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Kirk Herbstreit considers damning question about Alabama during UNC vs. TCU: 'Are they bad?'

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh09/02/25griffin_mcveigh
Kalen DeBoer, Alabama
Aug 30, 2025; Tallahassee, Florida, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer reacts after a play against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half at Doak S. Campbell Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Melina Myers-Imagn Images

In Chapel Hill on Monday night, TCU blowing out North Carolina gave Rece Davis and Kirk Herbstreit an opportunity to discuss other games across the college football weekend. One of the biggest takeaways from the duo is what took place a couple days ago inside Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State not just upset Alabama but beat Kalen DeBoer‘s squad pretty good.

Davis argued that two things are true coming out of the game. While he does believe Florida State is vastly improved from its 2-10 record in 2024, Davis hammered the Crimson Tide for their performance.

“Even though Florida State is much improved, Alabama looked listless,” Davis said. “Terrible.”

Which led to Herbstreit asking if they are a bad football team. Similar to Davis, the ESPN analyst ripped what Alabama did on Saturday afternoon. In his eyes, no bigger surprise in college football than watching Bama perform the way they did.

“I used the word lethargic,” Herbstreit said. “They were at a Tuesday practice, to me. But are they bad? Or is it a rough week? Because Florida State looked really good and Alabama could not have looked any worse. I think that had to be the biggest surprise of the weekend.”

If last season was not enough, we learned this is not Nick Saban‘s Alabama anymore. DeBoer has now lost four of his last eight games in charge. Three of them have not been too competitive — the Oklahoma game in Norman, Alabama’s bowl loss to Michigan, and Saturday night in Tallahassee.

Herbstreit is not the only one wondering if Alabama is “bad”. Almost every analyst out there talked about this result on Monday, sounding the alarm bells. FOX’s Joel Klatt was another one, claiming to be “dumbfounded” by what he saw.

An answer to the question might be revealed sooner rather than later. Louisiana-Monroe is next up on the schedule, nearly two decades removed from the famous 2007 game. Still, you favor what Alabama will be able to do against the Group of Five opponent.

Wisconsin will follow before hitting a bye week. And from there, the Georgia Bulldogs might provide what Herbstreit wants to know. DeBoer was able to take down Kirby Smart‘s bunch in Tuscaloosa and since then, not too much has gone right for him. With how Georgia looked in its opener, whether or not Alabama is a bad team might play out right in front of our eyes.