Alabama’s bye week arrives with November looming and almost no margin left for error.
At 6-2 with four games to play, the Crimson Tide’s path to the College Football Playoff remains shaky, with ESPN giving Alabama a 63% chance to get in. The talent is obvious when the offense and defense are both rolling, but consistency, execution and health have kept the Tide from looking fully complete.
That matters now more than ever. Alabama opens November with a road trip to LSU in Death Valley on Nov. 7, a matchup that already feels like a must-handle game for both teams. After that comes Vanderbilt in Nashville, then Chattanooga at home on Senior Day, before the season closes with Auburn in the Iron Bowl.
The good news for Kalen DeBoer’s team is that this week off gives key players time to reset before the stretch run. Some need to get healthy.
Others need to turn flashes into something steadier. And for Alabama to make the kind of late push it wants, a handful of names have to play bigger than they have so far.
Here are four players whose production could swing the Tide’s November.
Ryan Coleman-Williams
Before the concussion and the knee procedure cut into his season, Ryan Coleman-Williams had been one of the most dangerous pieces in Alabama’s passing game. In six games, the captain had 23 catches for 415 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 18.0 yards per reception.
His absence over the last two games has been felt, and DeBoer said the receiver is trending in the right direction. " I'm hopeful that he'll be ready for the LSU game." DeBoer also said he hoped Coleman-Williams could "give us quite a bit" as he works back during the bye week.
Just having him back would change how defenses approach Alabama. It would force more attention to the vertical game and could open space elsewhere for Keelon Russell and the offense. Coleman-Williams also has his own future in play, with a strong finish potentially affecting his 2027 NFL Draft decision.
Yhonzae Pierre
Pierre entered the season with plenty of buzz after a breakout 2025 campaign that included eight sacks, 52 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, nine quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles and one pass breakup.
This year, the production has been steadier than spectacular. Through eight games, he has 3.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, 26 tackles and one pick-six touchdown. Opponents have clearly taken notice, often giving him extra attention to keep him from wrecking games.
That’s understandable. It’s also why Alabama needs more from him. Pierre has the talent to look like a first-round pick, but the Tide need that ability to show up in sacks, tackles for loss and game-changing moments if they’re going to survive the final month.
EJ Crowell
Crowell has flashed the kind of burst that makes Alabama fans pay attention every time he touches the ball. The five-star freshman has 216 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 32 carries, good for 6.8 yards per attempt, and he’s added three catches for 18 yards.
The issue has been availability. Health has been a problem throughout his first season, and he missed Texas A&M.
DeBoer sounded optimistic about where things stood entering the bye week. "We'll see where he's at into the weekend and going into next week.
We're hopeful that he can get on the football field and practice, which we think, as the week goes on, will lead to where he can help us out," DeBoer told The Tuscaloosa News.
If Crowell can get back on the field and take on more work, Alabama could get the kind of downhill balance it has been chasing. His style brings a different edge to the run game, and that may be exactly what the offense needs down the stretch.
Dijon Lee
Lee has delivered big plays this season, but the inconsistency has been hard to ignore. He has two pick-sixes, a forced fumble, 26 tackles and several disruptive plays, yet the discipline hasn’t matched the splash. Through eight games, he has allowed 17 catches on 31 targets and has been flagged six times, including three pass interference penalties and three personal fouls.
The rest of Alabama’s defense has three interference flags and one personal foul.
That gap says plenty. Lee has shown what he can do, but November demands cleaner coverage and fewer mistakes.
LSU’s passing game gives Alabama’s secondary plenty to worry about, including 6-foot-6 tight end Trey'Dez Green. That makes Lee’s ability to stay composed and play sound football even more important.
How defensive coordinator Kane Wommack and defensive backs coach Mo Linguist handle those issues will be worth watching. Alabama needs Lee to be more than a volatile playmaker. It needs him to be reliable.
For DeBoer and his staff, this final month will tell the story. If Alabama is going to push through November and into the postseason picture, it likely starts with these four players delivering when the stakes get highest.
In Other News...
Former Alabama Assistant Just Addressed Those Power Four Rumors
Charles Huff has been a familiar name in coaching circles for a while, and his current success at Memphis has naturally put him on the radar as Power Four openings start to circulate. The former Alabama assistant spent time at Marshall and Southern Miss before landing the Tigers job, and his name has recently been floated in connection with Baylor, Maryland and NC State as those programs sort through their next steps.
Huff addressed the chatter in a press conference and made it clear he has not been contacted about any of those vacancies. He also pointed out what usually happens in coaching search season, noting that movement tends to come after the year is over, which keeps the focus on the stretch run for now even as the rumor mill keeps turning. [Read more 🡒]
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With Alabama heading into a critical matchup against LSU, the stakes around the final month of the regular season are suddenly hard to miss. The Crimson Tides College Football Playoff hopes could be shaped as much by the players who have been easiest to overlook as by the stars everyone already knows, and that has put a fresh spotlight on the supporting cast around the roster.
Among the names drawing attention are the cornerbacks lined up opposite Zabien Brown, pass rusher Yhonzae Pierre, running back Daniel Hill, offensive lineman Racin Delgatty and quarterback Keelon Russell. Their production, roles and health will matter in different ways as Alabama tries to keep its season on track, and the margin for error only gets smaller from here. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Heads Into LSU Week With One Encouraging Trend Under DeBoer
After eight straight games, Alabama finally gets a bye week to catch its breath, and the timing could not be much better with injuries piling up and a big LSU showdown looming on the other side. Team captain Ryan Coleman-Williams is trending toward playing in the next game, which gives the Tide at least a little optimism as Kalen DeBoer and his staff try to get a battered roster closer to full strength.
The encouraging part for Alabama is what has happened coming out of bye weeks under DeBoer. The Tide have won all four of those games and done so by comfortable margins, a useful trend to lean on as they head into a matchup that should carry real College Football Playoff weight. LSU, coached by Lane Kiffin, will bring plenty of attention and pressure with it, and Alabama's ability to reset this week could matter as much as anything else in what comes next. [Read more 🡒]