Kalen DeBoer Debuts as Alabama's Head Coach Against WKU

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00:00After 17 years as the head coach of the Crimson Tide, he retired early in the offseason,

00:09Kalen DeBoer, who led Washington to a national championship game appearance in 2023,

00:14now the new head man in Tuscaloosa. It is game one against Western Kentucky.

00:19Not a bad team out of CUSA, Kev, are these Hilltoppers.

00:23And it's a 31 and a half point spread against the quarterback for WKU,

00:28and TJ Finley, who started his career at Auburn and has played Alabama twice.

00:33It's the first game without Nick Saban at the helm since 2006.

00:39How does the Crimson Tide perform under DeBoer?

00:42You're going to force me into the window in this game.

00:44The first quarterback you mentioned in Alabama-Western Kentucky, not Jalen Milrow.

00:47Oh, sorry.

00:48Me and you again. It's us against the world.

00:50That's actually not true. I'm not as in on Alabama this year,

00:53and you actually, I learned today, are more than I had anticipated.

00:58I am fascinated to find out, Joe, if Alabama, with what we saw last year from Penix, right?

01:05Fire it, fire it, fire it. I'm not trying to get into a Penix-Milrow debate,

01:10but what does Jalen Milrow do? Toss it down the field.

01:13Today's props, 240 and a half, Western Kentucky, fast, offense only, no defense.

01:18I mean, he could throw for 350. He could.

01:21If that's what they want to do, I cannot wait to see how Kalen DeBoer approaches this game.

01:26Me as well. Offensive line is going to be critical.

01:29They allowed 49 total sacks last year, only rushed for 4.3 yards per carry.

01:34But I'll say this, two statistics.

01:36Alabama, since 2016, 52-2 straight up.

01:39At home in Brian Denny, they've won last year by 18.8 points per game,

01:45and they've won 22 straight home openers by an average margin of victory of 28.4 points per game.

01:52I like T.J. Finley to keep it close. Alabama wins, but Western Kentucky covers the 31 and a half today.

01:58Last year, T.J. Finley was at Texas State, threw for 3,439 yards under G.J. Kinney,

02:06and Tyson Helton has been darn good for Western Kentucky in four full seasons, at least eight wins.

02:12But this is Alabama.