Instant Analysis of No. 10 Alabama's 56-0 Win Against Eastern Illinois

Final thoughts and takeaways from the BamaCentral crew in Tuscaloosa after the Crimson Tide's Senior Day win over Eastern Illinois.

Hunter De Siver (left) and Will Miller. | BamaCentral

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Before the Iron Bowl at Auburn next weekend, No. 10 Alabama easily defeated Eastern Illinois on Saturday in its final nonconference game of the 2025 regular season. The game, which doubled as the Crimson Tide's Senior Day, featured eight rushing touchdowns by the home team.

"Just good to get a lot of guys out there today and, of course, get the win, and just a good week of practice. Good locker room downstairs," head coach Kalen DeBoer said after the contest. "And then just looking ahead too, to the excitement of what lies ahead with the Iron Bowl. Just, the opportunities that are in front of us. And so, a lot of the things that we would have goals for are all there."

Alabama (9-2) scored 14 points in each of the game's four quarters, outgaining Eastern Illinois (3-9) by a margin of 539-34. All three of Alabama's quarterbacks from the offseason position battle played; Austin Mack and freshman Keelon Russell combined for 123 yards through the air. Starter Ty Simpson had two interceptions, one of which was on the last play of the first half.

The Crimson Tide's defense more than did its job, holding the Panthers out of the end zone and off the scoreboard entirely. It was the second shutout pitched by DeBoer's team this season, the first being a 73-0 win over ULM on home turf Sept. 6.

"Everything, you get better with reps. It doesn't matter what your position is. Head coach, position coach, player," DeBoer said. "So, a day like today, there's just a lot of reps... I feel like we've got a physical football team, both sides of the ball, and that's what it's gonna come down to here as we go down this home stretch."

DeBoer has still never experienced a nonconference home loss as the Alabama coach, with a second full regular season slate of home matchups now complete. FCS Eastern Illinois was not a likely team to end that stretch, and the Crimson Tide now has no more games standing between it and the vital road test against Auburn, which will have College Football Playoff implications. DeBoer's Alabama teams have lost multiple road games to unranked teams during his tenure.

Watch the above video as BamaCentral beat writers Will Miller and Hunter De Siver recap the Crimson Tide's shutout over Eastern Illinois on Saturday. The pair discusses Alabama's running game, as well as the team's ongoing kicking woes, which reared their head again opposite the Panthers when Conor Talty missed a 28-yard field goal.