Rece Davis says Alabama might win the National Championship if this happens

Expectations are soaring for Alabama heading into year two of the Kalen DeBoer era. If DeBoer was hoping the Crimson Tide might fly slightly under the radar this season, he'll be disappointed to find out just how many folks are believers in the kind of team he has at his disposal for the 2025 season.

College GameDay host, and Alabama alumus, Rece Davis can be counted as one of the believers.

In a clip posted to X on Wednesday, Davis is speaking with ESPN colleague Pete Thamel about the Alabama/Florida State season opener in six weeks. Davis gave his opinion that Florida State is going to be much improved this season from the 2-10 team we saw a year ago.

But Davis also believes that Alabama is going to be really, really good. In fact, Davis believes Alabama might just win the National Championship, if they can find good quarterback play.

It will all likely come down to QB play for Alabama in 2025

Davis isn't exactly going out on a limb. Alabama has one of the most talented rosters in the country, but there's enough doubt at the QB position to give some pause in considering the Crimson Tide legitimate contenders for the National Championship.

The expectation is that Ty Simpson will start, but he might have a short leash. Both Austin Mack and Keelon Russell are talented guys waiting in the wings. DeBoer and OC Ryan Grubb have confidence in being able to win with any of the three. Simpson is the most experienced and likely gives Alabama the highest floor. But it is fair to question whether Mack or Russell might increase the team's ceiling.

Simpson - or whoever starts at QB in 2025 - doesn't have to be great. They do need to be good, however. They have to run the offense effectively. As talented as Jalen Milroe was, it's no secret that the playbook was more limited because of some of the things he wasn't great at. This year, the offense should be more dynamic, more wide open. It should look more like the Washington offense in 2023 that got all the way to the National Championship Game, though it's not likely any QB on the roster will be as good this year as Michael Penix Jr. was then.

But top to bottom, this Alabama team has a better roster than that Washington team did, meaning there's more margin for error with QB play.

Davis went on to say that if Alabama doesn't get good QB play, that he expects this season to be similar to last, with the Crimson Tide losing three or four games. That would spell trouble for DeBoer, who isn't currently on the hot seat, but would feel quite a bit of discomfort heading into 2026 with a second consecutive missed playoff.