A lot of the chatter around Alabama this offseason has pushed the Tide down the SEC pecking order. Some voices have them sitting as low as sixth or seventh in the league, and Bleacher Report even had them eighth. The noise is loud, but the betting market is telling a different story.
At FanDuel, Alabama is +900 to win the SEC, which puts the Tide tied with LSU for the fourth-best odds in the conference. Only Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma are listed ahead of them. Georgia remains the favorite at +270, even with Texas drawing most of the attention this offseason.
Oklahoma’s spot ahead of Alabama is a little tough to square. The two teams were similar last season in a lot of ways, especially on defense and in their run games, but Alabama had the better passing attack. The Tide also beat Oklahoma and still ended up with the burden of facing the Indiana buzzsaw.
LSU shares Alabama’s odds and brings plenty of volatility of its own. The Tigers have a new coach and a revamped, expensive transfer portal roster, which makes them one of the most interesting teams in the country. They could be elite, or the whole thing could go sideways fast.
Just behind that group are Ole Miss and Texas A&M. The Rebels finished last season strong after Pete Golding took over, and they look like a legitimate dark horse with a veteran roster and quarterback back in place. The question is whether that late push was just a temporary jolt or something that can carry over now that Golding is the full-time coach.
Texas A&M is a tougher sell. The Aggies got through last season on a strangely manageable schedule, and there are real doubts about whether the passing game is good enough to carry them into the title race.
Tennessee and Florida sit in the middle of the conference, while the odds fall off sharply after that. Missouri, Auburn, and South Carolina are all way back at +3500 and +4000, and none of them looks like a realistic threat to the top of the SEC.
If the goal is simply to avoid burning money, Georgia is the cleanest pick. Kirby Smart has earned that kind of trust, and no one else in the league is in that class. Texas might offer a slightly better payout, but not enough to make it worth passing on Georgia.
Even so, Alabama and Ole Miss feel like the two most underpriced teams in the mix. If Keelon Russell delivers for Alabama, or if Ole Miss keeps rolling under Golding as a full-time coach, both teams have a path to climbing right into the SEC race.
In Other News...
Alabamas Defensive Rotation Is Starting To Reveal A Few Early Clues
Alabamas second scrimmage offered another useful look at how the defense is taking shape before the Sept. 5 opener against East Carolina, and the early rotation is beginning to tell a story. The projected depth chart still leaves room for movement, but it gives a clearer sense of how the staff may line up its starters and backups across the front seven and the secondary as camp winds down.
From Bandit and nose tackle to Wolf linebacker, Husky and the safety spots, the list reflects a defense that is already sorting out its roles rather than treating every job as up for grabs. There is still time for the picture to change, and the final call on several positions will be worth watching, but Alabama at least has a working outline as it heads toward game week. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Is Making A Strong Early Push For Rising 4-Star Receiver
Maximus Curry is already drawing national attention, and the 2028 four-star wide receiver from Battle Ground Academy in Tennessee has the offer sheet to match. With more than 25 Division I offers on the table, Curry has begun narrowing his early focus to a few programs that have separated themselves, including Tennessee, Alabama and Miami, as he weighs where the right long-term fit might be.
For Alabama, the early push has centered on relationship-building. Curry has pointed to the coaching staffs communication and the way they have connected with his head coach as meaningful parts of the process, and the Tide are planning to get him on campus this fall. For a prospect this young, those ties can matter as much as anything else, and Alabama appears intent on staying in the conversation as his recruitment unfolds. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama WR Noah Rogers Just Changed An Early Season Concern
Noah Rogers was back on the practice field for Alabama this week, a welcome development after the transfer wide receiver went down with a knee injury during the A-Day scrimmage. The setback had raised concerns that he would miss part of the 2026 season, and Kalen DeBoer had already signaled that Rogers was making progress in rehab but likely would not be ready for the opening stretch.
His return gives the Tide a little more optimism at a position group that has been watching his recovery closely. It does not lock in a Week 1 availability timeline, but it does suggest Rogers is moving in the right direction at a time when Alabama would rather be building depth than managing another early-season uncertainty. [Read more 🡒]