No. 13 Alabama heads into its first SEC test of the 2026 season on Saturday afternoon at Kentucky, and the matchup arrives far earlier than usual. Outside of 2020, when the Crimson Tide played only conference opponents in the regular season, Alabama’s last time meeting an SEC team two weeks into the year came against Texas A&M in 2013.
The setting in Lexington comes with plenty of change on the Kentucky side. After 13 years under Mark Stoops, the Wildcats turned the page and hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein, who is taking over as a head coach for the first time at age 36. Stein’s second game in charge is against Alabama, now in its third season with Kalen DeBoer at the helm.
Kentucky has also overhauled its roster in a big way, bringing in 29 transfer portal additions while nearly that many players left. Among the arrivals is offensive lineman Olaus Alinen, who spent the past three seasons at Alabama. More storylines are bound to surface, but for now, here’s the viewing guide for the Week 2 game.
Who: No. 13 Alabama (1-0, 0-0 SEC) at Kentucky (1-0, 0-0 SEC)
TV: ABC and Disney+ (Play-By-Play: Sean McDonough, Analyst: Greg McElroy, Sideline: Katie George)
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts, Sideline: Damion Square, Host: Roger Hoover)
The series has been overwhelmingly one-sided in Alabama’s favor. The Crimson Tide lead 39-2-1 all-time, with the first meeting coming on Nov. 17, 1917, and the most recent on Nov.
11, 2023. Alabama has won the last eight matchups, and Kentucky’s last victory in the series came in 1994, a 40-34 overtime win at home.
The most recent trip to Lexington was a comfortable one for the Tide. Alabama beat Kentucky 49-21 on Nov. 11, 2023, as Jalen Milroe threw for six touchdowns and helped clinch the then-SEC West title. Kobe Prentice led Alabama’s pass-catchers with four receptions for 74 yards and a touchdown, while Caleb Downs and Jihaad Campbell paced the defense with a combined 12 tackles.
Alabama opened Year 3 of the DeBoer era with a 48-10 home win over East Carolina on Sept. 5.
In a quarterback battle that stretched through the offseason, Keelon Russell won the job and delivered 249 passing yards on 17-of-29 passing, plus 86 rushing yards and a touchdown on 13 carries. He accounted for one of Alabama’s five rushing scores, with Daniel Hill scoring twice and EJ Crowell and Trae'shawn Brown adding one each.
Ryan Coleman-Williams dropped his first two targets before finishing with five catches for 130 yards, and Yhonzae Pierre added a pick-six while anchoring a defense that played just 41 snaps, gave up five first downs and allowed only two rushing yards.
Kentucky also rolled in its opener, taking down Youngstown State 45-13 on Sept. 5 in the first game of the Stein era. Kenny Minchey, a Notre Dame transfer, went 18 of 27 for 301 yards and four touchdowns.
Jason Patterson and CJ Baxter combined for 126 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries, while three Wildcats receivers finished with 11 catches for 183 yards and three scores. On defense, Kentucky had four players record seven tackles apiece.
In Other News...
Tua Tagovailoa Just Got The Atlanta Chance Alabama Fans Wanted
For Alabama fans who kept wondering whether Tua Tagovailoa might finally get a fresh NFL stage, the Falcons have given him one. Atlanta announced that Tagovailoa will open the 2026 season as its starting quarterback after an offseason trade from the Miami Dolphins, putting him in line to lead a team that spent the summer sorting out its quarterback picture with Michael Penix Jr.
The assignment comes with an immediate test, too. The Falcons are set to begin the season on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers, so Tagovailoa will get his first chance to settle into the job under pressure and in front of a national audience. For Alabama backers, it is the kind of early-season storyline that ties their former star to a new opportunity and a new set of expectations right away. [Read more 🡒]
Keelon Russells Debut Left Alabama With One Clear Concern
Keelon Russells first Alabama appearance offered enough to see why the staff is so intrigued, but it also showed why the postgame film will matter. Against East Carolina, the freshman quarterback had stretches where he tried to make plays down the line instead of taking what was available underneath, and the overall snapshot was of a debut with some promise mixed with some decisions Alabama will want cleaned up quickly.
The same game also gave the Tide a useful look at other parts of the offense, from the tight ends working as both receivers and run blockers to concerns around Coleman-Williams mechanics. On the other side of the ball, freshman defensive back Jireh Edwards was around the action on the sideline even though he did not play after an August injury, leaving one more item for Alabama to monitor as the opener is absorbed and the depth chart keeps taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
Cole Cubelic Saw One Encouraging Sign In Keelon Russells Debut
Week 1 of the 2026 college football season gave the SEC a clean opening weekend, and ESPN analyst Cole Cubelic spent much of it picking apart what he saw from each league team on social media. For Alabama, his attention naturally landed on Keelon Russells debut, which came in a conference that looked sharp overall and left plenty of room for early readjustments around the league.
Cubelic liked the way Russell handled the offense, noting the timing on his throws and the way he used his legs when it mattered. Even with that encouraging first impression, Alabama still has a bigger-picture checklist to work through, and Cubelic pointed to the need to do a better job managing the edges as the Tide move deeper into the season. [Read more 🡒]