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The 2025 college football season got off to an inauspicious start for the Alabama Crimson Tide when they shockingly lost to Florida State.
That prompted former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel to tell Fox News Digital that “ain’t nobody scared” of the Crimson Tide anymore. He wasn’t the only one, as the post-Nick Saban era under Kalen DeBoer didn’t seem to have the same fear factor, especially considering their 9-4 record in 2024 with some surprising losses sprinkled in.
But Alabama has been an entirely different team since its opening game against the Seminoles, ripping off five straight wins with the last three against ranked opponents — Georgia; Vanderbilt, which they lost to last season; and Missouri.
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Quarterback Ty Simpson of the Alabama Crimson Tide passes during a game against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium Oct. 11, 2025, in Columbia, Mo. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Damien Harris, the ex-Crimson Tide star running back and current college football analyst, was the perfect man for Fox News Digital to talk to about this Alabama resurgence, one he called “nothing short of amazing.”
“You talk about bouncing back from a loss to Vandy a year ago, bouncing back from a Week 1 loss on the road in a hostile environment,” he said while highlighting his partnership with Dr Pepper. “They’ve done nothing but take accountability. They’ve done nothing but increase what their standard is — I won’t even say try to get back to the Alabama standard. But have their own iteration of what the Alabama standard is. They’ve gotten better every single week.”
The fear of the Crimson Tide, who now rank No. 6 in the AP Top 25 entering this crucial week against No. 11 Tennessee in Tuscaloosa, is certainly returning if it ever left at all.
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Harris, though, explained why he used to love playing against teams that didn’t fear Alabama. And he believes this program thinks the same way.
“It makes me think of when I got a certain age and I looked at my mom and told her I wasn’t scared of her anymore,” he said, smiling. “You know what she said to me? ‘You ain’t gotta be scared to get your butt torn out the frame.’ You ain’t gotta be scared. This whooping is going to feel all the same.
“[Vanderbilt quarterback] Diego Pavia, he wasn’t scared going into Tuscaloosa because he beat Alabama before. Doesn’t matter, he didn’t come out with a win. Georgia, they weren’t afraid of Alabama playing at night in front of a blackout. They weren’t afraid. What does that mean? What does that got to do with anything? If you don’t fear Alabama anymore, if you don’t respect Alabama anymore, that’s perfectly fine. That’s OK. Why? Because that’s not what Alabama cares about.
“We don’t want people to be afraid of Alabama. We want people to walk into Alabama thinking they’re going to win. All the same, doesn’t matter.”
Ryan Williams of the Alabama Crimson Tide rushes against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second quarter at Sanford Stadium Sept. 27, 2025, in Athens, Ga. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
That mindset appears to be what the Crimson Tide are showcasing these past few weeks, in particular, because they’ve had to play two road SEC games, which are always tough. But they came away with wins in each of them, while getting some revenge on the Commodores Oct. 4.
Harris has been impressed by Ty Simpson, the Crimson Tide quarterback who he feels should be the Heisman favorite early this season given his production. Simpson has totaled 1,689 yards through the air with 16 touchdowns and just one interception, while also rushing for two scores.
“The most glaring thing is they’re doing it without [star receiver] Ryan Williams. It’s all been on the shoulders of Ty Simpson and Kalen DeBoer,” Harris added. “They’ve taken this team, almost grabbed them by the collar, if you will, and said, ‘Listen, we’re better than this. Turn around, look yourself in the mirror and assess how you played last year.’
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“Ty Simpson should be the Heisman favorite. This Alabama wide receiver group has emerged themselves as the best wide receiver group in all of college football, again without Ryan Williams. You look at how dynamic this offense becomes, how they’re two-fold with the addition of Jam Miller. This defense is playing better than we’ve given them credit for. They made Missouri, the No. 4 total offense in the country, they looked pedestrian. So, you want to talk about X’s and O’s. Yeah, they’re doing it on the football field with scheme, with game plan, with a formula, with everybody doing their job. But they also have the type of hunger that I know and understand.”
Perhaps the outside noise is fuel for this year’s Crimson Tide squad, a group hungry, like Harris said, to get to the College Football Playoff and prove once again they can win the national championship.
Then again, this group appears so close-knit that outside detractors, haters, doubters — they’re all one and the same when the focus is purely inside the locker room.
“What have they done? They’ve grabbed each other in the locker room … and said, ‘We’re all we got, and we’re all we need. If you’re not in this locker room sweating with us, bleeding with us, hurting with us, watching all this film that we’re watching. If you’re not in here with us, your opinion don’t matter, what you think of us doesn’t matter, and you can’t do anything that can help us win football games,'” Harris said.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer of the Alabama Crimson Tide before a game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Bryant-Denny Stadium Sept. 6, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)
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FUELING RIVALRIES
While Harris provides college football analysis throughout the season, he’s invested in his No. 6 Crimson Tide, especially this week as they host No. 11 Tennessee in Tuscaloosa.
Dr Pepper is hosting a special game day event to debut The Pepper Portal, which is a first-of-its-kind fan experience connecting rival college towns before the big game. Harris will be representing the Crimson Tide, while current Patriots quarterback Josh Dobbs, an ex-Volunteers signal caller, will be on the road with him.
These two will be engaging with fans through the Pepper Portal, meeting local NIL talent onsite and sharing their thoughts about who will come out victorious on Saturday night.
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