Where Alabama football sits in initial ESPN SP+ rankings entering 2026

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Where Alabama football sits in initial ESPN SP+ rankings entering 2026

ESPN has factored in all the data, primarily returning production on both sides of the ball, as well as last year’s records and recent recruiting classes, and unveiled its initial 2026 college football SP+ rankings.

Alabama, which finished 10-2 in the regular season and made the SEC Championship Game and 12-team College Football Playoff, landed just outside the top 10 at No. 11 in Bill Connelly’s early 2026 projections. The Crimson Tide are ranked one spot below LSU and one spot ahead of Oklahoma entering Kalen DeBoer’s third season.

On the recruiting trail, Alabama‘s incoming 2026 class was ranked No. 2 nationally by 247Sports after National Signing Day. ESPN had the Crimson Tide’s class at No. 5.

While Alabama will be breaking in a new quarterback for the second straight year with Ty Simpson a off to the NFL Draft, receivers Ryan Coleman-Williams and Lotzeir Brooks and defensive backs Bray Hubbard, Keon Sabb and Zabien Brown are all highly valuable returning starters in 2026.

Alabama football name one of ESPN’s ‘buy, buy, buy!’ teams for 2026

The ending to Alabama’s 2025 season certainly didn’t leave a good taste in many fans’ mouths after blowout losses to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and Indiana at the Rose Bowl. Nevertheless, ESPN names Alabama as one of six SEC teams on its ‘buy, buy, buy!’ list heading into 2026.

LSU, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida and South Carolina join Alabama on that list.

Connelly wrote:

“With the rise of teams like Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt last season, others in the SEC had to fall, and the six teams I just listed went from a combined 55-23 in 2024 (with an average SP+ ranking of 13.5) to 42-36 (34.0). Granted, those 2025 averages are dragged down by more precipitous falls from Florida and South Carolina, but five of the six saw their records regress, all six slipped in SP+, two changed head coaches, and three others changed at least one coordinator.”

Connelly noted that all six teams are projected higher than where ESPN analyst Mark Schlabach placed them in his way-too-early top 25 college football rankings. “Though it will be virtually impossible for all six to actually improve their records as the SEC moves to nine-game conference schedules,” Connelly cautions.

Schlabach’s way-too-early rankings back in January had Alabama at No. 21.

SEC football teams ranked worst to first in initial ESPN SP+ 2026 ratings

Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; A detail view of the SEC logo at Kyle Field prior to the game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Texas A&M Aggies. Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Among SEC teams, Alabama places fifth in the conference in ESPN’s initial rankings. Not surprisingly, the SEC leads all power conferences in average SP+ ranking at 14.5. The Big Ten (11.0) is second.

Here’s a look at SEC teams ranked 1-16 in ESPN’s initial SP+ rankings for 2026.

  • 16. Kentucky Wildcats (3.8 overall SP+ rating, 53rd nationally)
  • 15. Mississippi State Bulldogs (3.9 overall rating, 52nd nationally)
  • 14. Arkansas Razorbacks (5.0 overall rating, 47th nationally)
  • 13. Vanderbilt Commodores (10.0 overall rating, 31st nationally)
  • 12. Auburn Tigers (11.2 overall rating, 26th nationally)
  • 11. South Carolina Gamecocks (12.1 overall rating, 24th nationally)
  • 10. Missouri Tigers (14.8 overall rating, 20th nationally)
  • 9. Florida Gators (14.9 overall rating, 19th nationally)
  • 8. Ole Miss Rebels (15.9 overall rating, 16th nationally)
  • 7. Tennessee Volunteers (16.0 overall rating, 15th nationally)
  • 6. Oklahoma Sooners (17.2 overall rating, 12th nationally)
  • 5. Alabama Crimson Tide (18.2 overall rating, 11th nationally)
  • 4. LSU Tigers (20.2 overall rating, 10th nationally)
  • 3. Texas A&M Aggies (20.3 overall rating, ninth nationally)
  • 2. Texas Longhorns (23.7 overall rating, sixth nationally)
  • 1. Georgia Bulldogs (25.5 overall rating, fourth nationally)

What are ESPN SP+ rankings?

A reminder that SP+, according to Connelly, is “simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you’re lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you’re strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise.”

“SP+ is not a résumé ranking, so it does not automatically give credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling — no good predictive system does,” he adds.

Alabama football schedule 2026

  • Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina
  • Sept. 12: at Kentucky
  • Sept. 19: vs. Florida State
  • Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina
  • Oct. 3: at Mississippi State
  • Oct. 10: vs. Georgia
  • Oct. 17: at Tennessee
  • Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M
  • Nov. 7: at LSU
  • Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt
  • Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga
  • Nov. 28: vs. Auburn

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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama football near top 10 in ESPN SP+ rankings entering 2026

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