Kalen DeBoer is back for Year 2 after missing the College Football Playoff at Alabama last season, and the Crimson Tide are looking to make a statement after their lowest start in the preseason AP Poll since 2008, Nick Saban’s second season at the helm. DeBoer and the Tide head into the matchup with a first-year starter at quarterback, Ty Simpson, who won a three-way fall camp battle for the job.
Florida State transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos already made his statement, fanning the flames of anticipation for this matchup in the offseason by calling out the Alabama defense, and now he’ll have his chance to back it up.