Alabama will lose to these teams in 2024

The Alabama Crimson Tide go into the regular season without Nick Saban as their head coach for the first time since 2006. Between then and now, the Tide have won six national championships and nine SEC championships.

That was then however, and the 2024 Crimson Tide will go into the season with a brand new coaching staff, including head coach Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer himself has been extremely successful as a head coach at multiple stops and levels. His overall head coaching record is 104-12, and this includes four years as a head coach at the FBS with stops at Fresno State and Washington.

The SEC is a different kind of test however. And with 2024 being DeBoer’s first season in Tuscaloosa, The Tide is up in the air as far as which way it will turn. Do not be surprised if the Crimson Tide lose some games they may not have under Saban as DeBoer looks to shift a program from one coaching generation to another.

Which games will Alabama Football lose in 2024?

Georgia

This one may be the least surprising as the Bulldogs have won two national championships in the last three seasons under head coach Kirby Smart. Smart brings a tenacious defense into Tuscaloosa loaded with five star talent and defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann. The Bulldogs have ranked first in the SEC in points allowed the past three seasons.

Although the game is in Tuscaloosa, the Bulldogs will also have the motivation from last year when they lost to the Tide in the SEC Championship Game which kept them out of the College Football Playoff.

Tennessee

Home field advantage matters for very few teams more than the Tennessee Volunteers, and it will matter in this rivalry. Similar to 2022, expect a close game but with the Vols rallying behind their home crowd and starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to take this one.

Although I expect the Vols to lose early on to NC State, one of the main reasons is because it will be Iamaleava’s first start against a power four opponent, and only his third collegiate start in general. By the time the third Saturday in October hits, Iamaleava will have more experience and the Vols should be well-rounded into form.

Sure, they Tide are led by returning starting quarterback Jalen Milroe, but this will be his first trip as a starting quarterback in Knoxville. And experiencing it as a starting quarterback is a lot different than as a backup. With that being said, the Tide will have to rely on their trio of running backs, but the strength of the Vols’ defensive line led by James Pearce Jr. and Omari Thomas, expect that to be shut down.

The Vols will not make the Tide one dimensional in this game; they will make them “no dimensional” stifling their offense as a whole.

LSU

Brian Kelly is always strong with teams going into his third season. On top of that, this game is in Death Valley. The Tigers should be stronger as well on the defensive side of the ball with assistant coaching additions in defensive line coach Bo Davis and defensive coordinator Blake Baker.

On the offensive side of the ball, the strength and experience of the Tigers’ offensive line will lean on the Crimson Tide early and often which will pay dividends in the second half. An underrated stable of running backs should emerge for the Tigers by this point in the season with them rounding more into form as a team.

A 9-3 record will be alarming for the Alabama Crimson Tide

If the Tide go 9-3 while losing to these teams specifically in 2024, it may not seem like a huge deal on the surface. Sure, a three loss season will be disappointing to Tide fans and below the standards set by Nick Saban, but it will most likely be justified by many as being DeBoer’s first year.

The problem enlies in who they specifically would lose to in this scenario. Arguably, all three of these are rivals and other teams traditionally at the top of the SEC. Two of these three border the state of Alabama in Georgia and Tennessee. And the state of Louisiana has been a breeding ground for Tide talent in years past with names like Cam Robinson and DeVonta Smith.

These teams are games that the Tide won way more frequently than not during Saban’s time at Alabama. For that to change effects a whole lot more than just a three loss season.