Who will Kalen DeBoer's Alabama play in 2024 season opener? Taking a closer look at Bama's football schedule

Kalen DeBoer was named the new head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide after the retirement of Nick Saban in January. DeBoer will coach his first game with Alabama at home on August 31 against Western Kentucky.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers went 8-5 last season and played in Conference USA. They started the year with a 2-0 record, but dropped back-to-back games against Ohio State and Troy. They ended the year strong with three consecutive wins and beat Old Dominion in overtime in the Famous Toastery Bowl.

Beyond their season opener, DeBoer and Alabama will have notable games against Georgia, Wisconsin, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma among others.

The full 2024 schedule for the Crimson Tide is as follows:

• Aug. 31: Western Kentucky (6 p.m., ESPN)
• Sept. 7: USF (6 p.m., ESPN)
• Sept. 14: At Wisconsin (11 a.m., FOX)
• Sept. 28: Georgia (6:30 p.m., ABC)
• Oct. 5: At Vanderbilt (Afternoon, 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.)
• Oct. 12: South Carolina (11 a.m., ABC or ESPN)
• Oct. 19: At Tennessee (Flex, 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
• Oct. 26: Missouri (Flex, 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
• Nov. 9: At LSU (Flex, 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
• Nov. 16: Mercer (1 p.m., ESPN+ or SEC Network+)
• Nov. 23: At Oklahoma (Flex, 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)
• Nov. 30: Auburn (Flex, 2:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.)

Kalen DeBoer has confidence going into first year at Alabama

DeBoer led the Washington Huskies to the national championship game last year but lost to the Michigan Wolverines. After DeBoer and Washington lost to Michigan, he was hired by Alabama.

Entering the season, DeBoer has confidence in his group.

“I’m excited about the hunger that these guys have. Today was our first day officially back with workouts. But like you said, they’ve been doing a lot. And I know that that’s been actually something, again, when you talk about workload and all that, we’ve been conscious in telling guys that they need to make sure that they refresh for a few days," DeBoer said, via On3.

"And I love that that hunger is there. I was on a thread this morning, guys wanted to get together on our leadership group to make sure that the mindsets are in the right place. That’s what it’s all about, is having a player-led team that can lead themselves, lead the rest of the guys around them and want to do something special together."

The Crimson Tide are the favorites to win its season opener, with the odds at -31.