Will college football have a massive changing of the guard in the 2026 season? The college football world is volatile, but not that volatile. Last season's Indiana National Championship portended a new order in which college football blue bloods, like Alabama Football and Ohio State, were no longer behemoths.
Will there be another surprise national champion in the 2026 season? Or will a traditional 'big dog' again eat? One source has projected the direction last season's Playoff teams are heading. Of the twelve, only three were defined as upward trending. Alabama Football was not one of the three.
Downgrading the Alabama Crimson Tide is coming close to a national pastime, fed by 'experts' and voraciously consumed by even casual sports fans. Alabama has done much to fuel the disdain, and little to counter it.
Writing for The Athletic, Antonio Morales is a source for the trend direction of last season's Playoff teams. The three teams that Morales says are trending up are Oregon, Georgia, and Oklahoma. Writing about the Bulldogs, Morales reminds us that: "Georgia fans are hungry for more after going three seasons without a Playoff win." Morales believes Gunner Stockton's talent and experience, along with the many young players who gained experience last season, will push Georgia to "several" post-season wins.
Morales' decision to label Oklahoma as trending up depends on a healthy John Mateer, being much better than last season, when he was troubled by a thumb injury.
An Unfavorable Opinion of Alabama Football
Morales wrote: "Alabama has essentially been a borderline Playoff team the past two years, and this offseason it lost its starting QB, top rusher, three of its top five pass catchers, four starting offensive linemen and several contributors along the defensive front." Morales does not give the 2026 roster much credit for filling those holes.
Morales added, "Could the Crimson Tide make the Playoff? Sure. Kalen DeBoer is a good coach, and there’s still plenty of talent on the roster. But this team will be young and inexperienced." His opinion of a down-trending Alabama Crimson Tide must mean he does not expect the 2026 team to make the Playoff field.
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