DeBoer, No. 7 Alabama trying to rebound from stunning loss to Vanderbilt

By JOHN ZENOR The Associated Press

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer yells to an official during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt, Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/George Walker IV]

For Nick Saban, it was Louisiana-Monroe. Kalen DeBoer also has now endured a stunning loss in his debut season at Alabama with a loss to Vanderbilt that dealt a massive but not necessarily fatal blow to the now seventh-ranked Crimson Tide’s playoff and Southeastern Conference title hopes. Regardless of how the season turns out, the defeats in 2007 and 2024 would make the short list of Alabama’s most embarrassing losses, at least in the modern era. The Tide will try to bounce back Saturday against South Carolina.