A way too early ranking of Alabama football's 2025 opponents from easiest to toughest

The SEC unveiled the 2025 conference schedule on Wednesday night. We already knew Alabama football's conference opponents would be the same next season, just with the venues flipped. We also knew the Tide had two Power-4 non-conference opponents scheduled with a season-opening trip to Tallahassee to take on Florida State and then Wisconsin making the return trip to Tuscaloosa to finish out the home-and-home series two weeks later.

We now know the dates of Alabama's 2025 schedule and can take a look and examine the schedule week-by-week.

The Crimson Tide will play five true road games and seven home games. It will be a challenging schedule - even more so than the 2024 version.

Let's take a game-by-game look and rank Alabama's opponents from toughest to easiest.

A ranking of Alabama's 2025 opponents

12. vs. Eastern Illinois - November 22

FCS opponents are rarely challenging games, and this one will be even less so than normal. Alabama played Mercer this season in November, and the Bears were one of the better FCS teams in the country. That won't be the same for the Panthers, which will be coming off of a 3-9 season.

The annual FCS cupcake is pushed back a week from this season, and back to its normal warm-up before the Iron Bowl date. This year, Alabama got ambushed by Oklahoma the week before playing Auburn. With the Iron Bowl flipping to the Plains next season, getting an easy game the week before will be a welcomed sight.

11. vs. Louisiana Monroe - September 6

Louisiana Monroe got off to a good start in 2024 under first-year head coach Bryant Vincent, starting the year 5-1. The wheels came off after that and the Warhawks lost their final six games to finish just 5-7.

After opening with Florida State on the road, this will be Alabama's home opener and sandwiched in between its Power-4 out-of-conference opponents. It's unlikely to be competitive.

10. vs. Vanderbilt - October 4

For the second year in a row, Alabama will open the month of October with a game against Vanderbilt, the week after a big showdown against Georgia.

Next year, however, it will be after a trip to Athens and the Commodores will be coming to Tuscaloosa as Alabama looks to avenge one of the most shocking results of the 2024 season when Vanderbilt stunned the Crimson Tide in Nashville.

The 'Dores will be losing QB Diego Pavia. Pavia had a huge game against Alabama and made play-after-play to help Vandy pull the upset.

It will be a homecoming game for Keanu Koht, the former Alabama edge rusher who just committed to Vanderbilt.

9. vs. Wisconsin - September 13

This will be the second leg of Alabama's home-and-home series with Wisconsin with the Badgers making the return trip to Tuscaloosa. It will be Wiscosin's first-ever trip to Tuscaloosa and just the fourth meeting between the two programs.

2025 figures to be a make-or-break season for Luke Fickell in Madison. He's entering his third season and has posted just a 13-13 record so far and the Badgers are coming off of a disappointing 5-7 season and missed a bowl game for the first time since 2001.

It will be a tall task for Wisconsin to pull off the road upset, but you can bet it's a game that Fickell and his coaching staff have circled as a measuring stick game.

8. vs. Oklahoma - November 15

Alabama's road loss to Oklahoma this year knocked the Crimson Tide out of the SEC Championship race and ultimately kept them out of the College Football Playoff. You can bet the revenge factor will come into play when the Sooners arrive in Tuscaloosa for the first time in over 20 years.

Brent Venables will enter 2025 on the hot seat and needing a big year to avoid getting the axe. He might not have been given a 2025 had it not been for the upset over Alabama that got Oklahoma bowl eligible.

It'll be a new quarterback for Oklahoma taking on Alabama in next year's meeting with Jackson Arnold in the Transfer Portal.

7. at Florida State - August 31

This is the most difficult game to rank. Florida State is coming off a historically poor 2024, finishing just 2-10. There's little doubt that the Seminoles will be an improved team in 2025 - Mike Norvell's job depends on it.

The 'Noles will spare no expense to improve the roster via the Transfer Portal. I don't think they will instantly become championship contenders overnight, but you can bet they will be fired up to host Alabama in the opener to look to pull off an upset that energizes the fanbase and puts the dreadful 2024 season in the rearview.

6. vs. LSU - November 8

Alabama will face a plethora of opponents with coaches on the hot seat in 2025. Brian Kelly and LSU won't be an exception. With Garrett Nussmeir coming back, the expectations in Baton Rouge will be College Football Playoff or bust. Anything short and there could be a coaching search in Death Valley.

Since Nick Saban came to Alabama in 2007, LSU has measured itself against Alabama. Even with Kalen DeBoer now in Tuscaloosa, that hasn't changed. They'll come to Bryant-Denny with a sour taste in their mouths from this season's blowout home loss to the Crimson Tide.

This being Alabama's sixth most difficult game on paper goes to show how challenging this schedule really is.

5. at Missouri - October 11

Missouri and South Carolina swapped places on Alabama's schedule on either side of the Third Saturday in October for next season. This will be Alabama's first trip to CoMO since 2020 and just the Tide's third road game at Missouri since 1978.

Missouri is coming off of a 9-3 season but will be replacing some big pieces with QB Brady Cook exhausting his eligibility and WR Luther Burden declaring for the NFL Draft. But, Eli Drinkwitz has earned the benefit of the doubt with the job he has done with the Tigers and they'll be well prepared for the Tide's visit.

4. at Auburn - November 29

Speaking of coaches being on the hot seat, with back-to-back losing seasons to begin his tenure at Auburn, Hugh Freeze needs a big 2025 to restore faith in his leadership and avoid the unemployment line.

Alabama has won five consecutive Iron Bowls, but both games at Auburn during that streak were like pulling teeth. The Crimson Tide needed a miraculous late drive by Bryce Young and four overtimes to best the Tigers in 2021. In 2023, it needed Jalen Milroe's 4th-and-31 miracle.

Who knows what to expect in 2025, but regardless of the season the Tigers are having, the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium will undoubtedly be one of the Tide's most challenging games.

3. vs. Tennessee - October 18

Alabama has now lost two of their last three games against Tennessee in the Third Saturday in October rivalry, but the Vols haven't beaten Alabama in Tuscaloosa since the infamous 5OT game in 2003.

With Nico Iamaleava back at QB and fresh off of a College Football Playoff berth, Tennessee figures to once again be one of the best teams in the nation next season. Even at home, Alabama will have to bring its A-game in order to get the win.

2. at South Carolina - October 25

Alabama barely edged South Carolina 27-25 in Tuscaloosa this season and that singular result ultimately kept the Gamecocks out of the College Football Playoff.

LaNorris Sellers figures to be one of the Heisman front-runners in 2025 after a spectacular finish to his redshirt freshman campaign. The Gamecocks could find themselves in the preseason Top 10 to start the season and the trip to Williams-Brice will be treacherous.

Alabama's last trip to Columbia was in 2010 when Stephen Garcia and Alshon Jeffery ambushed the top-ranked Tide.

1. at Georgia - September 27

When Alabama walks into Sanford Stadium on September 27th next season, it will be their first trip to Athens in a decade. Alabama rolled over Georgia 38-10 in that last trip in 2015.

DeBoer earned the first signature win of his tenure at Alabama this season with the 41-34 win over the Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa. That game showed the ceiling for the Crimson Tide, but also exposed a lot of flaws with Alabama blowing a 28-0 lead and needed a miraculous play by true freshman Ryan Williams to eke out the victory.

Kirby Smart and Georgia are tired of the "can't beat Alabama" moniker and they'll throw everything they have to finally get the Crimson monkey off their back.