Is No. 13 Alabama a deserving playoff contender? The Crimson Tide capped off their regular season with a 28-14 win over their in-state rival Auburn in the Iron Bowl. With this win, Kalen DeBoer surpassed both Alabama legends Nick Saban and Bear Bryant’s records. Still, that doesn’t change the fact that they’re still a 3-loss team. But DeBoer insists that they still have a shot to be in the playoffs. 

Kalen DeBoer believes that he’s leading a playoff team and he backs his hope with two “pretty big deals.” Alabama Crimson Tide YouTube channel posted a video of the Alabama HC hinting on that during his Iron Bowl postgame press conference on December 1. When asked if his team can still make the playoffs, he said, “We beat some high quality teams. Teams that are still out there I believe are playing some good [football] themselves. And then just winning five of the last six at the back half of the season.” 

This calls us to take a look at their 2024 schedule. It has been a season of ups and downs for Kalen DeBoer in his first year. Everything was in great shape when Alabama beat Georgia to go 4-0 early in the season. But the subsequent loss to SEC underdog Vanderbilt kindled the heat for DeBoer who played the next seven games under close fans’ speculation. 

As DeBoer said, Alabama faced four ranked opponents this season – wins against Georgia, Missouri, and LSU and one loss to Tennessee. He also pointed out that the Crimson Tide pulled themselves together in the later part of the season. After their loss to the Volunteers, they defeated two back-to-back Top 25 opponents and a huge win over Mercer before that final upset loss to Oklahoma. But this Auburn win truly benefits Kalen DeBoer. 

Can Kalen DeBoer and Alabama still make the playoffs?

Kalen DeBoer may have saved his job in Tuscaloosa with the Iron Bowl victory. As mentioned above, he broke the records of Saban and Bryant by winning against Auburn in his debut coaching year. This record was held by Dennins Franchione who beat the Tigers in his first attempt in 2001. DeBoer maintained the 5-win streak in this rivalry series but what about leading them to the playoffs?

9-3 isn’t a very promising record to be a playoff team. But somehow, there’s still a faint chance that they can make it. After Clemson and Miami’s respective falls to South Carolina and Syracuse, the two potential ACC playoff teams have fallen out of the race giving Alabama a better chance to fit inside the 12-team playoff bracket. But the dust will settle only when the playoff committee releases their new rankings on December 3. So stay tuned for more updates on the upcoming playoffs.