to have to get a stop on 3 straight plays, and use your 3 timeouts. It can go both ways right, but you’re going to get the punt back if you stop them and go the length of the field anyways. I know what it looks like when you watch it, but there is a game-plan reason for it. Hats off to them, they played it the way they needed to.”
During the broadcast, the ESPN Football analytics said if it was more than 15 yards, that Alabama should have punted the ball.
Regardless, the Crimson Tide were able to execute it how they wanted, and they got the ball back with enough time to go get a game-tying score.
Alabama will look to get back on the winning track next week at home as it hosts the Missouri Tigers.
