ICYMI: Kalen DeBoer gets severely trolled by Tennessee fans on live TV with Florida State war chant for depressing start

Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer got a rough reminder of his team’s inauspicious start to the season when he appeared live on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday. The show was broadcasting from Knoxville ahead of the Tennessee-Georgia matchup.

As DeBoer joined the GameDay crew for a live phone interview while walking around Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, the crowd behind the GameDay set broke out into the Florida State war chant. It was loud during the segment, drowning out parts of the conversation and trolling DeBoer for Alabama’s 31-17 season-opening loss to the Seminoles on Aug. 30.

The Seminoles, ranked 12th in the coaches poll, are rebounding from a mediocre 2024 season and looking strong. Their next game is against Kent State on Sept. 20.

Later in the broadcast, during the GameDay crew’s picks segment, when Alabama-Wisconsin's Saturday's game came up, the crowd erupted into the war chant again. DeBoer’s Crimson Tide are 20.5-point favorites against Wisconsin.

Tennessee fans have many reasons to gloat. The Vols beat Alabama last season in 2024, 24-17, and will look to make it three wins in four years when they visit Tuscaloosa on Oct. 18. The last time College GameDay visited Knoxville in 2022, Tennessee broke a 15-year drought and defeated Alabama 52-49 in an all-time classic.

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Kalen DeBoer on the Tide’s resilience after Alabama’s Week 1 loss

The Week 1 loss at Doak Campbell Stadium was a tough start for DeBoer, who is in Nick Saban’s shoes as his successor. After the game, Kalen DeBoer talked about the loss.

"We've got a resilient team. I really do believe that," DeBoer said. "And it shows with what the response has been, it shows in different moments in the game, and we got to take that, and we got to be even better because of our resiliency. "And so this week is one where we got punched in the mouth a little bit, a lot of bit, and we got to respond. And that's what these guys are doing."

After its Week 3 game, Alabama will have a bye week and face the Georgia Bulldogs on the road on Sept. 27.

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"That was a game we should win": Kalen DeBoer reflects on FSU loss as Crimson Tide gear up for Week 3 showdown against Wisconsin

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Edited by Garima