Alabama 2024 Season Review: DeBoer's 9-4 Debut, Corrected
The earlier version of this page had several major factual errors. Alabama did not finish 10-3, did not win the SEC Championship and did not make the College Football Playoff in Kalen DeBoer's first season.
The Verified Record
Sports Reference lists Alabama at 9-4 overall and 5-3 in SEC play in 2024, with a final AP ranking of No. 17. Alabama averaged 33.8 points per game and allowed 17.4, then ended the year with a 19-13 ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Michigan.
The High Points
The season still had real accomplishments. Alabama beat Georgia 41-34 in September, routed LSU 42-13 in November and closed the regular season by beating Auburn 28-14 in the Iron Bowl. Those wins were enough to make DeBoer's first year notable without adding false postseason claims.
The Losses That Defined the Ceiling
Alabama's losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Michigan kept the season from becoming a playoff campaign. The Oklahoma loss was especially important because it damaged Alabama's late-season postseason case before the Iron Bowl win.
Iron Bowl Lens
The 2024 Iron Bowl mattered because it gave DeBoer a rivalry win in year one and pushed Auburn below bowl eligibility. But it should be presented as part of a 9-4 transition season, not as the closing note of a championship season.
Sources reviewedExpand
Reference notes
MethodologyUpdated May 13, 2026: Corrected Alabama's record, removed false CFP/SEC-title claims, and anchored the review to Sports Reference and ESPN box-score data.
Primary source for Alabama's 9-4 record, 5-3 SEC mark, final AP rank and ReliaQuest Bowl result.
Cross-check for points per game, points allowed and team-level production.
Used for the verified rivalry-game close to the regular season.