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The 2025 college football season got off to an inauspicious start for the Alabama Crimson Tide as they surprisingly lost to Florida State.
That led former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel to tell Pak Gazette Digital that “nobody’s afraid” 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 his 9-4 record in 2024 with some surprising losses.
But Alabama has been a completely different team since its first game against the Seminoles, reeling off five straight wins and the last three against ranked opponents: Georgia, Vanderbilt, to whom they lost last season, and Missouri.
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Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson passes during the game against the Missouri Tigers at Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium on October 11, 2025 in Columbia, Missouri. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Damien Harris, the former Crimson Tide star running back and current college football analyst, was the perfect man for Pak Gazette Digital to talk 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 association with Dr Pepper. “They’ve done nothing but take responsibility. They’ve done nothing but raise their standard; I won’t even say try to get back to the Alabama standard. But they have their own version of what the Alabama standard is. They’ve gotten better every week.”
Fear of the Crimson Tide, now ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25 poll entering this crucial week against No. 11 Tennessee in Tuscaloosa, is certainly returning, if it’s gone.
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Harris, however, explained why he loved playing against teams that weren’t afraid of Alabama. And he thinks this program thinks exactly the same.
“It makes me think about when I got to a certain age and I looked at my mom and told her I wasn’t afraid of her anymore,” she said, smiling. “Do you know what he told me? ‘You shouldn’t be afraid of getting your ass ripped off the frame.’ You shouldn’t be afraid. These screams will feel the same.
“[Vanderbilt quarterback] Diego Pavia, he wasn’t afraid to go to Tuscaloosa because he beat Alabama before. No matter, he didn’t emerge victorious. 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 have to do with anything? If you no longer fear Alabama, if you no longer respect Alabama, that’s perfectly fine. Alright. Because? Because that’s not what Alabama cares about.
“We don’t want people to be afraid of Alabama. We want people to come to Alabama thinking they’re going to win. It doesn’t matter anyway.”
Ryan Williams of the Alabama Crimson Tide runs against the Georgia Bulldogs during the second quarter at Sanford Stadium on September 27, 2025 in Athens, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
That mentality seems to be what the Crimson Tide is displaying these past few weeks, especially since they’ve had to play two SEC road games, which are always difficult. But they scored victories in each of them, as they exacted revenge on the Commodores on October 4.
Harris was impressed with Ty Simpson, the Crimson Tide quarterback who he believes should be the Heisman favorite early this season given his production. Simpson has totaled 1,689 yards passing with 16 touchdowns and just one interception, while also rushing for two scores.
“The most obvious thing is that they are doing it without [star receiver] Ryan Williams. It’s all fallen on the shoulders of Ty Simpson and Kalen DeBoer,” Harris added. “They took this team, almost grabbed them by the throat, so to speak, and said, ‘Listen, we’re better than this.’ Turn around, look in the mirror and evaluate how you played last year.
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“Ty Simpson should be the Heisman favorite. This group of Alabama wide receivers has become the best group of wide receivers in all of college football, again without Ryan Williams. You look at how dynamic this offense becomes, how they’re two-pronged 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 seemed vulgar. So you want to talk about the X and the O, yes, they are doing it on the football field with a scheme, a game plan, a formula, with everyone doing their job. But they also have the kind of hunger that I know and understand.”
Perhaps the outside noise will be fuel for this year’s Crimson Tide team, a group hungry, as Harris said, to make the College Football Playoff and prove once again that they are worthy of winning the national championship.
Then again, this group seems so close-knit that the outside detractors, the haters, and the doubters—they’re all the same when the focus is purely within the locker room.
“What have they done? They hugged each other in the locker room, got closer and said, ‘We’re all we have and we’re all we need.’ If you’re not in this locker room sweating with us, bleeding with us, suffering with us, watching all this movie we’re watching. If you’re not here with us, your opinion doesn’t matter, what you think about us doesn’t matter and you can’t do anything that can help us win football games,” Harris said.
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer before their game against the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks at Bryant-Denny Stadium on September 6, 2025 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. (Michael Chang/Getty Images)
FUELING RIVALITIES
While Harris provides excellent analysis of the college football game throughout the season, he is fully invested in his No. 6 Crimson Tide, especially this week when they host No. 11 Tennessee in Tuscaloosa.
Dr Pepper is hosting a special game day event to introduce “The Pepper Portal,” which is a one-of-a-kind fan experience connecting rival college towns before the big game. Harris will represent the Crimson Tide, while current Patriots quarterback Josh Dobbs, a former Volunteer signal-caller, will be on the road with him.
These two will interact with fans through the Pepper Portal, meet local NIL talent on-site, and share their thoughts on who will emerge victorious on Saturday night.
