Kalen DeBoer Picks Up Right Where Nick Saban Left Off as Alabama Routs Western Kentucky

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Bear Bryant and Gene Stallings lost their first games as Alabama head football coach.

Mike DuBose and Mike Shula won theirs.

That said, Bryant and Stallings went on to win national championships in relatively short order — whereas DuBose and Shula would endure uneven tenures in Tuscaloosa. Obviously, there’s a danger in overstating the significance of a small sample size.

But the Crimson Tide certainly appeared to check all the boxes for where they want to be after game one of the Kalen DeBoer era.

Alabama beat overmatched Western Kentucky, 63-0 , in the season opener for both teams Saturday night with the Tide looking once again like a national title contender in front of an announced crowd of 100,077 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The effort was as emphatic as the score might indicate as the Tide blew the doors off a Hilltoppers squad expected to compete for the Conference USA championship .

And the vibe around Tuscaloosa is clearly one of confidence.

“The walk of champions was special for a lot of our players,” DeBoer said. “It’s always going to be that way. I can’t thank our fans enough. You could just feel the energy. … You could just feel the buzz. Being in that stadium tonight, we gave them something to cheer for. Our fans were amazing, cheering and being loud. I can’t wait to do it again a week from now.”

Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe befuddled the Western Kentucky defense to the tune of 200 passing yards and three touchdown passes on just nine attempts, plus 79 rushing yards and two touchdown runs. Ryan Williams added two touchdown catches and 139 receiving yards. Justice Haynes contributed 102 rushing yards and a touchdown on just four carries.

“Four plus two does equal six,” Williams said, referring to Milroe’s and his jersey numbers. “He always puts it in the perfect place, and I just have to do my job.”

Milroe scored the first touchdown of the game on an 12-yard run early in the first quarter, giving the Tide a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Then he recorded three touchdown passes on 4-of-6 passing for 169 yards as Alabama cruised to a 42-0 halftime lead.

Western Kentucky quarterback TJ Finley was harassed early and often by the Alabama defense. The former LSU, Auburn and Texas State signal-caller threw two first-quarter interceptions, both of which led to Alabama touchdowns. The journeyman QB, playing in his fifth collegiate season, was limited to 92 yards on 18-of-31 passing and ultimately was replaced by Caden Veltkamp after the score got out of hand.

The expectations are sky high in Tuscaloosa, where Nick Saban guided the Tide to six national titles in a remarkable 17-season run of excellence.

But all in all, DeBoer and the Tide couldn’t have written a better script to kick off a new era of Alabama football.

“There was a little bit of fun at the very end,” DeBoer said. “… [But] I told the guys in the locker room. None of these points carry over to next week. … There’s a lot of potential with this football team, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do. And it’s going to be that way all season long.”

Related: Crimson Tide cruise in DeBoer's debut