Alabama Football Announces 2028 Opening Opponent

The Crimson Tide will host Georgia State to open the 2028 season meaning either Ohio State, UT Martin or Oklahoma State will be dropped from the schedule.

Oct 5, 2013; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Jalston Fowler (45) celebrates his touchdown with running back Kenyan Drake (17) in the end zone against the Georgia State Panthers during the second quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium. | John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Alabama has added a new opponent to its 2028 schedule. The program announced Monday morning that the Crimson Tide will face Georgia State at home inside Bryant-Denny Stadium to open the 2028 season on Sept. 2, 2028.

Circle it. ‘28 home opener 🏈 pic.twitter.com/Zbg7L0HSNY

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) February 23, 2026

The SEC will have already moved to a nine-game conference schedule by 2028, and Alabama was previously scheduled to face Ohio State, UT Martin and Oklahoma State that same season, so one of those three schools will have to be dropped from the slate. The Ohio State and UT Martin games are supposed to be at home and Oklahoma State away.

In 2028, Alabama has four SEC home games (Vanderbilt, LSU, Kentucky and Auburn) and five SEC road trips (Georgia, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M.) The dates and times for the 2028 schedule have not yet been announced.

Georgia State is out of the Sun Belt. They have only had a football team since 2010, and former Alabama head coach Billy Curry was the first coach. The Panthers have made six bowl games since 2015 and are 4-2 in those games, most recently winning the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in 2023. Dell McGee has been the head coach since 2024.

Alabama and Georgia State have met two previous times in 2010 and 2013 with the Crimson Tide winning easily both times. The Tide beat the Panthers 63-7 in 2010 with Julio Jones catching two touchdown passes. In 2013, AJ McCarron and Blake Sims combined to go 29 for 24 with five total passing touchdowns.

The Crimson Tide will open the 2026 season, Kalen DeBoer's third at Alabama, against East Carolina on Sept. 5. ECU was a late addition to the schedule after dropping a home-and-home series with West Virginia.

Alabama's currently scheduled future non-conference opponents

2026- East Carolina, Florida State, Chattanooga
2027- Marshall, at Ohio State
2028- Georgia State, Ohio State, UT Martin, at Oklahoma State (one must be dropped)
2029- at Notre Dame, Oklahoma State
2030- at Georgia Tech, Notre Dame
2031- Georgia Tech, at Boston College
2032- Arizona, USF, at Minnesota
2033- at Arizona, Minnesota
2034- at Virginia Tech, Boston College
2035- Virginia Tech

*All of these games are subject to change or cancellation as schools figure out what is best for them as the College Football Playoff format continues to change and schedules continue to evolve around the country.