Beat Everyone: An AL.com Alabama Football Podcast

It's another special BONUS Beat Everyone as we head into this weekend's ranked showdown against Vanderbilt. ESPN's Marty Smith knows SEC football and the Crimson Tide program like few others in the business, so when he tells us this Alabama team feels DIFFERENT, our ears perked up. Find out what stands out to Marty about the 2025 Tide and hear some of his favorite Nick Saban stories on today's special bonus episode of Beat Everyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One down, seven more SEC teams to go for Alabama. Next on the list are the surging Vanderbilt Commodores led by the brash and confident Diego Pavia at quarterback. Can Alabama get revenge for last year's shocking loss? Former Alabama All-American Mike Johnson joins us to break down the game and talk about what Alabama's doing right on offense, plus what they need to do a better job of if they want to take things to the next level. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One down, seven more SEC teams to go for Alabama. Next on the list are the surging Vanderbilt Commodores led by the brash and confident Diego Pavia at quarterback. Can Alabama get revenge for last year's shocking loss? Former Alabama All-American Mike Johnson joins us to break down the game and talk about what Alabama's doing right on offense, plus what they need to do a better job of if they want to take things to the next level. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ty Simpson and the Alabama Crimson Tide beat back all the narratives about their inability to win a big game on the road in the SEC and have firmly installed themselves back into the playoff discussion. Alabama beat reporter Nick Kelly joins the show to break down what he saw and heard on the sidelines and in the locker room in Athens. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Legendary sideline reporter Holly Rowe will be on the call Saturday night when Alabama takes on Georgia and she's had an inside look at the Crimson Tide as they prepared for the Bulldogs this week. Holly shares her insights on this huge matchup plus some incredible stories from her time interviewing Nick Saban and other SEC head coaches over the years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where can Alabama find an edge against Georgia when the Crimson Tide tackle their biggest challenge yet in Athens this weekend? Let's check the film. College football analyst Brooks Austin, host of The Film Guy Network, joins us to take a look at both teams and break down the most crucial matchups and tactical advantages heading into this weekend's matchup. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kalen DeBoer faces one of the biggest opportunities and biggest challenges of his tenure at Alabama when the Crimson Tide heads to Athens to take on Georgia this week. What's at stake for both teams and how could it affect Alabama's season going forward? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After coming out flat to start the season against Florida State, the Alabama Crimson Tide have performed an impressive turnaround and appear to be firing on all cylinders heading into their bye week before a huge showdown with Georgia. Alabama beat reporter E.G. McWhorter joins us to give her perspective on the transformation that has happened both on and off the field for Kalen DeBoer's team as they've seemingly found their footing three games into the season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alabama's win over Wisconsin was a statement game for the Crimson Tide and for quarterback Ty Simpson. In a year when many of the SEC's most notorious quarterbacks are struggling to start the season, could Simpson be establishing himself as one of the league's best? Kevin Scarbinsky joins us to break down Simpson's big game and what it means for the Tide. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Stahl joins Ben Flangan and Matt Scalici to preview Alabama's showdown against Wisconsin in Bryant-Denny Stadium this weekend. After last week's resounding win, has Alabama earned a little more confidence from fans and analysts? Will the return of Ryan Williams inject more life into the Crimson Tide offense? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On3 senior reporter Chris Low was the first to break the news of Nick Saban's retirement and last week he reported that Kalen DeBoer's tenure as Saban's successor was in jeopardy following Alabama's loss to Florida State. Low joins Beat Everyone to discuss the current temperature of DeBoer's seat following Alabama's 73-0 win this weekend as well as some details surrounding Saban's retirement, including one coach he called the morning after to gauge his interest... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Paul Finebaum Show's motto for nearly 30 years has been "Where most college football coaches are fired" and unfortunately for Kalen DeBoer, this week's callers to Finebaum's show are in favor of adding his name to that list. Finebaum joins Beat Everyone to talk about what he's hearing from fans on his show as well as what more powerful folks may be saying about the situation behind the scenes... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a disastrous season-opening defeat in Tallahassee, Alabama has some serious soul-searching to do and it starts with Kalen DeBoer. What did DeBoer have to say after the Crimson Tide's shocking loss and is it enough to calm a panicking fanbase? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The season is finally here! Ben Flanagan, Matt Scalici and Nick Kelly break down Alabama's season opening road trip to Florida State and discuss the Crimson Tide's biggest advantage over the Seminoles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Few figures left the kind of mark on Alabama Football that Scott Cochran left, and today the former Crimson Tide strength coach and motivational legend joins Beat Everyone to talk about his favorite memories from his time in Tuscaloosa, his profound journey to overcoming addiction, and what's next for him in his coaching career. Watch AL.com's documentary Whispers In The Weightroom here: LINK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a common practice in college football but one that Alabama has never participated in - but should they? Today on Beat Everyone we take a look at the practice of retiring players' jersey numbers and discuss which players we think would be worthy of the honor at Alabama. Later, Ben shares his picks for the ten best players on the 2025 Crimson Tide roster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With running back Jam Miller out indefinitely, which newcomers will step up on Alabama's offense to provide the explosive plays Alabama will need? Which freshmen and transfers will provide much-needed depth on defense? Cover Crimson host Clint Lamb joins Beat Everyone to break down what he's seen in fall camp and which names you should watch for when the Crimson Tide takes the field in two weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's all been leading to this...the number one game in our countdown of the Crimson Tide's greatest games of the 21st Century. This game has it all - high stakes, legendary plays, and the most dramatic ending in college football history. Listen to find out our pick. