Alabama Fans, Privileged But Pressured, Already On Ledge With Hinge Game Against Ole Miss On Deck

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- No other college football program in America has experienced the rare air of Alabama.

There were the six national championships from 1961-79 under the most iconic coach in history - Bear Bryant. There was a gap between 1980 and 1991 with no titles before Gene Stallings won the '92 crown. And another six from 2009-20 followed under the most iconic coach since Bryant - Nick Saban. Another coach - Wallace Wade - actually started the Tide title wave with three in 1925, '26 and '30, and Frank Thomas won two more in 1934 and '41.

The fans naturally come to expect it and have the most pronounced and aggravating air of privilege in all the land.

Alabama fans are used to their trunks being held high. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

No. 13 Alabama (2-1) has lost just one game - 34-24 to Texas, which was ranked No. 11 at the time. The Crimson Tide had two touchdowns called back because of penalties, quarterback Jalen Milroe threw two interceptions, and Alabama still led early in the fourth quarter.

And the Tide is a touchdown favorite to beat No. 15 Ole Miss (3-0) Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Bryant-Denny Stadium on CBS. Alabama tends to own the Rebels, having won seven straight and leads the series overwhelmingly at 54-10-2. So why the long face? Why are those Red Elephant trunks down?

"The fan base is at the lowest point I've seen since the Mike Dubose era," a talk show host on Tide 100.9 FM - the flagship station of the Alabama football network in Tuscaloosa - said on Friday.

Dubose was one of Alabama's worst coaches in history. He finished 3-8 in 2000 and was fired. He also had a losing season his first year in 1997 at 4-7 before going 7-5 and 10-3. And Mike Shula was equally bad and average just before Saban.

Bama Fans Not Used To Early Losses

What fans are not used to is not being undefeated in September. The Texas loss happened on Sept. 9 - Alabama's earliest setback under Saban ever. The earliest he has ever suffered two losses was Nov. 6 during a 9-3 regular season in 2010. Saban and the Tide have put together double-digit wins in every regular season since.

In addition to the six national titles, Saban has reached the national championship game three other times - 2016, '18 and '21. Alabama entered every November from his second season in 2008 through last year in national championship contention. But even Saban sounds like he is dealing with more than just one loss so far.

"I know what the expectations are," he told ESPN's Chris Low, who was a guest on his radio show Thursday night. "But, I mean, how many people have been able to go 16 years and not have a bump in the road?"

Actually two bumps. Alabama looked perhaps the worst it ever looked under Saban in a 17-3 "win" over 34-point underdog South Florida last week. The game was tied 3-3 in the third quarter.

Alabama coach Nick Saban's loss to Texas at home on Sept. 9 was the earliest loss in a regular season of Saban's time at Alabama, which began in 2007. (Photo by Cliff Welch via Getty Images)

"I don't know if we've got a good enough team to beat Ole Miss or anybody else we play, but we've got a better team than (how) we played last week," he said. "Texas has a damn good team, probably one of the best five teams in the country, and we were ahead of them in the fourth quarter."

David Bowie's "Under Pressure" played after a commercial break on Tide 100.9 Friday.

"There is more pressure on Alabama this week than the Texas game," the host explained. "If they lose this one, it means they could lose more."

Apparently, bumps are not allowed in these parts. Fans went after Saban on social media following the South Florida game, requesting he retire, to put it nicely.

"I love Nick Saban," another 100.9 caller said this week. "I hope he stays forever. I'm not going to talk bad about him - much. But he acts so passive about it. He needs to get fired up. He used to chew out a reporter every now and then."

Saban turns the sometimes mellow age of 72 on Halloween. According to friends, he has gone back and forth in his mind on retirement. He mainly fears boredom without the drama and excitement that the most elite coach in the game has lived routinely since winning his first national title at LSU in the 2003 season.

Will this be the off year that makes him want to exit, or motivates him to stay for one more title?

"You know what I was thinking during the South Florida game? This team might not win an SEC game," a particularly frustrated caller said on Tide 100.9.

The host didn't agree. But he he added that if Saban wins nine or 10 this season, it will be the best coaching job of his career.

Alabama's Season Reminiscent Of 1982?

A host on 100.9 on Friday said this Alabama season is reminding him of the Tide's 1982 campaign. Three years after Bryant's last national title in 1979, the Tide finished 7-4, and Bryant retired. Alabama is now in its third season after a national title. And four losses does not look unrealistic the way the Tide played last week. And upcoming opponents Ole Miss, Tennessee and LSU are all ranked with better quarterbacks.

Some say had Saban won the title last year, he would have retired. Perhaps that is why Saban was still complaining in June about not getting into the four-team playoff last season. The '22 season was Saban's last with a string of four elite quarterbacks who start in the NFL now - Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones and Bryce Young. The first three were part of national championship teams. Young won the Heisman in the 2021 season, but lost the title game to Georgia.

At the moment, there does not appear to be a good college quarterback on Alabama's roster, much less a future NFL starting quarterback. Unless that is freshman signee Dylan Lonergan. He may play this season, or maybe Saturday, if Milroe does not come through quick. Milroe will start against Ole Miss after starting the first two games before an experiment last week with transfer Tyler Buchner. Redshirt freshman Ty Simpson replaced Buchner early in the game, and do not look for Buchner to play much more this season, if at all.

Meanwhile, the offensive line has looked very non-Alabama as it is No. 123 in the nation in avoiding sacks. And Alabama's new assistant coaches are struggling. Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees, who was a main reason why Saban brought in Buchner from Notre Dame, has been an early disappointment. So has offensive line coach Eric Wolford from Kentucky. Alabama's new defensive coordinator, Kevin Steele, did not show well in the Texas game.

"There's a responsibility that goes for the coaches, so that we're doing things that players can do," Saban said, taking a subtle shot at his coaches. "So they can go on the field and play fast and know exactly what they're supposed to do. That's going to be important for all of us this week, so they can play fast."

Very fast, because the fans are restless.

"I don't think they should've gone back to Jalen Milroe," Alabama fan David Quintana of Albuquerque, New Mexico, said Friday evening at the Dreamland barbecue landmark in Tuscaloosa. "He was responsible for losing the Texas game."

Bama fans packed Dreamland barbecue in Tuscaloosa Friday. (Photo By OutKick's Glenn Guilbeau)

Quintana and his wife Dina drove 18 hours from Albuquerque for their first home game.

"But we love Saban. We think he'll get it turned around. He knows what he's doing," Quintana said.

"We're worried about what's going to happen with the quarterback situation," Tommy Gearhart of Chandler, Arizona, said. His son Tommy III is a freshman at Alabama.

"I think coach Saban played the other two guys at quarterback at South Florida to show the fans that we needed to get behind Jalen," Tommy III said. "He's the best quarterback. They just have to play better on the rest of the team, too."

Or Alabama could be headed for a nightmare of a season with - OMG - three or four losses!