When you are a program like Alabama, it can be challenging to get certain teams on your schedule in the non-conference. With a shrinking allotment of games to be had due to conference expansion, Greg Byrne is constantly trying to make ends meet. Alabama will now play a nine-game SEC schedule amid a 12-game regular-season slate. There is always bowl season and the playoffs, but it is what it is.
After looking at all the teams competing in FBS Alabama has never played before, let's remove them from the equation just a second and take a look a bit further. Are there any teams Alabama has played before, but has never actually beaten? Believe it or not, Alabama will occasionally lose games to almost anyone. The strange part in this exercise is unearthing which programs got one past Alabama.
So without further ado, let's break this down by Power Four teams, then the Group of Six and so on.
Power Four teams Alabama Crimson Tide still does not have a win over
Per Winsipedia, here are the Power Four teams Alabama has already played before, but never beaten.
- Indiana Hoosiers (0-1)
- Minnesota Golden Gophers (0-1)
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (0-1)
- UCF Knights (0-1)
- Utah Utes (0-1)
It should be noted that Alabama also had its 2005 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders vacated...
The Indiana loss is fresh in everyone's mind. That is who Alabama fell to in the Rose Bowl last season. It is hard to believe they had never played before last year's College Football Playoff. Including the Texas Tech vacated win, here is when Alabama lost to these other Power Four teams in the lone time they have played them: UCF (2000), Minnesota (2004), Oklahoma State (2006), and Utah (2008).
Beyond the five/six Power Four teams, are there any Group of Six ones Alabama must right a wrong?
Group of Six teams Alabama Crimson Tide still does not have a win over
Shockingly, Alabama does not have a win against these Group of Six programs it has played before.
- Northern Illinois Huskies (0-1)
- Rice Owls (0-3)
Alabama lost to Northern Illinois in 2003, serving as an ever-present reminder of how strange times were between Gene Stallings and Nick Saban in Tuscaloosa. As far as the Rice losses are concerned, Alabama fans have to be kicking themselves over how poorly things went for the Crimson Tide vs. the Owls in the mid-1950s. The former Southwest program defeated Alabama in 1953, 1955, and 1956.
Let's be real, Alabama would have to pay Rice a billion dollars to get them on campus in Tuscaloosa.
What teams could Alabama get its first win over in the coming years?
Heading into the 2026-27 college football season, the only team slated to play Alabama in the coming years that could be crossed off this list would be the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Back in 2022, Alabama and Minnesota agreed to play a home-and-home in 2032 and 2033. Minnesota will host the first leg of the series in Minneapolis, before the Tide will host the second in Tuscaloosa.
Given the nature of college football today, these two games are far enough out to where Byrne and Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle could backtrack on their scheduling agreement. It is a shame, but this is the world of college athletics we live in. But beyond this potential home-and-home coming up on the horizon, who else could Alabama cross off the list in the coming seasons with major wins?
The good news for the Crimson Tide is that all six of the Power Four teams it does not have a win over (including Texas Tech) could conceivably make the College Football Playoff in the coming years. Indiana and Texas Tech made it last year. Oklahoma State and Utah have won Power Five championships before. UCF used to dominate the Group of Five. Plus, Minnesota is on the schedule.
As far as whether Alabama has a chance to beat all seven or eight of these teams prominently featured in this article, there is always going to be Rice... Northern Illinois could conceivably win the Mountain West, or whatever league they play in now, to make the playoffs. Maybe they randomly run into Alabama? As far as Rice is concerned, the Owls are probably never going to win their conference.
So until Alabama gives away half the state's GDP to a private school in Houston, they will stay at 0-3.
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