College football season is back, and Alabama opens the 2026 campaign with a noon kickoff against East Carolina in Bryant-Denny Stadium.
After a strange year that ended with a playoff run, a first-round win and then a Rose Bowl dud, the Crimson Tide head into this season with a fresh quarterback, a rebuilt offensive line and a defense that brings back plenty of experience. Here’s how the schedule shakes out.
The first two weeks should give Alabama a clean runway. Keelon Russell’s debut at quarterback is the main attraction against East Carolina on Sept. 5, and the buzz around him has only grown after he beat out Austin Mack for the job.
East Carolina is no walkover, but it doesn’t compare to the kind of opening test Ty Simpson faced last year at Florida State. A week later, Alabama travels to Kentucky, where Will Stein’s arrival has brought some life back to a program that had gone stale under Mark Stoops, but the Wildcats still look a step short of being ready for this kind of game.
The Tide’s September continues with a home date against Florida State on Sept. 19.
There’s some revenge flavor here, but not much else beyond that. Florida State still looks like a team searching for answers after a rough 34-17 win over New Mexico State in Week 0, and former Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels is described as a steady passer rather than a game-breaker.
Alabama also won’t have to deal with the same offseason prep the Seminoles had before last year’s upset. South Carolina comes next on Sept. 26, and that matchup has been awkward for Alabama lately.
The Gamecocks pushed the Tide hard in both meetings over the last two seasons, and LaNorris Sellers returns after a disappointing year that cooled off the Heisman talk he carried into last season.
October starts with a trip to Mississippi State on Oct. 3, and the Bulldogs enter the season on the wrong end of three straight losing years with little evidence a breakthrough is coming soon. Then comes the first major swing game of the year: Georgia visits Tuscaloosa on Oct.
- These teams saw plenty of each other last season, and Alabama got the better of the first meeting.
But this version of Georgia still has the kind of proven experience that can make a national title run, and this is the spot where Alabama takes its first loss.
The schedule doesn’t ease up. Alabama heads to Tennessee on Oct. 17 for a rivalry game with little recovery time in between.
The Tide have lost their last two trips to Knoxville, though the context around those games was different each time. Tennessee, meanwhile, still has some defensive issues to sort through.
Texas A&M comes to Tuscaloosa on Oct. 24, and the Aggies may arrive in better shape after a lighter setup than Alabama’s three straight weeks of bruising football. The pick still leans toward Texas A&M there.
After an open week, Alabama goes to LSU on Nov. 7.
Lane Kiffin’s first LSU team is one of the big preseason question marks, though by then there should be a clearer picture of what the Tigers are. Still, Kiffin is 0-5 against Alabama as a head coach, and that matters here.
The next stop is Vanderbilt on Nov. 14, the same place where Alabama’s 2024 season took a hit after the Tide had climbed to No. 1.
Diego Pavia owned that night, but the expectation here is that Alabama won’t repeat that kind of stumble.
The regular season wraps with Chattanooga on Nov. 21, which is the last Cupcake Week game ever after the SEC voted to replace that Thanksgiving appetizer with a week of FCS-heavy matchups. Then comes Auburn on Nov.
- The Tigers haven’t won in Bryant-Denny Stadium since 2010’s comeback and haven’t beaten Alabama at all since 2019.
Auburn may be trending up, but this isn’t the year those streaks end.
Put it all together, and Alabama lands at 10-2. The key reason is Russell, whose arm talent gives this team a higher ceiling than it looked like a few weeks ago, especially when paired with a veteran defense. The expectation was slipping toward 9-3, but the forecast now points to a second straight College Football Playoff trip.
In Other News...
Alabamas Toughness Debate Just Got More Uncomfortable For Tide Fans
An anonymous Big Ten running backs coach took aim at Alabamas style of play this week, framing the Tide as a team that can be pushed around and pointing back to last years loss to Indiana as evidence. For a program that sells physicality as part of its identity, any suggestion of softness tends to land loudly, and this one arrived at a time when Alabama is already trying to prove it can be more efficient and more consistent in the trenches.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb did not brush aside the concern, acknowledging the offense dealt with too many negative-yardage runs last season. He pointed to the need for better communication and cleaner execution in the running game, a reminder that the conversation around Alabamas toughness is not just external chatter but something the staff is clearly trying to address before the next season gets moving. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Got A Feel Good Visit Right Before The Season Opener
Right before Alabama kicked off its season, the program got a little extra star power on campus. WWE standout Oba Femi, better known to Crimson Tide followers as former track athlete Isaac Odugbesan, stopped by the universitys athletic facilities and spent time with the football team and coach Kalen DeBoer, turning the visit into one of those feel-good moments that reminds everyone how wide Alabamas athletic reach really is.
Femi also took in the upgrades around the facilities, and he was complimentary about the work ethic he saw from the football side. The visit carried an added flourish when he presented DeBoer with a custom championship belt, a fitting gesture from someone who has climbed fast in WWE and still has a connection to the school that helped shape his athletic path. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama WR Ryan Coleman-Williams Is Taking A Risk He Can't Afford
Ryan Coleman-Williams heads into a pivotal junior season for Alabama with his future very much on the line after a sophomore year that left questions about his reliability as a receiver. The Crimson Tide wideout has spent the offseason trying to sharpen the details that can make or break a draft case, and teammates have noticed the urgency behind his work. Zabien Brown has pointed to Coleman-Williams competitiveness and effort in practice as signs that he is attacking the challenge head-on.
Coleman-Williams has also chosen to lean into a familiar approach as he tries to clean up the part of his game that drew the most scrutiny. For a player who needs a strong year to reframe the conversation around him, every rep will matter, and Alabama will be watching closely to see whether the adjustment helps him turn a promising skill set into dependable production. [Read more 🡒]