'Enjoy the Adversity': How Alabama is Processing Florida State Loss

After an offseason filled with hype after a subpar 2024 campaign, Alabama football lost its season opener 31-17 on the road against Florida State on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide failed its first test in the quest for a National Championship, and there isn't much more room for error. This was a wakeup call for Alabama and wide receiver Germie Bernard is very aware of the vibe in the locker room following the loss.

"There's been a lot of energy," Bernard said on Tuesday. "We know that last week wasn't our best game, but we can only focus on this week. Bringing the energy this week and being grateful for the next opportunity that we have. God has blessed us to be able to play this game of football that we've been playing since we were little kids.

"So we've just got to enjoy the process, enjoy the adversity that we're going through and continue to have our faith and lean into our faith, man. I think that's the biggest thing. And then just showing up every day, continue to be ourselves and continue to push towards our goals that we have."

Bernard is a senior and sophomore Ryan Williams joked on Aug. 4 that his unofficial nickname is "Unc." Bernard, who played at Michigan State in 2022 and Washington in 2023, has been among the most vocal players in the wide receivers room and he shared what's been discussed in it over the past couple of days.

"We talked about being tested and we talked about having adversity," Bernard said. "Just as a leader, I'm encouraging guys to lean into their faith a little bit more. Just being able to be that leader in this time, I mean, not a lot of [Alabama players] have probably been through tough adversity [at Alabama], so I'm just guiding them through it.

"Just continuing to tell them that our goal is still the same goal that we have. We've got to go out there, we've got to be better and we've got to work harder. It started Sunday with our lift and our practice that we had. We're just coming up and we're showing up every day to give our best."

Of course, the wide receivers aren't the only ones reflecting on and learning from the loss in Tallahassee. Bernard shared other players, three of whom are captains, who have been the most outspoken during the past couple of meetings and practices.

"D-Law, Ty Simp, Parker Brailsford, me, Kadyn Proctor, guys like that," Bernard said. "Guys that have an impact in our locker room. But it's not just those guys, it's everybody. Everybody has to be a leader. Everybody has to hold each other accountable to what we have to get done. It's everybody."

Bernard didn't necessarily go into the specifics regarding the consensus message that he and the other leaders of the team have sent. But the theme of it is clear.

"We've got to get better, man," Bernard said. "That's it. We've got to get better. We've got to play harder. We know that. We've just got to get better. That's it."

It's important to mention that despite the hardship, there hasn't been any confrontation between players since Saturday.

"I think it's just holding each other accountable," Bernard said. "It's never confrontation. We all love each other, we all want the best for each other. But we're not going to allow one guy to stop us from getting to our goal. Holding each other accountable, that's what it's going to take. Being able to be on your brother, yell at your brother if you need to, they know it's all love at the end of the day."