After two weeks, college football’s loudest storylines have mostly gone to the teams that made the biggest early splashes. LSU’s 51-10 rout of Clemson in Week 1 and Texas’ 24-23 comeback over No. 1 Ohio State last week grabbed the headlines, and both results figure to matter when the College Football Playoff picture starts tightening up.
But not every team gets the spotlight right away. Brian Kelly thinks Alabama is one of the programs still being underestimated.
The former head coach and CBS college football analyst pointed to the Crimson Tide’s win over Kentucky as a clear sign of what this team is built on.
"They played great in the second half," Kelly said. "The physicality wore out in that game, although Kentucky has some energy and I certainly think Will Stein's going to do a great job there. Alabama kind of showed me something with their physicality on both sides of the ball."
That’s not usually the kind of label attached to a team that opened the year ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP poll. Even so, Alabama still has the feel of a team whose real identity hasn’t fully settled into the national conversation.
There are still real questions on offense. Beyond quarterback, the unit came into the season with uncertainty, especially after an unusually unproductive ground game in 2025 and a wide receiver room that didn’t have many proven answers outside Ryan Coleman-Williams.
The defense, though, has looked every bit the part through the first two weeks. Alabama has brought steady pressure, held opponents to an average of 185 yards per game and found the end zone twice on defense in wins over East Carolina and Kentucky.
The Kentucky game also showed why the Tide may not be getting quite enough attention yet. Even with a 45-17 final, Alabama didn’t take control until late in the third quarter. The running game was stalled early, and Keelon Russell’s two first-half interceptions helped put Alabama in holes before the Tide finally settled in.
Alabama isn’t the only high-profile team still waiting for the broader college football conversation to catch up. Notre Dame, Indiana and Miami have all started hot, but because they haven’t yet faced strong competition, they’ve been mentioned a bit less than their records might suggest.
BYU fits that same under-the-radar category, though for a different reason. While much of the Big 12 preseason talk centered on Texas Tech and its chances to stay at the top of the league, BYU quietly built a strong roster in the offseason. The Cougars then backed that up with a win over Arizona last week, a result with major consequences in the Big 12 championship race.
In Other News...
Alabama Suddenly Has A Backfield Problem Kalen DeBoer Didn't Need
Alabamas backfield situation has taken an early turn the program did not need, with sophomore running back AK Dear still trying to work his way back from a high-ankle sprain suffered in fall camp. Dear has already missed the first two games of the season, and his status for the upcoming matchup with Florida State remains uncertain as he continues to be listed as questionable.
Dear has been out there in warm-ups, which at least suggests progress, but the Tide still appear to be approaching game day with no certainty about whether hell be available. In the meantime, Daniel Hill, EJ Crowell and Traeshawn Brown have helped absorb the workload, giving Alabama some stability in the backfield while it waits to see if Dear can finally return. [Read more 🡒]
Keelon Russell Gets The Alabama Opportunity Fans Have Been Waiting For
Florida States defense has already shown cracks early this season, giving up a healthy amount of passing production in its first two games as Tony White settles back in with a 3-3-5 stack built around pressure and frequent blitzing. Even with names like Mandrell Desir, Darryll Desir, Ryan Kennedy and Chris Jones in the mix, and with Earl Little Jr. no longer in the picture, the Seminoles have not yet looked like a unit that can live comfortably in man-to-man situations for long stretches.
That is the kind of setup Alabama fans have been eyeing, because it could give Keelon Russell the sort of opening that makes a young quarterback look ready well before anyone expected. The Tide have been waiting for a chance to see how he handles a defense willing to come after him, and this matchup now feels like one of those early-season moments that can either accelerate a quarterbacks rise or expose how much work is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Nick Saban Just Entered A Fight Alabama Fans Can't Ignore
Nick Saban has stayed in the middle of the college sports conversation long after stepping away from the sideline, and now he is backing a bipartisan push in Washington aimed at cleaning up the chaos around NIL and the transfer portal. The Protect College Sports Act is designed to address some of the biggest headaches in the modern game, and Sabans support gives the bill immediate credibility in the kind of debate that now reaches far beyond the SEC.
Tommy Tuberville is pushing a different route with the narrower Student Athlete Act, arguing against too much government involvement, while several Black Democratic senators and the NAACP have raised concerns about the broader proposal. Their objections center on NCAA power and whether the right protections would actually be in place for athletes, leaving Alabama fans with a familiar kind of football fight that has drifted well beyond the field and into the politics of how college sports should be run. [Read more 🡒]