Notebook: Alabama Bounces Back With a Flawless Effort Against Louisiana-Monroe

TUSCLOOSA, Ala. - No. 21 Alabama football found their backs against the wall entering a Week 2 contest with the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. The Crimson Tide's lackluster performance in the season opener put the program under an even greater microscope as head coach Kalen DeBoer's squad prepared for the first game of the year inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.

How did Alabama respond to the season opening loss at Florida State? By playing nearly perfect agains the Warhawks and walking away with a 73-0 victory.

"I think the game is one thing," DeBoer said. "I think the response, whether it was on the plane ride or in the locker room last Saturday, just really upset. Just not happy. Just obsessed with understanding that we have to be better and we can be better, and it only comes through work. They made their minds up at some point that led into Sunday, because by Sunday, they were ready to roll and get on the football field. That carried through the whole week of practice, and so the challenge now is, can you sustain it? Can you move forward and continue the steps, getting better and better? We have some upperclassmen, but we've got a lot of younger guys, as we've mentioned, and we have to keep improving every single play. Not just each week, but every single play."

Alabama opened the game with six straight touchdown drives offensively without the ball hitting the ground. The defense forced four punts and an interception, while holding the Warhawks to fewer than 50-yards of offense in the first half. The Crimson Tide went into the locker room with a 42-0 lead, but there was still questions to answer.

Would the Crimson Tide ease off the gas and allow the inferior opponent room to breathe, or would the home side continue to attack each play with the ferocity that was missing last week?

Alabama's offense maintained its torrid pace, scoring another four touchdowns and converting a field goal, while the defense forced two more punts, a stop on downs and two more turnovers to give the home fans satisfaction.

The Crimson Tide's trio of quarterbacks completed 29-of-33 passes for 371 yards and seven touchdowns while distributing the ball to 11 different receivers including a touchdown to walk-on MJ Chirgwin

Keelon Russell strike to MJ Chirgwin for the 20 yard TD! #RollTide pic.twitter.com/AwkfZZWLz8
— 🏆🥇 (@fsh733) September 7, 2025

The Crimson Tide arial effort was complimented by nine different ball carriers toting the ball 36 times for 212 yards, while true freshman AK Dear served the exclamation point with his 73-yard touchdown run.

73 POINTS! DEAR SEASON pic.twitter.com/uq703nsVAH
— Cruz Oxenreider (@TheRealCruzOx) September 7, 2025

Defensively, the Crimson Tide leaned on true freshman London Simmons to start in place of injured Tim Keenan and Jeremiah Beaman and he chipped in to help hold the Warhawks to just nine total first downs all evening. Louisiana-Monroe crossed the 50-yard line three times, on their final three drives of the game, but never crossed Alabama's 40-yard line as the Crimson Tide flew relentlessly to the football.

Alabama wasn't able to sack ULM's quarterback, but the Crimson Tide front came up with 12 tackles for loss, with three recorded by defensive leader James Smith, a huge difference from last week's efforts where the team mustered three tackles for loss against the Seminoles.

Redshirt freshman QB Reese stuck his nose into the fray a few times, making game-changing plays in the second half recovering a fumble and forcing another to erase ULM's offensive efforts.

Special Teams

Alabama's special teams won't get a lot of attention this week, and that's exactly what the Crimson Tide faithful want. Kicker Conor Talty nailed his only field goal of the game, which happens to be his first career make in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The 46-yarder from the left hash pushed Alabama's lead to 45-0, meaning there wasn't a lot of stakes behind the boot, but Talty's first make at home is a good sign to build confidence. Talty made all six of his extra point attempts, while Peter Notaro finished the day with four of his own.

The Crimson Tide didn't punt a single time on Saturday, making for a comfortable day for Blake Doud, while wide receiver Cole Adams looked dangerous returning two punts for 45 yards.

TideBits

Louisiana-Monroe opted to not hold a post game press conference as the game ended at 10:09 p.m. CT and the Warhawks were soundly defeated in all three phases of the game.

Alabama claimed its third straight victory over ULM dating back to the 2007 Warhawk upset. The Crimson Tide won the three game by a combined score of 170-7.

Kickoff temperature was 77 degrees with partly cloudy skies.

Announced Attendance was 100,077

Alabama Captains: Quarterback Ty Simpson, Center Parker Brailsford, Linebacker Deontae Lawson

Officials for Saturday:

Referee: Tim Baker
Umpire: Jason Yates
Head Linesman: Jake Weatherford
Line Judge: Trey Robinson
Back Judge: Brett Toney
Field Judge: Clarence Cotten
Side Judge: Jonathan Bullock
Center Judge: Christopher Bordelon
Replay Official: Brian Brown