Three possible trap games for the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2024

When Alabama's head coach Kalen DeBoer chose to depart Washington for the Crimson Tide, he knew the challenge he was getting to.

Not only is he tasked with replacing Nick Saban but also with playing an SEC schedule and recruiting on an SEC level.

Alabama plays one of the hardest schedules in the country with out-of-conference games against American conference contender USF, and Big Ten foe Wisconsin to go along with an SEC gauntlet. Georgia will travel to Tuscaloosa for an SEC championship game rematch while the Crimson Tide will travel to Tennessee and LSU.

Those are the attention grabbers, the must-see games, but what about the trap games? The games and teams that come out of nowhere and can nip the Tide when they're least prepared.

Here are three potential trap games for Alabama in 2024.

1. October 26th at home against Missouri.

Sandwiched between visits to Neyland and Death Valley is a precarious home bout with a team coming off a Cotton Bowl victory.

The Tigers return their quarterback and future first-round wide receiver Luther Burden III.

The Crimson Tide will be coming off a dog fight against the Vols and possibly looking ahead to the date with the Bayou Bengals, but this is Missouri's Super Bowl.

Eli Drinkwitz's squad owns one of the most workable schedules in the conference to go along with the Tigers boasting legitimate playoff desire.

This game will make or break their season while it will likely fly under the radar of many of the Crimson Tide faithful.

Arkansas waltzed into Bryant-Denny Stadium last season and gave the Tide quite the scare, and there is reason to believe Missouri will do just the same.

2. November 23 on the road at Oklahoma.

The Sooners have quite the welcome to the SEC as they play one of the toughest conference schedules with Georgia being the only pre-season top team not on their slate.

All that is being talked about is Texas coming to the SEC while it seems Oklahoma is just being dragged along. This is no doubt giving the coaching staff, players, and fan base an extra chip on their shoulders.

Making the trip to Norman, Oklahoma in the second to last week of the regular season will surely create some fatigue while the look ahead to the rivalry matchup with Auburn will loom large.

The Sooners quietly boast a former five-star quarterback in Jackson Arnold who has a go-to target in Deion Burks while Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman anchor a defense run by defensive mastermind Brett Venables.

3.  September 7 against USF.

Nick Saban 's ceremony, the naming of the field after him, and all that comes along with such a glamorous event will surely cloud the minds of the players and coaches.

Following all of that will be a 60-minute football game that they will have to get up for.

This is the USF squad that embarrassed this team last season when they traveled to Tampa for what was supposed to be a cakewalk.

Byrum Brown is still the focal point of this offense with Alex Golesh calling plays that colludes to create a diabolical offense.  With the road trip to Wisconsin the week after, this is a game that causes worry for at least a quarter.

DeBoer's Washington squad that played for the national championship game last year also found itself in quite a few one-possession games last season against teams that had no business playing with them.

In a conference where the margins are much less thin, it will take even more focus to avoid being upset.

Related: Alabama Star Transfer Reveals Reason For Staying Following Nick Saban's Retirement