Alabama is, finally, a legit national title contender again
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In the first two years of the 12-team College Football Playoff, Alabama was the perfect illustration of a new kind of “contender.” The expanded format created a liminal space at the back end of the bracket, like the “bubble teams” in March Madness. The 2024 Crimson Tide were the first team out of the field, and if they’d made it, a team that had just lost by 21 to a bad Oklahoma team was not going far. The 2025 Tide were the second-to-last team in. Their inclusion was both undeserved (as they’d lost the SEC Championship by 21 points)and had two other losses and pointless (because they didn’t looklike a team that could win anything, while an excluded Notre Dame might have). Two seasons without Nick Saban, two Alabama teams that only remained nationally relevant because the 12-team format created a debate.
That’s over for now. The Tide are elite again. As they prepare to host Georgia on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa, the number of teams who are clearly better than Alabama is zero.
On the surface, the 5-0 Tide are only marginally better than Kalen DeBoer’s first two teams, which each started 4-1. Last year’s team lost a clunker of an opener at Florida State but then played a handful of good games in a row, including back-to-back wins over very good Georgia and Vanderbilt teams (then more ranked wins against Missouri and Tennessee). The 2024 team had just suffered an embarrassing loss at Vanderbilt in its fifth game but at least had the resume point of yet another win over Georgia. (This was the big comeback at home in what you might call “the Ryan Coleman-Williams game.”)
This is a fundamentally different team, though, for two reasons:
- Keelon Russell is that guy. The Crimson Tide have one of the three or four best QBs in the country, whose best throws are better than even Tua Tagovailoa’s or Bryce Young’s were.
- They’ve solved their rushing and rush defense problems from a year ago.
A Bama team that looks like this can absolutelywin it all.
Russell is the big star here, obviously. Part of a preseason QB battle with Austin Mack that DeBoer didn’t officially settle until late August, Russell now looks like he’d win the Heisman if not for the existence of Jeremiah Smith. Russell is one of those “ball just comes out of his hand different” QBs, and he marries his zip on the ball with tremendous placement that gives his receivers the best chance to make plays downfield. In his 285-yard outing at Mississippi State on Saturday, it was all there:
A team with a QB like this is rarely out of anything. But Russell isn’t even the biggest transformation between last year’s mediocre Tide and this year’s juggernaut. Last year, it was clear to me by early November that despite a good record, the Tide could not win the title because they could neither run the ball well nor stop it well. They did not reach 4 yards per carry in a power conference game until the freakin’ Iron Bowl, 14 weeks into the college football season. Meanwhile, they gave up 7 yards per carry to Georgia and Vanderbilt, plus 6 to Missouri and 4 to a handful of opponents.
For five games in a row starting in Week 4, the Tide either had a lower offensive success rate than their opponents (Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Tennessee, South Carolina) or barely beat them. The Tide won those games, but they were squeaking by in them, and they eventually met cruel justice in both the SEC Championship and the playoff. In December against Georgia and Indiana, Bama was outrushed by 336 yards and lost by a combined score of 66-10. This was just not a serious team.
Now this team is so serious on the ground, and on rush defense. The Tide have dominated the rushing margin in three of their first four power conference games, the only exception being a blowout win over South Carolina in Week 4. They’ve had at least a 10 percentage-point advantage in net success rate every week. Russell is a revelation and will probably be in New York in December, but the more encouraging thing here is that three Tide tailbacks (Daniel Hill, Trae’shawn Brown, and EJ Crowell) are averaging at least 5 yards per carry, with No. 3 back Crowell up at 7.8.
The shift is a credit to DeBoer, who was often under fire his first two seasons. The offensive line that caused so many problems last year now looks fixed, with new position coach Adrian Klemm getting a lot out of a unit that placed some big personnel bets coming into the year. (The biggest was the portal addition of a starting center from FCS Cal Poly; that player, Racin Delgatty, has been good.) The defensive front, its own problem last year, is also playing big. Tackle Devan Thompkins has been one of the best interior pressure generators in the sport, and outside linebacker Yhonzae Pierre has just 1.5 sacks but seems to be in the backfield every other play. This is what a title contender looks like.
Despite a lot of justified hand-wringing over Alabama not having a top-end roster budget, it’s not like the roster has run out of talent over the past few years. Strictly going by recruiting rankings, DeBoer’s first two teams were first and second in the 247Sports Team Talent Composite. But those teams’ best players were unevenly distributed, with big holes on both lines and some surprising underachievements from star players like Coleman-Williams in 2025. This year’s Tide have the country’s No. 3 roster by recruiting stars, and their good players happen to include the QB and a bunch of linemen. Watch out.
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