The No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide have rolled to start the 2026 college football season. The Crimson Tide opened the year with a 48-10 win over East Carolina. They followed that up with a 45-17 win over the Kentucky Wildcats.
Alabama Starts Slow, Dominates Kentucky in the Second Half
While it doesn’t look like there have been many struggles, there were some real concerns at halftime against Kentucky. The Crimson Tide trailed 17-13 at half. This looked like Kalen DeBoer’s team was headed toward another major upset loss. Four of DeBoer’s eight losses in his tenure in Tuscaloosa are against teams that finished the season with five or more losses. But Alabama rallied to pull off a blowout win in Lexington.
The Crimson Tide finished with 343 yards of total offense and held the Wildcats to 209 yards. That includes just 69 yards on the ground. Alabama’s defense also forced three turnovers in the game. Quarterback Keelon Russell completed 16-of-23 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in his first road start. Running back Daniel Hill led the way with 18 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Paul Finebaum Impressed by Alabama’s Response After Disastrous First Half
ESPN’s Paul Finebaum revealed on “The Matt Barrie Show” that he was impressed by the second half performance by Alabama.
“I was pretty impressed by how that program moved on from that disastrous first half,” Finebaum said.
Crimson Tide Showed Why They Remain a Major SEC Contender
Alabama’s second-half performance was about more than simply piling up points against a tiring Kentucky defense. The Crimson Tide made the necessary adjustments, stopped giving the Wildcats short fields and dominated the final two quarters…