Where Alabama Was Picked in Preseason SEC Media Poll

The Crimson Tide has high expectations for a rebound season in Kalen DeBoer's second year as Alabama's head coach.

Jul 16, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; University of Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer talks to the media during the SEC Media Days at Omni Atlanta Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Every team in the SEC shared their goals and expectations this week at SEC Media Days in Atlanta for the upcoming season, and the media kept that in mind when predicting the conference's order of finish. Now that all of the ballots have been read, the Preseason SEC Media Poll placed Alabama as the No. 3 team in the conference with the third-most points (29) in the SEC Champion poll.

Alabama was also No. 3 in last year's drawing as it was the first year under DeBoer following the retirement of legendary head coach Nick Saban. From 2010-23, Saban's Crimson Tide was named the media's preseason SEC champion 11 times with the other three years receiving the second-most votes.

SEC Champion Poll

Rank, Team, Points in parentheses

1. Texas (96)
2. Georgia (44)
3. Alabama (29)
4. LSU (20)
5. South Carolina (5)
6. Oklahoma (3)
7. Vanderbilt (2)
8. Florida (2)
9. Tennessee (1)
10. Ole Miss (1)
11. Auburn (1)

SEC Predicted Order of Finish

Rank, Team, Points in parentheses

1. Texas (3,060)
2. Georgia (2,957)
3. Alabama (2,783)
4. LSU (2,668)
5. South Carolina (2,109)
6. Florida (1,986)
7. Ole Miss (1,979)
8. Texas A&M (1,892)
9. Tennessee (1,700)
10. Oklahoma (1,613)
11. Auburn (1,272)
12. Missouri (1,170)
13. Vanderbilt (936)
14. Arkansas (764)
15. Kentucky (512)
16. Mississippi State (343)

DeBoer and company finished 9-4 last season––Alabama's first time under 10 wins since 2007. But although the Tide didn't live up to The Standard by missing the 12-team College Football Playoff, DeBoer is confident in this year's team as it didn't lose a single scholarship player in the spring––a tremendous accomplishment in today's college football.

The Tide seems to be on the rise this offseason and it could splash into the fall. Additionally, Alabama was ranked No. 2 in the country in SP+ rankings on May 22. This is measured by returning production, latest recruiting and recent history.

The SP+ rankings included strength of schedule rankings, which put Alabama at No. 11. The SP+ rankings explained that the Crimson Tide has the best odds of any SEC team to go 10-2 or better.

In addition to the SP+ rankings, Alabama has been placed inside of the top-12 for variety of way-too-early rankings lists.