Why Alabama football's No. 13 AP Top 25 ranking is an egregious mistake

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Alabama football is entering its third season with Kalen DeBoer as the head coach. Last year, Alabama went 11-4 overall. They lost in the SEC Championship Game before defeating Oklahoma in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Alabama lost in the Rose Bowl to Indiana to end their season. As the team looks to return to the playoffs in 2026, Alabama is ranked outside the top ten in the preseason AP Top 25 for the first time since 2008.

Alabama is ranked 13th in the AP Top 25, their lowest ranking since being ranked 24th in the preseason AP Top 25 in 2008. They would go on to dominate Clemson in their opening game of the year and move up to 13th. After wins over Tulane and Western Kentucky, Alabama was ranked ninth heading into Week 4. They would move all the way up to the number one ranking in the nation after finishing the regular season undefeated. After a loss to Florida in the SEC Championship game and then a loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl, Alabama finished the season ranked sixth.

The next season, Alabama was ranked fifth in the preseason poll. Since then, Alabama has been ranked number one in the preseason AP Poll seven times. The lowest ranking the Tide have experienced in the preseason, before being ranked 13th this year, was being ranked eighth in the preseason poll in 2025. This year’s ranking is too low, and DeBoer’s team will prove why.

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Teams in front of Alabama have more questions

Alabama has some questions that could have led to them being ranked 13th in the preseason AP Top 25. First, there is the competition for the QB1 spot between redshirt junior Austin Mack and redshirt freshman Keelon Russell. Both quarterbacks played in the scrimmage, and both started slow, something that DeBoer commented on according to Chris Sunderland of 1819News.

“As the scrimmage went on, they both got better. Both had their moments early where they could have executed better. They could use some help from some guys once in a while; they’re not going to be perfect all the time. Operationally, I just think, again, it’s them running the show, but everyone doing their part,” DoBoer said. “So the slow start really wasn’t about one player, one position group, but both of them, really, as the scrimmage went along, got in their rhythm. And so, the challenge to them now would just be starting faster every single time we have these game-like scrimmages and practices, coming out and setting the tone themselves.”

There are also questions about the offensive line, and if they can improve from last season. While there are questions about the Tide, other teams ahead of Alabama have just as many. One of those teams is Texas Tech.

To start with, the Red Raiders still do not have clarity at quarterback, similar to Alabama. Unlike Alabama, Texas Tech was not prepared for the lack of clarity. Alabama knew they would have a quarterback battle going into this fall. The Red Raiders expected Brednan Sorsby as QB1, but he parted ways with the program after a gambling scandal. Texas Tech will now start Will Hammond, but he is returning from a torn ACL.

Beyond questions at quarterback, the Red Raiders also are missing a top receiver and need to replace elite production on the front seven of the defense. With David Bailey, Romello Height, and Jacob Rodriguez off to the NFL, they have plenty of holes to fill, and should not be in front of Bama.

The Crimson Tide are being disrespected in the SEC 

Alabama is not getting respect for their SEC dominance. Since Nick Saban took over in 2007, the team has finished third or worse in the conference just three times. Once was in 2007 when they finished tied for third in the Western Division of the SEC, but it was the first year under Saban. After winning a national title in 2010, they finished fourth in the West. The next time would be a tied-for-fourth finish in 2024.

This year, six teams in the SEC are ranked ahead of Alabama. Georgia is ranked third, while Texas is fifth. Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Oklahoma, and LSU come in ranked eighth through 11th. Alabama faces three of those schools this year: Georgia, Texas A&M, and LSU. Based on the rankings, Alabama would be expected to lose all three of them. Alabama has lost three times in conference play just three times since 2007.

LSU is bringing in a nearly entirely new team, as Lane Kiffin comes into the program. They have almost 60 new players coming into the program, including 40 transfers. Sam Leavitt will be taking over as the quarterback, but he is recovering from LisFranc surgery. Further, LSU’s floor in recent years has been much lower than Alabama’s, which leads to questions around why LSU is ranked ahead of Alabama.

Teams such as Ole Miss and Texas A&M have similar roster questions as LSU. With all the questions around those rosters, and Alabama being historically a higher-performing program, there is no reason for all of them to be ranked in front of the Tide.

The Tide will prove doubters wrong

Alabama finished last season ranked ninth in the nation after losing in the Rose Bowl to Indiana. Since 2008, Alabama has finished the season ranked tenth or better every single season except 2024, when they finished 17th in the first season under DeBoer. The Tide reached the top spot in the AP Poll every year from 2008 through 2022. They reached third in 2023 and the top spot again in 2024. The top ranking for Alabama in 2025 was fourth. They also have had an average ranking for the entire season of tenth or better every single year since 2008.

The schedule sets up for Alabama to climb the rankings quickly. They open up with a game against East Carolina before a road trip to Kentucky. They will then face Florida State, South Carolina, and Mississippi State.  That should lead Alabama to a 5-0 record. Meanwhile, either Ohio State or Texas will have a loss. Oklahoma has games against Michigan, Georgia, and Texas, which will potentially knock another team out of the way of Alabama. Ole Miss and LSU also face off in Week 3, which will give another loss to a team ranked ahead of Alabama.

With Alabama set to jump up the rankings quickly, there is no reason to have them ranked 13th to begin the season.

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