New Alabama Football coach Kalen DeBoer has an early chance to endear himself to the Crimson Tide’s fanbase. If Alabama can go out and dominate Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday afternoon, it will buck a recent trend of road woes that has plagued the Tide the last few years and give Tide fans even more reason to be confident that DeBoer is the right successor for Nick Saban.
During the peak of Saban’s dominant run in Tuscaloosa, it didn’t seem to matter who Alabama played or where they played. There was typically a game here or there that would be closer than it should’ve, and there were a handful of upset losses thrown in the mix, but for the most part against teams Alabama should handle, they handled. Anybody, anytime, anywhere.
Damion Square once famously said in the locker room years ago, “we runnin’ in they house, we blowing that ***** up, and we going home.” And that’s what the Crimson Tide did time and time again.
Whether it was a four-touchdown win over No. 8 Georgia in 2015, a 39-point win over No. 9 Tennessee in 2016, a 29-0 shellacking of No. 3 LSU in 2018, or the dominance of every opponent the 2020 team faced, Alabama seemed impervious to the road struggles that typically plague college football teams across the country.
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Road games are notoriously difficult. So, it’s not a flaw in Alabama that they’ve looked like everyone else on the road over the last three seasons, but it was an obvious chink in the armour of the Saban machine that had begun to leak a little bit of oil.
Alabama narrowly avoided an upset to an eventual 6-7 Florida team in the Swamp in 2021. It took stopping a two-point conversion with 3-minutes left on the clock for Saban’s team to escape unscathed. A few weeks later the team dropped a road game to an 8-win Texas A&M. 6-win Auburn gave Alabama all it could handle in the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare, with the Tide narrowly escaping with a win in four overtimes.
2022 was more of the same. 8-win Texas nearly pulled a week two upset in Austin, with Will Reichard hitting a game winning field goal for a 20-19 win. Alabama lost on a game winning field goal a few weeks later at Tennessee, snapping a 15-game winning streak in the Third Saturday in October rivalry. That loss prompted the infamous Will Anderson quote about anxiety that sent the fanbase into a frenzy. Alabama’s next road game was an overtime loss at LSU.
Alabama went unbeaten on the road last season, but they had a forgettable performance against South Florida, a close win over Texas A&M, and then needed a miracle in the Iron Bowl.
From 2011-2020, Alabama was a ridiculous 38-4 in 42 true road games, good for a winning percentage of 90%. Since 2021, the Crimson Tide is 11-3 on the road, a 79% winning percentage. Winning 79% of your true road games is an impressive feat, particularly in the SEC in some of the most raucous environments in college football. But it is telling that over a 10-year span Alabama lost only one more road game than they have in the past three seasons.
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Camp Randall Stadium is widely considered one of the toughest places to play in college football. EA Sports ranked it 7th on the toughest places to play list for the new CFB25 video game. But, Madison hasn’t exactly been a house of horrors for ranked non-conference opponents.
Per Jesse Temple with the Athletic, Wisconsin is 1-9 against Top-10 ranked opponents at home in program history. Their lone win came way back in 1974 and the Badgers haven’t even faced a Top-10 non-conference opponent at Camp Randall since a blowout loss to Miami in 2001. If you move beyond the Top-10 and just count ranked opponents, the numbers aren’t much friendlier: Wisconsin is 3-19-1 all time at home against ranked non-conference opponents.
Wisconsin is 2-0 to start the season, but it’s a shaky 2-0. They won by 14-points each against overmatched opponents in Western Michigan and South Dakota in the first two weeks. So while this environment won’t be easy, Alabama should be able to win and win comfortably, if they are to be taken seriously as contenders.
More difficult road tests await the Tide, with trips coming to Knoxville, Baton Rouge, and Norman on the docket. This Saturday, we’ll get a good gauge of how Alabama might fare moving forward away from home, and if Kalen DeBoer has immediately reduced the anxiety that bothered the last few Saban teams.
Next. Kadyn Proctor Wisconsin week injury update. Kadyn Proctor “pretty dang close” to returning for Alabama Football . dark
The NFL preseason schedule kicks off in less than a month, and several former Alabama football players remain available on the free agent market. Some are names that are instantly recognizable to Crimson Tide fans.
Bleacher Report recently named two former Alabama stars to a list of seven bargain-bin free agents that could help NFL teams in 2026. Running back Najee Harris made the list, as did cornerback Trevon Diggs.
Harris left Alabama as the school’s all-time leading rusher with 3,843 yards between 2017-20, surpassing Derrick Henry’s previous record of 3,591 yards. He was the 24th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2021 NFL Draft and had four straight 1,000-yard rushing seasons to start his pro career.
