Former Alabama defensive back Roman Harper is concerned for his alma mater after Saturday’s display against Florida State. The Crimson Tide suffered a 31-17 loss at the hands of the unranked Seminoles, beginning their season with a 0-1 record despite coming in at No. 8 in the AP Poll. It was a disappointing sight for […]
Former Alabama defensive back Roman Harper is concerned for his alma mater after Saturday’s display against Florida State. The Crimson Tide suffered a 31-17 loss at the hands of the unranked Seminoles, beginning their season with a 0-1 record despite coming in at No. 8 in the AP Poll.
It was a disappointing sight for many Alabama faithful, including Harper. He offered his thoughts on the situation during the halftime show for Sunday’s game between South Carolina and Virginia Tech on ESPN. Asked whether he was worried, the former safety didn’t hide it.
“I want to say no, but the answer is yes,” Harper replied. “Alabama has not played well the last year and a half on the road, and right now you have a very tough schedule. So if you didn’t beat Florida State, Wisconsin all of a sudden looks a lot tougher. At Georgia, I don’t even want to talk about that. We need to focus on a whole bunch of other things before you can even get there.”
Things started off relatively even as the Crimson Tide found themselves tied at 7 with Florida State after one quarter. But the Seminoles jumped ahead in the second to take a 17-7 advantage into the locker room and put the pressure on Alabama.
However, the Crimson Tide still couldn’t get the momentum swinging in their favor to start the third quarter. After forcing a punt from Florida State, Alabama would go on to turn it over on downs on the ensuing drive, squandering a chance to cut into the deficit.
The Seminoles responded to score in just two plays on their next drive as Thomas Castellanos found Jaylin Lucas for a 64-yard connection on the first play. Caziah Holmes then punched it in from four yards out on the very next play to put Florida State up 24-7. The Crimson Tide managed to get back within a touchdown after that, but failed to complete the comeback.
It’s certainly not the way Alabama fans hoped the season would start, but Roman Harper knows there’s still ample time to turn things around. He sent a message to the Crimson Tide players to keep their heads up and focus on one key thing going forward.
“This is a team that has to find their identity,” he said. “Who do you want to be known as? What do you want to be known for and remembered for? The team that lost on the road to Florida State? You’re hoping that Florida State’s maybe a really good team and they caught you slipping and all of a sudden we’re gonna bounce back. All your goals are out there and still achievable, but who do you wanna be?”
Category: General Sports
