Alabama Weighs in on Importance of Initial College Football Playoff Ranking

Crimson Tide standouts Ty Simpson, Deontae Lawson, Tim Keenan III and Kadyn Proctor explain why the "Rankings don't mean anything" at this time.

8/20/25 MFB Practice Alabama Defensive Lineman Tim Keenan III (96) Photo by Kent Gidley / Photo by Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The College Football Playoff committee will unveil its initial top 25 rankings on Tuesday night.

This list gives an idea of where numerous teams need to improve in the final month of the regular season, but it also puts a bit of a target on the backs of programs that are high up in the rankings. Alabama is the latter, as the Crimson Tide currently ranks No. 4 in the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll.

After falling to Florida State in the season opener, head coach Kalen DeBoer and company have won their last seven games. This includes a four-game win streak against ranked opponents without any open dates—an SEC record. But despite the impressive resumé, Alabama isn't concerned with tonight's ranking.

"At the end of the day, if we don't play up to our standard in the next couple of games, none of it matters," Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson said on Tuesday. "We have to take one game at a time and go 1-0. Rankings don't mean anything. We had a tough stretch in the backend and it's a tougher stretch ahead."

"We say 'You're remembered for what you do in November.' Well, these games are how you're going to be remembered. How you play when people are tired, they're hurt, it's a long season. We've got four good teams ahead of us. We need to be ready to rock and roll, and understand that when we come to Alabama, we pull ourselves apart in November by being resilient and being ready to go beat anybody."

Fellow Alabama captains Deontae Lawson and Tim Keenan III are both redshirt seniors who have experienced the College Football Playoff twice. They agree with Simpson's take on the postseason at this stage of the regular season.

"It's not really on our radar," Lawson said. "We've just got to take it one week at a time and one day at a time. And we know if we handle business one week at a time, the results will show. Not too worried about that for sure."

"I'll watch it when the time comes, but for right now I've got to watch the film on LSU," Keenan said. "[Right now it's just about] really going 1-0. 1-0 every play. 1-0 every day. Making sure we control what's in front of us right now. Not looking too far ahead and not dwelling in the past, but handling what's in front of us at the moment."

Alabama left tackle Kadyn Proctor, who was a freshman starter in the 2023-24 College Football Playoff, also firmly believes that tonight's selection show doesn't mean much. This is due to the tough slate ahead.

"It does not really matter," Proctor said. "We've still got four games left, and if you lose your last four, it tanks all of that. We're not really worried about that. We're just focused on LSU and it'll all play out in the end.

"November football, that's our hardest time of the year, especially in the SEC. You get towards the stretch, we've played eight games, it's tough to do that but that's just what it is. You've got to have a team that comes in week in and week out and pushes through. I feel like we've been doing a really good job of that."

Read More:

feed