Kalen DeBoer shares what he learned about his team after win against Oklahoma
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The Alabama Crimson Tide pulled out an impressive win in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Friday night, knocking off the Oklahoma Sooners on the road just a few weeks removed from losing to that same Sooners’ squad at home.
Ty Simpson and the Tide’s explosive offense found their stride again, while the Alabama defense came to life, harassing Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer on what seemed like every drop-back he took.
This type of performance was a breath of fresh air for Alabama following their embarrassing loss against Georgia in the SEC Championship, and head coach Kalen DeBoer joined the crew of College GameDay on Saturday morning to talk about what he learned about his team following their impressive bounce-back win.
“I think what we learned was just how we have to win,” DeBoer told Desmond Howard. “The turnover margin was not on our side, some special teams plays were not on our side during the first game. We just continued to focus on those things. We knew we had to execute in critical moments, and that’s what we’ve done all year, so, just making sure those strengths are still there… The whole goal was for everyone to just get a little bit better, and I felt like that was the case.”
DeBoer and the Tide will now turn their attention towards an even bigger task on New Year’s Day when they travel out to Pasadena to take on the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl with a trip to the CFP semifinals on the line.
