Alabama’s 31-13 win at LSU didn’t just look like a statement on the field. It also pushed the Crimson Tide into a new round of national playoff buzz.
USA TODAY Sports’ latest playoff and bowl projections have Kalen DeBoer’s team making a serious run all the way to the national championship game on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. In analyst Erick Smith’s projection, Alabama would meet a familiar SEC opponent there: Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs.
The Tide’s latest surge comes on the heels of a strong finish in Baton Rouge. Alabama used three Keelon Russell touchdown passes in four drives to erase a brief 13-10 deficit late in the third quarter against LSU at Tiger Stadium in Week 10.
Then the defense slammed the door. After allowing 10 points in the third quarter, Kane Wommack’s unit held LSU’s final four possessions to a turnover on downs, a punt, another turnover on downs and another turnover on downs.
That performance helped Alabama climb in the polls as well. The Crimson Tide opened at No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings on Nov. 3, then moved up two spots to No. 7 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25.
The updated CFP rankings are set to be released Tuesday at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN.
In Smith’s playoff bracket, Alabama would land the No. 6 seed and open at home against Iowa in a first-round game on Dec. 18 or 19 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. From there, the projected road gets tougher. Alabama would advance to the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 and beat UCLA, which Smith projects as the Big Ten champion and the No. 3 overall seed.
The next stop would be the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 15, where Alabama would face projected No. 2 seed Utah in the semifinals. A win there would send the Tide back to Las Vegas for a title-game rematch with Georgia.
Georgia, meanwhile, sits at No. 1 in Smith’s Week 11 projections and leads the SEC standings at 8-1 overall and 6-1 in league play. The Bulldogs are coming off a 42-7 rout of Ole Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Smith’s bracket has Georgia taking a different route to the final, with the Bulldogs beating Texas in the Peach Bowl and then knocking off Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl.
Alabama is back in action in Week 11 against Vanderbilt at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville. Kickoff is set for 11:45 a.m. CT, and the game will air on SEC Network.
Alabama football schedule 2026
Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates (W, 48-10)
Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats (W, 45-17)
Sept. 19: vs.
Florida State Seminoles (W, 50-36)
Sept. 26: vs.
South Carolina Gamecocks (W, 49-18)
Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs (W, 56-23)
Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs (L, 20-17)
Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers (L, 26-10)
Oct. 24: vs.
Texas A&M Aggies (W, 31-20)
Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers (W, 31-13)
Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, 11:45 a.m., SEC Network
Nov. 21: vs.
Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
Nov. 28: vs.
Auburn Tigers, TBA
Record: 7-2, 5-2 SEC.
In Other News...
Alabama May Be Giving Austin Mack A Huge Chance At Vanderbilt
Keelon Russells ankle injury has opened the door for Austin Mack, and Alabama appears willing to let the former five-star recruit take some meaningful snaps against Vanderbilt. With Russell banged up, head coach Kalen DeBoer said Mack could see the field in an effort to protect the starter for the games ahead, giving the Crimson Tide a chance to see what they have in a quarterback who has spent most of his time waiting behind the scenes.
For Mack, the timing matters. He has had limited playing time since arriving in Tuscaloosa, but this could be the kind of opportunity that changes the conversation around his future, especially with a possible transfer in the background. Vanderbilt may not be the biggest stage on Alabamas schedule, but it could be a valuable one for a quarterback still trying to show he can handle real game action. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Defensive Front Just Got A Boost Fans Have Been Waiting For
Devan Thompkins gave Alabama a timely jolt in the win at LSU, finishing with two sacks and snapping a drought that had stretched back to Week 3. It was the kind of interior push the Crimson Tide have been trying to rediscover, and it came in a game where the defense as a whole finally looked disruptive again, piling up four sacks for its best total since Week 5.
Terrance Greens return from injury helped make that happen. He made his presence felt with a sack of his own and steady work against the run, giving Alabamas defensive front a more complete look and drawing praise from the coaching staff for the way he changed the lines energy. For a unit that has been searching for consistency up front, Greens impact may have been just as important as the numbers beside Thompkins name. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Just Forced A Playoff Ranking Debate Fans Will Obsess Over
Alabamas win over LSU has done more than pad the rsum in November. It has reopened the kind of playoff-rankings debate that gets college football fans arguing all week, with analysts split on where the Crimson Tide should land when the next set of rankings comes out. Some see the victory as the kind of statement that can push Alabama as high as No. 3 or No. 4, while others think the committee could still leave the Tide closer to the middle of the top 10.
The messier part is what it means for Tennessee, because the comparison between the two teams is now impossible to ignore. Head-to-head results and strength of schedule both have a way of complicating the conversation, and Alabamas latest win only sharpened the question of how much weight the committee will give each factor. However it shakes out, this is the sort of ranking fight that could linger well beyond Tuesday night. [Read more 🡒]