Stephen A. Smith puts pressure on Kalen DeBoer to beat Oklahoma
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ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith says he doesn’t have “much faith” in Alabama ahead of its College Football Playoff game against Oklahoma.
However, Smith said winning this game is crucial for Kalen DeBoer‘s future in Tuscaloosa. Smith made his comments during an episode of ‘Get Up’ on Thursday morning.
“I don’t have much faith in Alabama,” Smith said. “I will say this, they better win this damn game. You can’t lose to Oklahoma scoring 3 points last year and then turn around and let them come to Tuscaloosa and lose again. And then in a span of [13 months] you’re going to lose to them 3 times? That is absolutely, positively unacceptable.
“Now I understand everyone can’t be Nick Saban. But dammit, you can try. You can try! I mean, Kalen DeBoer is a damn good coach and I understand that … the man has lost 7 games in 2 years. Nick Saban didn’t lose 7 games in his last 4 years combined at Alabama.”
Here’s a clip of Smith’s full comments on DeBoer and Alabama:
Indeed, Alabama is seeking to avoid its third loss to Brent Venables and Oklahoma since the start of the 2024 season. The Sooners won 24-3 in Norman last season and 23-21 in Tuscaloosa earlier this year.
As of this writing, Oklahoma is a slight favorite at home against Alabama. The latest college football betting lines have the Sooners favored by 1.5 points.
Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET on Friday night.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
