Kalen DeBoer emphasizes the need for Alabama to start fast on road at LSU

Alabama is on the road for the fourth time this season and it may be the team’s biggest test yet. Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge is one of the best atmospheres in college football and will be ready to rock Saturday night. Kalen DeBoer will be experiencing the environment for the first time as a head coach.

Even in the Wisconsin win, fast offensive starts were not there for Alabama. In the two losses to Tennessee and Vanderbilt, those were even more evident. DeBoer knows the importance of starting fast on the road, especially when playing LSU.

“That’s something we’re always preaching,” DeBoer said. “And unfortunately, in those two games, we haven’t done that. In the Vanderbilt game, I think we quickly got going, had success. You just can’t dig yourself a hole, especially giving the opponent momentum in an environment like we’re gonna see at LSU. So it’s critical. We preach it every day.”

Getting a bye week ahead of the LSU game has become a staple for Alabama. Two weeks of preparation has given DeBoer plenty of time to make the fix he wants to see moving forward. He points out even practices have been worked with in order to get those fast starts.

“We try to even set up our practice to where we do start fast, whether it’s offense or defense,” DeBoer said. “And we did’t get that done the last two road games, as you mentioned. Always an emphasis on that. The guys are trying. It’s just a matter of doing things that you do well, going out there and executing.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and depending on who gets the ball first, Alabama would like to have some points on the board not too long thereafter. Getting a touchdown or even a field goal on the board would be a whole lot better than the previous three road games.