Due to injuries, Harris played in only three games during his first and only season with the Chargers in 2025. He suffered a torn Achilles in the team’s Week 3 win over the Denver Broncos on Sept. 21.
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Moe Moton of Bleacher Report said of the 28-year-old Harris:
“On the back end of his prime years, Harris can still be an early-down contributor in a running back duo or platoon. He’s not an explosive rusher, but his 6’1″, 242-pound frame can be featured in short-yardage and goal-line situations.”
Diggs, meanwhile, remains on the free agent market after playing in nine games total last season between the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers.
The former Crimson Tide cornerback from 2016-19 was a second-round pick by the Cowboys in 2020 after totaling four interceptions, 21 pass breakups and two forced fumbles. He had a thrilling 100-yard fumble return for a touchdown against Tennessee in 2019, and an 84-yard pick six against Arkansas the following week.
For his NFL career, Diggs has 20 interceptions, 63 pass breakups and two forced fumbles in 67 games.
“Once a ball hawk in the Cowboys’ secondary, Diggs can rediscover his tip-top form if healthy ahead of the 2026 term. He finished the 2025 season without an interception, but if the six-year veteran makes it through training camp with another club, he could carve out a role in nickel and dime packages.” –Moe Moton, Bleacher Report.
The Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions were listed among potential suitors for Diggs.
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Alabama football players still available in NFL free agency
Cam Robinson, offensive tackle
Back in June, ESPN named Robinson the fifth-best overall player in its free agency rankings. A second-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2017 NFL Draft after three years at Alabama, Robinson spent his first seven-plus NFL seasons with the Jags. He played in 11 games last season for the Cleveland Browns.
Jonah Williams, offensive tackle
Williams, who played at Alabama from 2016-18, also made ESPN’s list as the 13th-best overall player remaining in free agency. He was a four-year starter for the Cincinnati Bengals after being drafted 11th overall in 2019. Williams played for the Arizona Cardinals the past two seasons but appeared in just 15 games.
Jayln Armour-Davis, defensive back
The former Alabama cornerback from 2019-21 has played in 30 career NFL games with 13 starts and has four pass breakups and two tackles for loss. He was a fourth-round pick by the Baltimore Ravens in 2022.
Follow us at @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook, for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.
Funeral arrangements have been announced for an Alabama wildland firefighter who was killed while battling a wildfire in western Colorado.
Sydney Watson, 27, of Warrior, Alabama, died June 27 while assigned to the U.S. Wildland Fire Service’s Rifle Helitack crew. She was one of three firefighters killed during a burnover event while conducting initial attack operations on the Knowles Fire near the Colorado-Utah border.
Watson’s family will receive friends from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 7, at Highpoint Community Church, 185 Morris-Cobb Road in Empire. A celebration of life service will begin at 6 p.m.
Fire departments from across the region are expected to honor Watson with an apparatus detail before the service. Participating fire apparatus will stage at the church between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. There will be no procession following the celebration of life, and all participating vehicles are asked to be in place before 4 p.m.
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In lieu of flowers, Watson’s family asks that memorial donations be made to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation or the National Park Foundation in her memory.
Watson was among three wildland firefighters killed while responding to the Knowles Fire on June 27. Federal officials said she and her crew were conducting initial attack operations when they were caught in a fatal burnover. Two other firefighters were injured and continue to recover.
The other firefighters who died were identified as Emily Barker, 38, of Clinton Township, Michigan, and Nick Hutcherson, 27, of Glendale, Arizona.
Following the incident, the Knowles Fire merged with several other fires to become the larger Snyder Fire along the Colorado-Utah border.
A serious accident investigation remains underway to determine what led to the deadly burnover.
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U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy previously said the firefighters “embodied the courage, professionalism and selflessness that define the wildland fire service” and made the ultimate sacrifice while protecting others.
Ismael Camara has announced a verbal commitment to the Texas Longhorns.
Camara is an extremely talented 2027 five-star offensive lineman prospect, and he currently attends Gilmer High School in Texas. His decision leaves the Tide with one offensive lineman commit in Stafford Willis.
The Longhorns beat out Alabama, LSU, Oregon, SMU, Texas A&M and others to snag a commitment from Camara. The Crimson Tide hosted Camara during the spring, and Alabama’s offensive line coach Adrian Klemm once had the Tide trending with Camara.
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“Coach Klemm has three Super Bowl rings as a player and has coached at the highest levels,” Camara said while previously discussing Klemm. “He is someone I look up to because he has been where I want to go. He runs his offensive line room like an NFL offensive line room because that is what he knows and where he is from. I think the best way to sum up our relationship is respect.”
It is likely Alabama will end this cycle with only one offensive lineman commit in what is expected to be a small class.
Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
