This is an opinion column.<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s tough to see the Crimson Tide take it to the teeth again and again and again.<\/p>\n
First it was the pummeling at the Rose Bowl and now Texas is taking its turn rearranging Alabama\u2019s battered face.<\/p>\n
The image of Alabama football might never be the same again.<\/p>\n
Alabama forgot how to run the ball last season. It was embarrassing to watch. The Tide\u2019s top running back rushed for 13 yards on five carries in the 38-3 loss to Indiana. Quarterback Ty Simpson had the longest run for an Alabama back, but he broke a rib and fumbled the football on the play. <\/p>\n
Not good. Sad stuff.<\/p>\n
The problems with Alabama\u2019s running game were all going to change in the offseason, though. Coach Kalen DeBoer had big plans. He was going to bring in a transfer running back and reignite the flame.<\/p>\n
Yeah, about that \u2026<\/p>\n
Alabama was set to sign a new running back last week. Hollywood Smothers (great name) was planning to leave N.C. State for Alabama. That Alabama didn\u2019t already have five running backs better than a guy at N.C. State would make Nick Saban toss his Oatmeal Creme Pies, but let\u2019s focus on one new reality at a time.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Smothers flipped his commitment to Texas and coach Steve Sarkisian.<\/p>\n
Oof.<\/p>\n
But the hits didn\u2019t stop there.<\/p>\n
Texas also landed former Auburn receiver Cam Coleman on Sunday despite a max-effort push by Alabama that included hiring Coleman\u2019s receivers coach away from the Tigers.<\/p>\n
Is it just the money, or is the problem Alabama\u2019s coaches and their broken offense, too? Either way, these are bitter days in Tuscaloosa. Don\u2019t forget that Alabama also lost receiver Isaiah Horton to the transfer portal. On Sunday evening, news broke that Horton was headed to Texas A&M<\/a>.<\/p>\n A new week is here and so is a different perception of Alabama. The Crimson Tide is officially a college football underdog. Alabama can\u2019t run the ball against Indiana, and it can\u2019t outspend the schools in Texas.<\/p>\n Is Alabama poor?<\/p>\n Oh, wait. I know. If that\u2019s the case, then no doubt future football governor Tommy Tuberville will know how to fix it.<\/p>\n Until then, Alabama football is looking more and more like Ole Miss every day.<\/p>\n Is it enough for Alabama to simply limp into the playoffs these days? Maybe that\u2019s the new measure of success. I\u2019ll take 11 wins and a beat down by Indiana over missing the party altogether.<\/p>\n How does Alabama football get off the ropes and punch back? I don\u2019t have an answer for that, but the beatings continue.<\/p>\n Alabama\u2019s loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff was the kind of thing that can reshape college football history, but losing all of Alabama\u2019s players to Texas year after year is worse. First it was receiver Isaiah Bond after the Iron Bowl. Bond was the hero of the big game in 2023. He\u2019s the player who caught the pass from Jalen Milroe in the back of the end zone.<\/p>\n Bond was going to be an Alabama legend forever. Then he made a \u201cbusiness decision\u201d to leave Alabama for Austin.<\/p>\n We thought it couldn\u2019t get any worse, but that was just the beginning of Alabama\u2019s losses to Texas.<\/p>\n Coleman and Smothers would rather play with Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, and I can\u2019t really blame them. Who\u2019s going to be Alabama\u2019s quarterback next season? No one knows. It\u2019s either forever backup Austin Mack, or unproven underclassman Keelon Russell.<\/p>\n I was hoping the Tide could maybe lure former Arizona State triggerman Sam Leavitt out of the transfer portal, but that was a pipe dream. Leavitt, the top-rated quarterback in the portal, is expected to choose between Miami and Tennessee.<\/p>\n