Alabama Crimson Tide fans looking for some good news can't count on ESPN to provide it. Three ESPN experts, Eli Lederman, Max Olson, and Adam Rittenberg, ranked every Power Four team for offseason results and found the Crimson Tide lacking.
Six SEC football teams were rated as having more offseason success than Alabama. In order, they are: Texas, LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma.
The ESPN trio stated that "No sport has a blurrier line between its season and its offseason than college football." Which begs the question of whether their team assessments have any value. Their rankings are based on roster retention, roster addition, and coaching staff continuity and additions.
They did the same rankings for the 2025 season and can claim success, but also admit some bad misses. Last offseason, they ranked LSU No. 1 overall, Penn State No. 3, and Clemson No. 5. All three teams finished the 2025 season 7-6.
In addition to ranking the Power Four conferences, an overall Top 10 was ranked. It included three SEC teams: Texas (No. 3), LSU (No. 5), and Ole Miss (No. 8). Also in the Top 10 were four Big Ten teams: Indiana (No. 1), Oregon (No. 4), USC (No. 6), and Ohio State (No. 10). The other Top 10 teams were Miami (No. 2), Texas Tech (No. 7), and Notre Dame (No. 9).
Explaining "what went wrong" in the Crimson Tide's offseason, the running back and offensive line position groups were highlighted. Though Alabama's running back group is deep and not lacking in talent, the ESPN trio focused on the loss of Hollywood Smothers, who flipped his transfer destination from Alabama to Texas.
A more positive ranking for the Alabama Crimson Tide
The 2026 outlook for the Alabama Crimson Tide is somewhat more positive, according to Bill Connelly's early SP+ rankings. Connelly has Alabama ranked No. 11 overall, with four teams above the Crimson Tide: Georgia (No. 4, Texas (No. 6), Texas A&M (No. 9), and LSU (No. 10).
What are Alabama football fans to make of these opinions? At least, they have some merit. There are legitimate reasons to doubt the Crimson Tide. But as the ESPN trio admitted, offseason takes are blurry at best.
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