Alabama football is looking for answers and trying to stop its slide.

With each game, the Crimson Tide looks less and less like the team that dominated the first half against Georgia in late September.

The latest example: Alabama’s 24-17 loss to Tennessee Saturday at Neyland Stadium. It marked the second loss in the past three games for the Crimson Tide.

It’s also the first time since 2007 that Alabama has lost twice before November; that was Nick Saban’s first season as coach of the Crimson Tide.

The final question of Kalen DeBoer’s postgame press conference, the Alabama coach was asked what his message to the fans would be. He then shared the message with the players and fans.

“I told the guys, the message to them is get after it,” DeBoer said. ‘Go to work. First of all, do some soul searching. Look inside. I know there are plenty of guys who still believe. Who still want to do what we want to do. There is still a lot of season left, not just for us, but for everyone. Things will go fast if we don’t take advantage of it. There has to be that urgency.”

Next, Alabama will play Missouri at home next Saturday.

“But we have to put in the work before we play that game and find a way to make the next big leap,” DeBoer said.

He added that Alabama is currently failing to make the plays to win. DeBoer wants his group to “make sure our minds are right.”

“Make sure our hearts are in the right place,” DeBoer said. ‘And then all I know is that you’re just going back to work. That’s the only thing you can do. That’s what we’ve always done. That’s what these guys, just having a chat in the locker room, I’m convinced they want to do too.”

This is where the message to the fans ended up in his response.

“Don’t lose faith in these guys because there are a lot of guys making great sacrifices in ways you’ll never know,” DeBoer said. “People will never know because they just keep plugging away. It may be physical things and things like that, but they work hard and they take a lot of pride in who they are individually and who we are as Alabama.

And then DeBoer’s press conference ended. DeBoer walked out of the room beneath Neyland Stadium to prepare for next week as Alabama tries to keep its College Football Playoff hopes alive.