TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Alabama handled life on the road far better in Kalen DeBoer’s second season than his first.
After going 2-3 in true road games in 2024, the Crimson Tide improved to 5-1 last season.
Now, Kentucky awaits as 12th-ranked Alabama’s first road test of 2026.
Alabama is 7-7 away from home through DeBoer’s first two seasons, including three losses at neutral sites, compared with a 13-1 record at Bryant-Denny Stadium. But the Crimson Tide won their final five true road games last season, including a College Football Playoff victory at Oklahoma.
Keeping that success going will require a quarterback making his first road start to navigate an opposing crowd that is eager to try and boost its team to an early season conference victory.
The Crimson Tide head to Lexington for the first time since 2023 following a 48-10 win over East Carolina in Keelon Russell’s first start. Russell completed 16 of 30 passes for 256 yards and rushed for 86 yards and a score. Alabama also had several presnap issues that forced timeouts, leaving details to clean up before heading on the road.
DeBoer said handling crowd noise will be an emphasis this week, with communication needing to reach everyone in the offense, including players lined up outside.
“Just communicate, because we always talk communication. You heard me say it over and over again,” DeBoer said. “So communicating becomes a little more difficult. We need to communicate not just with them but also the guys on the outside at times.”
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb wants Alabama to work through those challenges before it reaches Lexington. That means making practice disruptive enough to force players to communicate clearly and operate under pressure.
“You got to push them on the mechanics at practice,” Grubb said. “Make it loud at practice. Make it disturbing, a lot of chaos. When you get to the game, it should almost feel easier than what you did at practice.”
Russell’s debut gave Alabama something on which to build. DeBoer said the quarterback grew more comfortable as the game progressed, finding opportunities to extend drives with his legs and connect with receivers once defenders shifted their attention toward him.
DeBoer also wants Russell to recognize when to end a run and protect himself. After the Week 1 game, DeBoer said learning when to slide will be a focus, though the Crimson Tide plan to keep his mobility an integral part of the offense.
“Got to make sure he’s playing for the long haul. We got to use his feet,” DeBoer said. “You can see we’re going to be aggressive with him, use it to our advantage, help our offense be as good as we can be, maximize our potential.”
Kentucky enters the matchup after beating Youngstown State 45-13 in head coach Will Stein’s debut. Notre Dame transfer quarterback Kenny Minchey made his first career start, helping the Wildcats score on their first three possessions and take a 28-7 halftime lead.
Grubb expects an energized crowd awaiting Alabama. Preparing Russell and the rest of the offense to function in that environment is part of the challenge.
“We want to raise the level of creating some urgency and some forced communication through loud practices and things like that because we know the fan base up there is super excited, and I think any time Bama comes to town, people are pretty wired up,” Grubb said. “So we’ve got to get the guys ready for those environments.”
___
Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here
