Last night, many football fans were left disheartened after their favorite teams were defeated in close and thrilling games. As the season progresses, winning is mandatory for all the teams if they want to see themselves in the playoffs. However, in a rare scenario, two victorious teams found little reason to celebrate, as their wins failed to satisfy experts, analysts, and most importantly, their fans.

Can you guess them? You are right if Alabama Crimson Tide just popped into your mind. Who thought one of the big football programs would face this situation? Tide is facing criticism even after bouncing back and securing their fifth victory against South Carolina 27-25. On the other hand, Josh Heupel and his squad have joined Alabama. After losing to Arkansas last Saturday, they managed to win against Florida but could not, but their win could make a place in fans hearts. Brandon Walker, a college football expert, takes harsh calls on DeBoer’s and Heupel’s teams, despite their week 7 victories. Let’s see where they stand in his top 10 teams.

Media outlets, experts, and football insiders were already questioning Kalen DeBoer’s leadership qualities, although with back-to-back four victories, he tried to keep the doubters away, but after their first loss of the season against Vanderbilt fueled the ongoing debate. Walker took X to share his top 10 teams after week 7, but till now, you might have guessed that Alabama and Tennessee Volunteers are missing from his top 10. Texas is ruling at the top, followed by Oregon and Ohio State. He took a dig at Tide and Volunteers and tweeted, “Alabama and Tennessee drop because they looked awful. Indiana 11th.”

While experts and fans are criticizing the Tennessee Volunteers’ victory, their HC has their back. Rivals reported Josh Heupel’s statements after the game. It looks like he is quite happy with the win. “Fans, awesome tonight. Huge part of the game. Appreciate them throughout the course of it, you know. For us as a football team, love the win. I think the resiliency of the group, you know, I don’t know, seven minutes left in the third quarter offense, not playing well at all.”

He further explained how the team bounced back after the third quarter and secured their fifth victory of the season: “Continuing to play, continuing to compete, and finding a way to make some plays and get back in the football game and then go into overtime and come back and reset and go finish the game the way that you’re capable of and that you want to.” Now, let’s see how Alabama fared against South Carolina.

Alabama narrowly beats South Carolina: Is this a preview of what’s ahead?

After losing to Vanderbilt 35-40 last Saturday, Tide was in the spotlight throughout the week, but for the wrong reasons. And why not? Just six days ago, they lost to Vanderbilt; they defeated their rivals and one of the biggest teams of CFB. Even after defeating Kirby Smart’s Georgia, no one expected Tide to lose against the non-ranked team. But CFB witnessed the unexpected, and Alabama broke many hearts.

But keeping the defeat aside, fans reached the stadium to support new head coach DeBoer and his squad. In a nail-biting game where Alabama narrowly defeated South Carolina 27-25, it raised concerns about Kalen and his team’s performance as they have plenty of football to play. And teams like Texas, Oregon, and Ohio State are displaying phenomenal games and can be significant threats.

Although Tide got the start they needed after their last week’s defeat, they faced a late attack from Gamecocks, which helped them to win with just 43 seconds remaining. Onside recovery nearly lost Crimson Tide the game, which has eventually raised questions about Kalen DeBoer’s coaching.

DeBoer showed confidence in his offence, which was building momentum, and wanted Tide to make a strong comeback after their first loss.“I was pretty confident they were saying to go,” Kalen stated after the game. Jaylen Mbawke tackled wide receiver Mazeo Bennett Jr. for a 1-yard loss when just two minutes were remaining in the first half. Which set fourth down with nine yards to go, however, Carolina’s QB LaNorris Sellers managed to dodge Alabama safety DeVonta Smith and found Bennett open for a 36-yard touchdown.

Yahoo Sports reported Kalen’s statements on Tide’s game plan last night, where he expressed his discomfort in punting and said, “I don’t like punting, you know, really any time.” He added, “But that was, to me, the worst-case scenario. I guess I’m always just aggressive that way. You try to weigh the risk-reward and put the trust in the guys, the things we talk about.”