Where Alabama Football Ranks in Sports Illustrated's Preseason Top 25

Alabama is just over three weeks away from opening the 2026 season at home against East Carolina.

The Crimson Tide finished its second year under head coach Kalen DeBoer 11-4, with the final loss coming in the College Football Playoff against Indiana at the Rose Bowl. UA was the No. 9 team entering that game and at that same spot in the final AP Top 25 following the Hoosiers' National Championship victory over Miami. But now we move into Year 2 of the DeBoer era.

On Jan. 19, one day after the season concluded, Sports Illustrated placed Alabama as the No. 15 team in its way-too-early rankings. SI also put the Crimson Tide at No. 15 following the conclusion of spring practice, and on Wednesday, Alabama remained at No. 15 in Sports Illustrated's preseason list.

SI's Preseason Top 25:

Notre Dame (No. 1 after spring)
Oregon (No. 2 after spring)
Georgia (No. 5 after spring)
Indiana (No. 7 after spring)
Ohio State (No. 3 after spring)
Miami (No. 4 after spring)
Texas (No. 6 after spring)
LSU (No. 8 after spring)
Ole Miss (No. 16 after spring)
USC (No. 14 after spring)
Texas A&M (No. 12 after spring)
Texas Tech (No. 13 after spring)
BYU (No. 11 after spring)
Oklahoma (No. 10 after spring)
Alabama (No. 15 after spring)
Michigan (No. 9 after spring)
SMU (No. 17 after spring)
Penn State (No. 18 after spring)
Missouri (No. 21 after spring)
Florida (No. 19 after spring)
Tennessee (No. 23 after spring)
Boise State (No. 22 after spring)
Utah (No. 24 after spring)
Iowa (Unranked after spring)

Sports Illustrated's Tim Capurso also included a bold prediction for each team in his top 25. For Alabama, he predicts the Crimson Tide start the season 5-0, but fizzle down the stretch to miss the College Football Playoff. He also added a couple of other predictions:

"Keelon Russell wins the starting QB job and hits the ground running, as the Crimson Tide feast on an easier schedule to begin the season undefeated," Capruso wrote. "All is sunshine and roses for Alabama. But underlying concerns—Russell’s inexperience, a reshuffled offensive line—come to a head in a difficult October stretch that includes games against Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU. Kalen DeBoer will miss the playoff for the second time in three seasons, conjuring up memories of Ray Perkins in Tuscaloosa."

Alabama's quarterback battle between senior Austin Mack and sophomore Keelon Russell has been among the top storylines in all of college football this offseason. Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb stressed in the spring that the competition is "pretty even," and he reassured that was the case on Monday. Additionally, DeBoer has previously said that a two-QB system is out of the question.

The Crimson Tide's offensive line is also a hot topic, as it was the driving force behind one of the worst run games in the FBS. As a result, Alabama fired offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic and replaced him with USC defensive analyst Adrian Klemm. The front five seems to have three starting spots locked up between left tackle Jackson Lloyd, center Racin Delgatty and right guard Michael Carroll, but there are competitions with numerous candidates for the left guard and right tackle jobs.

There's no doubt that Alabama has a tough stretch of contests in October against its SEC foes. All four games will be challenging, but having home-field against Georgia and Texas A&M should be an advantage. UA lost its last two road games at Tennessee, and although it won the last three overall matchups against LSU, the Tigers have rebranded under new head coach Lane Kiffin ahead of this year's game in Baton Rouge.

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