The No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide have rolled to start the 2026 college football season. The Crimson Tide opened the year with a 48-10 win over East Carolina. They followed that up with a 45-17 win over the Kentucky Wildcats.

Alabama Starts Slow, Dominates Kentucky in the Second Half

While it doesn't look like there have been many struggles, there were some real concerns at halftime against Kentucky. The Crimson Tide trailed 17-13 at half. This looked like Kalen DeBoer's team was headed toward another major upset loss. Four of DeBoer's eight losses in his tenure in Tuscaloosa are against teams that finished the season with five or more losses. But Alabama rallied to pull off a blowout win in Lexington.

The Crimson Tide finished with 343 yards of total offense and held the Wildcats to 209 yards. That includes just 69 yards on the ground. Alabama's defense also forced three turnovers in the game. Quarterback Keelon Russell completed 16-of-23 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in his first road start. Running back Daniel Hill led the way with 18 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Paul Finebaum Impressed by Alabama's Response After Disastrous First Half

ESPN's Paul Finebaum revealed on "The Matt Barrie Show" that he was impressed by the second half performance by Alabama.

"I was pretty impressed by how that program moved on from that disastrous first half," Finebaum said.

Crimson Tide Showed Why They Remain a Major SEC Contender

Alabama's second-half performance was about more than simply piling up points against a tiring Kentucky defense. The Crimson Tide made the necessary adjustments, stopped giving the Wildcats short fields and dominated the final two quarters.

Kentucky managed only three first downs and 62 yards after halftime, while Alabama scored on five of its final seven possessions. The Crimson Tide also converted the momentum from multiple defensive stops into short-field opportunities, allowing the offense to finally establish control.

The first half showed Alabama still has issues to clean up, particularly with ball security and consistency on offense. But the second half showed why the Crimson Tide remain dangerous. Rather than allowing a poor start to define the game, DeBoer's team responded with 32 unanswered points and left Lexington with exactly the kind of resilience a championship contender needs.

Alabama takes on the Florida State Seminoles at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC on Saturday.