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the first scrimmage of fall camp, Alabama is finally starting to identify its biggest stars on the 2025 roster. Alabama beat writer Nick Kelly joins the show to talk about the quarterback battle and a number of other key contributors starting to emerge as the season draws near. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our countdown of the greatest Alabama Football games of the 21st century reached No. 2 as we take a look back at the 2015 Crimson Tide and its spectacular and dramatic national championship showdown with Clemson. One of the biggest stars of that game, tight end OJ Howard, joins the show to share his memories and to explain why he was so wide open all day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Preseason practice has begun in Tuscaloosa and while both die-hard and casual fans all know names like Ryan Williams and Ty Simpson, we're here to highlight five lesser known members of the Crimson Tide that Kalen DeBoer and his staff need big things out of this season if they hope to return to the College Football Playoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our countdown of Alabama's best games of the 21st Century continues with a deep dive into the 2012 Alabama vs. LSU game. Ben and Matt discuss what makes LSU's Tiger Stadium live up to the hype and why this game may go down as Nick Saban's best regular season win at Alabama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alabama Football seems to be a never-ending succession of great players but there are some guys who just can't be replaced. Today we take a look back and some players we still miss, guys who made such an impact on the program that we can't stop thinking about them. Check out the latest documentary from our award-winning video team, Scott Cochran: Whispers in the Weightroom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alabama had already announced its presence on the college football mountaintop in December of 2009 by knocking off the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship but the Crimson Tide's ascent was undeniable after they thrashed Texas in the BCS National Championship Game in the Rose Bowl. Michael Casagrande joins the show to share his memories of covering Alabama's first national title under Nick Saban and the win that formally announced the dawn of Alabama's modern dynasty. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back home from SEC Media Days and now that the dust has settled, we can tell you all about the behind-the-scenes chatter about Kalen DeBoer, Hugh Freeze and the race for the 2025 SEC Championship. Later, listen to our SEC Media Days interview with "The Film Guy" Brooks Austin on Alabama's strengths and weaknesses heading into the season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Day 3 of SEC Media Days and Alabama is in the spotlight! Alabama offensive lineman Kadyn Proctor and defensive lineman Tim Keenan III join Beat Everyone to preview the coming season. We're also joined by SEC Network analyst Jordan Rodgers for his thoughts on Alabama and his memories of playing against the Tide. Finally, we're joined by AL.com's Nick Kelly breaks down Kalen DeBoer's press conference at Media Days and what we think it says about his outlook on the 2025 season. TIME STAMPS 1:12 Jordan Rodgers, ESPN analyst 11:43 Tim Keenan III, Alabama Defensive Lineman 15:13 Kadyn Proctor, Alabama Offensive Lineman 21:27 Nick Kelly, AL.com beat reporter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A special BONUS episode of Beat Everyone from SEC Media Days, featuring interviews with Greg McElroy, Cole Cubelic, Pat Forde, and South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers. TIME STAMPS 0:18 Greg McElroy 14:55 Cole Cubelic 32:48 Pat Forde 39:31 LaNorris Sellers Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beat Everyone is on the scene at SEC Media Days with Nick Kelly. Nick sat down with Josh Pate, Damien Harris, Chris Low and Rich Clark, the executive director of the College Football Playoff, for frank discussions about Alabama, Kalen DeBoer, and the future of the league. Tune in and let us know who else you want to hear from this week. TIME STAMPS 1:06 Josh Pate, CBS Sports, host of Josh Pate's College Football Show 12:25 Damien Harris, former Alabama running back and CBS analyst 28:40 Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer 50:32 Rich Clark, Executive Director of the College Football Playoff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue our deep dive into the greatest Alabama Football games of the 21st Century with a look at the 2012 SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Georgia, a game that in retrospect looks like one last farewell to the Power Football Era. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's GOAT vs. GOAT on this episode of Beat Everyone as college football writers and historians Creg Stephenson and Kevin Scarbinsky join us for the ultimate Alabama Football debate: Bear Bryant or Nick Saban? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our countdown continues of the Greatest Alabama Football games of the 21st Century with a look back at the 2009 SEC Championship Game between Alabama and Florida, a rematch of the 20008 SEC championship game and one that marked a passing of the torch in college football and the birth of the game's greatest dynasty. Oh, and Tebow cried. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's the 100th episode of Beat Everyone! Thank you to everyone who has listened and shared the show in our first year. We've got a lot of surprises in store for the next 100 episodes too. This week, we take you behind the scenes of our exclusive sitdown with Kalen DeBoer and our biggest takeaways. Plus a closer look at his success on the recruiting trail this summer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue our countdown of the Greatest Alabama Games of the 21st Century with a look back at the 2021 Iron Bowl, the game that Alabama narrowly escaped and that shattered the hearts of Auburn fans. This may feel like a strange game for this list because it was almost unwatchable for most of the game. But then something magical happened. Ben Flanagan and Matt Scalici explore the dynamics of the game, the defensive strategies and the pivotal moments. They discuss the emergence of Bryce Young as a Heisman candidate and the lasting impact of the game on Alabama football's legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer sits down for an exclusive interview with Beat Everyone's Ben Flanagan and AL.com beat reporter, Nick Kelly. DeBoer shares his outlook for the 2025 season and whether Alabama fans can expect the same second year jump that he's seen at other programs. He describes what he's learned during his first season in Tuscaloosa, his thoughts on the QB battle and joins us for a lightning round with some real live thunder! