Mark Ingram: Alabama’s FSU Loss Cause for Concern, but Tide Are Still Contenders

Alabama’s upset loss to Florida State has just about all of Tuscaloosa panicking about the Crimson Tide. Mark Ingram isn’t ready to join that group yet, but he has some worries about how the Kalen DeBoer era is going so far.

On Saturday’s “Big Noon Kickoff,” the Alabama icon said it was an “overreaction” to say that the Crimson Tide’s days as a title contender are over. However, Ingram acknowledged that DeBoer and Alabama have to turn things around fast. 

“Is there cause for concern? Yeah. Is all that frustration that you heard on the vignette justified? Yes. Was the last performance trash? Yes,” Ingram said. “But at the end of the day, they have one of the best rosters in college football. Coach DeBoer went to the national championship two years ago. 

“If they can find a way, find leaders within this program to right the ship and get this thing turned around, play with some swagger, play with some toughness, play with some effort, play with some discipline — this is an overreaction.”

In terms of talent, Alabama’s roster has the second-best rating on 247Sports’ talent composite ranking. So, with standouts like wide receiver Ryan Williams, former five-star quarterback Ty Simpson and offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, talent certainly isn’t the issue with DeBoer’s squad. 

That’s why Ingram is hoping the loss to Florida State and the reaction to it lights a fire under Alabama, because he thinks that’s what it’s missing right now.

“The effort, toughness, discipline and all that was non-existent last week,” Ingram said. “You’ve got to want to [be a savage]. As a player, you have to want to go out and dominate and out-physical your opponent, change the way they think about you and make them want to quit over 60 minutes.” 

Even if Ingram isn’t panicking yet, it’s hard not to say that Alabama has taken a step back under DeBoer from Nick Saban. The Tide went 9-3 last season, missing the College Football Playoff due to unranked losses against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. 

That’s why Barstool Sports’ Bandon Walker is ready to waive the white flag for DeBoer in Alabama. 

“Coach fit matters, and the coach doesn’t fit the program,” Walker said on Big Noon Kickoff. “Mark, when you were playing and Saban was going really good, they had great players who played hard. Alabama doesn’t play that hard anymore. They got dominated at the line of scrimmage by Florida State. They didn’t have the effort that Saban always has. 

“Kalen DeBoer doesn’t fit Alabama. As long as he’s there, they’re dead as a top-flight program.”

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