Though the 2025 college football season is more than 100 days away, 247Sports has already predicted the teams for bowl games and the CFB Playoff. Alabama football fans will love 247's Brad Crawford's recent prediction.
Alabama Crimson Tide fans remember too well that Kalen DeBoer's first try to get an Alabama team into the Playoffs was a failure. Last season, the Georgia Bulldogs, Texas Longhorns, and Tennessee Vols made the expanded Playoffs. Alabama lost its opportunity with a late-season, embarrassing loss to Oklahoma, and proved the rejection was justifiable by losing to Michigan.
Crawford predicts four SEC teams will make the 2025-26 Playoffs. Crawford projects Texas to be the highest-seeded SEC team at No. 2. Alabama is next at No. 7, followed by LSU at No. 9, and Georgia, with the last at-large bid at No. 11.
Based on that seeding, Alabama would host a first-round game against 10-seed Miami. Other first-round games would be Georgia at 6-seed Notre Dame, LSU at 8-seed Oregon, and 12-seed Navy at 5-seed Penn State. First-round byes would go to 1-seed Ohio State, 2-seed Texas, 3-seed Iowa State, and 4-seed Clemson.
Crawford has the Crimson Tide beating Miami and advancing to play Texas (the SEC Championship game winner) in the Sugar Bowl. It is not all good news for Crimson Tide fans. Alabama's Playoff run is predicted to end with a loss to the Longhorns.
Other SEC Football Bowl Games
- Missouri Tigers vs. Kansas Jayhawks in the Liberty Bowl
- Arkansas Razorbacks vs. UCF Knights in the Birmingham Bowl
- Ole Miss Rebels vs. Illinois Fighting Illini in the Music City Bowl
- Texas A&M Aggies vs. Baylor Bears in the Texas Bowl
- Auburn Tigers vs. Memphis Tigers in the Gasparilla Bowl
- Tennessee Vols vs. Florida State Seminoles in the Duke's Mayo Bowl
- Florida Gators vs. Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl
- Oklahoma Sooners vs. Louisville Cardinals in the Gator Bowl
- South Carolina Gamecocks vs. Indiana Hoosiers in the ReliaQuest Bowl
Based on Crawford's prediction, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, and Kentucky will fail to become bowl-eligible. Thirteen SEC teams competed in bowls last season. Including Playoff games, the SEC finished with an 8-7 record.