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our countdown continues for the greatest Alabama Football games of the century with a look at the 2018 SEC Championship Game, the moment that Jalen Hurts found redemption and achieved mythical status as a Crimson Tide hero. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The time has come to make predictions based on little to no evidence! Ben and Matt go down Alabama's 2025 football schedule game by game and give their predictions for each. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue our countdown of the 15 greatest Alabama Football games of the century with a look at the 2008 season opener against Clemson, the moment that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide announced their return to college football's championship conversation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're entering a new era of college football where colleges will now be able to pay players directly. And we're looking at new scrutiny for so-called pay-to-play NIL deals. Michael Casagrande joins us to break down what the bombshell NCAA House settlement could mean for Alabama's future. Later, he competes against producer Matt Scalici to draft a coaching staff made up entirely of former Nick Saban assistants. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our series on the Best Alabama Football Games of the Century continues with a look back at the 2005 Alabama vs. Florida game. That quarterback for the Crimson Tide in that game, Brodie Croyle, joins us to recount his memories of the game and all the hype that led up to it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alabama quarterback Brodie Croyle took more than his fair share of hits during his time in Tuscaloosa, both physically and emotionally. Croyle's life growing up around kids from difficult family situations taught him how to take those hits and more importantly how to keep getting up from them and moving forward. Croyle shares his perspective on his time at Alabama and some of his most memorable moments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue our countdown of the 15 Greatest Alabama Football Games of the Century with a look at the 2014 Iron Bowl. One year after the heartbreak of the Kick Six, Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide were out for revenge. But it would take a heroic offensive performance from Blake Sims and Amari Cooper to get the job done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While Southerners are busy partying on the Gulf Coast this week, SEC power brokers will be just a few yards away in Destin, Florida deciding on the future of college football. We break down this week's SEC Spring Meetings and what they could mean for the future of Alabama Football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're continuing our countdown of Alabama's 15 Greatest Games of the Century with what is perhaps the Crimson Tide's most dominant win in program history - a stunning blowout over Notre Dame in the national championship game that changed the way college football fans think about Alabama for years to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today on Beat Everyone, we give our picks for the linebacker we want on the field if you just need ONE stop with the game on the line. Later, we blind rank the worst fanbases in the SEC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“This is not the kind of game that Nick Saban likes to play ever. If you told him that the way they were going to have to win this is you’re going to have to score like crazy and you’re going to have to consider every single defensive stop to be a gift from God.” In the latest episode of Beat Everyone’s series on the 15 Greatest Alabama Football Games of the 21st Century, Ben Flanagan and Matt Scalici dive deep into Alabama’s 2013 shootout with Texas A&M, back when Johnny Manziel was terrorizing Kirby Smart’s defenses and AJ McCarron had the Crimson Tide offense rolling like it never had before. They break down key moments, standout players like CJ Mosley, and the game’s consequences, including its effect on Alabama’s season and strategic shifts on offense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Alabama and current Birmingham Stallions defensive back Shyheim Carter was present in Tuscaloosa for what many would argue was the peak stretch of the Nick Saban dynasty. He was a part of the legendary 2016 recruiting class, played for one of the greatest defenses in college football history, and practiced against one of the greatest collections of offensive talent ever assembled. Carter shares his stories with us from the golden age of Crimson Tide football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue our countdown of the 15 greatest Alabama football games of the century with a look at the 2020 national championship team's biggest challenge and perhaps its best offensive performance, with the help of one of the members of that offense, wide receiver Slade Bolden. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nick Saban is becoming a mover and shaker in the political world, but is that a world he wants to get involved in? Plus, we give our picks for the Bama players we want on the field for a Hail Mary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beat Everyone is kicking off a new feature where we're diving deep into what we think are the 15 greatest games of the 21st century for Alabama Football. Today, we take an in-depth look at an incredible comeback win for Alabama that in some ways marked a turning point for the Nick Saban Era, one that would begin a new era of dominance with a new style of football. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matt Scalici and Mike Golic Jr. discuss the upcoming NFL Draft, focusing on Alabama's prospects and the evolving landscape of college football influenced by NIL. They explore the implications of NIL on players' aspirations, the perception of Alabama players in the NFL, and provide insights on specific prospects like Jihaad Campbell and Jalen Milroe. The conversation also touches on the importance of offensive line play and reflections on Alabama's 2012 championship team that Golic faced off against on the field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices