Former Alabama QB says Crimson Tide sideline was ‘dead’ vs. FSU

The effort Alabama displayed on the field against Florida State is under heavy criticism from fans, media members and former players, but one particular Crimson Tide legend had the opportunity to observe the game from Alabama’s sideline.

AJ McCarron joined the CBS Sports panel live from Tallahassee, and he got to spend the rest of the day on the field. McCarron had an excellent view of everything going on in the game, especially the players’ reactions on the Crimson Tide’s sideline.

On The Dynasty: A Podcast on the Alabama Crimson Tide, McCarron said he picked up a weird vibe from Alabama’s players, saying there was no excitement after scoring on the opening drive.

“We score, and the sideline’s dead,” McCarron said. “Like, there’s no excitement. It was weird. I just didn’t understand it. There was a quick excitement, then it was just dead. It wasn’t like ‘Hey, we’re going out and proving something right here.’ It was just ‘Hey, kickoff team’ and then ‘defense’ like there was no excitement.”

McCarron said things only got worse after Florida State responded with a touchdown on their opening drive.

“When they go down and score quick on their first series, they come to the sidelines on their first series, it comes to the sidelines and it’s just like ‘Well, I hope the offense saves us and then get some momentum back.’ It was almost like the defense just lost all confidence and faith and had this mindset of like ‘Oh no, they’re just going to score at will.’ I just didn’t see enough heart from guys on this team, all the way across.”

From his expertise as a quarterback, McCarron said the three offensive players he thought played hard were running back Kevin Riley, wide receiver Germie Bernard and quarterback Ty Simpson.

The activity on Alabama’s sideline will be a storyline to monitor throughout the rest of the season.