And so it begins! The 2026 college football season is more than 200 days away, and already, the Alabama Crimson Tide is being downgraded. After Monday night's national championship win, ESPN released a 2026 Top 25, with the Indiana Hoosiers at No. 1.
ESPN was correct to describe what Indiana accomplished as a dream season. How the World Wide Leader ranked Alabama is close to a nightmare for Crimson Tide fans. ESPN's Mark Schlabach selected eight SEC football teams in his preseason top 25 teams. Six of them were ranked above the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Based on Alabama's performance in the 2025 season, Schlabach has some justification to rank the Crimson Tide at No. 21. Kalen DeBoer's team will have much to prove in the 2026 season. Where a team ranks in the preseason doesn't much matter. Still, the ranking is a slap in the face, highlighting the significant decline in respect the Alabama football program has experienced since the retirement of Nick Saban.
In 2007, Alabama began Saban's first Crimson Tide season unranked in the AP Poll. The Crimson Tide started the 2008 season ranked No. ranked No. 24. The AP Poll had Alabama ranked No. 5 going into the 2009 season. It was the lowest preseason ranking for the remainder of Saban's tenure.
Alabama Crimson Tide 2026 Challenge
The other SEC football teams ranked by Schlabach are: Texas (No. 2), Georgia (No. 4), Ole Miss (No. 9), Texas A&M (No. 10), Oklahoma (No. 12), LSU (No. 15), and Tennessee (No. 24). The Crimson Tide will have a 4-week challenge that will begin on Oct. 10 and finish on Nov. 7, and include games against Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and LSU. The Tennessee and LSU games are on the road. Wherever the Crimson Tide is ranked on Oct. 9, there will be ample opportunity to establish a solid Playoff position.
Considerable preseason disrespect can fuel the Alabama roster. It will certainly inflame Alabama football fans. For Kalen DeBoer, at the very least, the Crimson Tide must not lose ground on the progress made last season. Another win in a playoff game would likely get him to a fourth Alabama season, as long as the Crimson Tide does not incur embarrassing losses as it did against Georgia in the SEC Championship Game and against Indiana in the playoff quarterfinal.
Note: Rankings history provided by Sports Reference