Alabama’s playoff path looks a lot different after the win in Baton Rouge.
Following the Crimson Tide’s 31-13 victory over LSU, ESPN’s latest College Football Playoff projections both moved Alabama up in the bracket entering Week 11 - and one of them has the Tide in position to make a serious run.
Mark Schlabach now projects Alabama as the No. 8 seed. In that scenario, the Crimson Tide would host Indiana in a first-round playoff game at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Dec. 18 or 19. Indiana is 8-1 and checked in at No. 6 in the committee’s rankings last week.
Kyle Bonagura is even higher on Alabama. He has the Tide slotted at No. 4, which would give them a first-round bye before a quarterfinal matchup with Texas at the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 30.
Bonagura’s bracket doesn’t stop there. He sees Alabama getting past Texas and moving on to the CFP semifinals for a rematch with Georgia in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 14 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Both analysts have Georgia as the No. 1 seed in their latest outlooks, with Utah at No. 2. Bonagura projects Indiana at No. 3, while Schlabach has Notre Dame in that spot after the Fighting Irish’s 31-24 win over Miami in Week 10.
Alabama entered the committee rankings at No. 5 and climbed two spots to No. 7 in this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 after beating LSU.
The Tide now turn to Vanderbilt, with a road trip to Nashville up next. Alabama faces the Commodores at FirstBank Stadium on Saturday, with kickoff set for 11:45 a.m. CT on SEC Network.
After that, Alabama’s regular-season slate closes with Chattanooga and the Iron Bowl against Auburn at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Alabama football schedule 2026
All times Central.
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 overall, 5-2 SEC.
In Other News...
Alabama Is Using Last Year's Vanderbilt Humbling For A Reason
Last years trip to Nashville still lingers around Alabamas building, even if the Crimson Tide are not dwelling on it the same way outside observers might. The 2024 loss to Vanderbilt was a jolt, ending a long run of dominance in the series and becoming part of the backdrop to Alabama missing the College Football Playoff that season. As the Tide prepare to face the Commodores again, Kalen DeBoer and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack have pointed back to that game as a reminder of how quickly a season can shift when urgency slips.
The message from the staff is less about revenge than about standards. Some players have treated the loss as a distant memory rather than a central talking point, but Alabamas coaches have leaned on it to reinforce the need for relentlessness from snap to snap. For a program that expects to control games, the Vanderbilt result remains a useful lesson in what happens when that edge disappears, and why the Tide are making sure it does not happen again. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Recruiting Debate May Be Bigger Than This Year's Class
Andrew Ivins early look at Alabamas 2027 recruiting class left him uneasy, but the 247Sports director of scouting has since come around on the bigger picture. The class is sitting at No. 32, which is Alabamas lowest ranking in the 247Sports era, but Ivins now sees a path that could make sense in todays college football landscape if the Tide continue to lean into a larger high school haul and use the transfer market to fill in the gaps.
Greg Byrne has already signaled that Alabama wants to put more emphasis on high school recruiting in 2028, which only adds another layer to the debate. For a program that has long been measured by elite class rankings, the question is no longer just how this class stacks up on paper, but whether Alabamas broader roster-building approach can keep pace with the sports shifting rules and expectations. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Has A Real Stake In The SECs 2027 Scheduling Scramble
The College Football Playoffs new five-year agreement with ESPN is already forcing a major reset on how teams build future schedules, and Alabama has a real stake in how the SEC responds. Starting next season, Power Five programs will need to line up at least 10 Power Five opponents to stay eligible for the expanded 24-team field beginning in 2027, which has sent schools across the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC scrambling to adjust their calendars.
For Alabama, the ripple effect matters because scheduling has long been part of the programs playoff rsum and national-brand calculus. Some schools are already canceling previously booked games and hunting for replacements, while Oregon State and Washington State have a waiver that lets them count as Power Five teams despite the upheaval around their conference status. The SECs next move will shape not just who the Crimson Tide plays, but how much room there is to maneuver in a new playoff era. [Read more 🡒]