Nate Oats keeps building Alabama’s schedule like he’s trying to make November feel like March.
That’s the tradeoff with the Crimson Tide under Oats: the early months can get brutal, but the payoff has been real. In the 2024 season, Alabama dropped five games in November and December, and still finished with a run all the way to the NCAA Tournament Final Four. The four early losses came against eventual NCAA Tournament teams - No. 1 seed Purdue, No. 2 seed Arizona, No. 3 seed Creighton and No. 6 seed Clemson.
Oats has never hidden how he thinks about scheduling. He wants wins every night, sure, but he is clearly willing to absorb some damage early if it helps Alabama be better when the calendar turns. That approach is back on display for 2026-27, and once again it looks aggressive enough to make some people wonder whether bold has crossed into reckless.
So far, Alabama has 28 regular-season games on the books, not counting a preseason game against Sam Houston State. Oats is still expected to add one or two more, and the most sensible move would be to fill those spots with lesser opponents.
Even without the final pieces, the schedule already carries plenty of weight. Of the 28 currently listed games, 17 opponents played in last season’s NCAA Tournament, assuming Alabama faces Gonzaga in the Player’s Era Tournament. Nineteen of those 28 games come from those 17 teams.
There’s also a useful benchmark when looking ahead: teams in the Top 40 of the NCAA NET rankings in March are generally tournament teams. Using Bart Torvik’s current 2026-27 rankings as a guide, Alabama already has 15 games scheduled against NCAA Tournament-level opponents.
Iowa, ranked No. 41, sits just outside that line. Torvik currently has Alabama at No.
The non-conference slate is loaded with chances for Alabama to be tested before league play even starts. It opens Nov. 2 against Sam Houston State in Tuscaloosa, then brings Seton Hall and Kennesaw State to town later in November.
The Tide also head to Las Vegas for Baylor on Nov. 24 and then either Gonzaga or Kansas State on Nov. 26, with a TBD opponent waiting Nov. 27.
The rest of the non-conference schedule keeps the pressure on. Alabama plays Miami in Miami on Dec. 2 in the SEC vs.
ACC Challenge, meets St. John’s in Birmingham on Dec. 12, and takes on Iowa in Des Moines on Dec.
- Two more dates remain open, with Houston set for New York and USF scheduled for Tampa.
Under Oats, this is familiar territory. Alabama has already played tougher non-conference schedules before, and there’s nothing in this setup that suggests he’s done pushing the envelope. If another heavyweight becomes available for 2026, it would be no surprise to see him add that one too.
In Other News...
Alabama Fans Wont Enjoy Seeing This Former Tide QB Buzz
A familiar name is climbing the college football pecking order again, and it is one Alabama fans probably would rather not see near the top. Pro Football Focus analysts Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick released their preseason ranking of the top 50 players entering 2026, and former Tide quarterback Julian Sayin landed as the top quarterback and No. 4 overall. The list puts Ohio State star Jeremiah Smith at No. 1, with defenders Leonard Moore and Colin Simmons also ranked ahead of Sayin.
For Alabama, the buzz around Sayin is a reminder of how quickly his rise has accelerated since arriving in Columbus. He was the nations most efficient passer in 2025 and the only returning Heisman finalist for 2026, which makes him one of the defining names on the sports early watch lists. The bigger question now is how high his stock can go from here, especially with PFF already placing him in elite company before the season even begins. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Is Reaching A Moment Kalen DeBoer Can't Afford To Miss
Kalen DeBoer has already done enough in two seasons at Alabama to keep the conversation honest. He has guided the Crimson Tide to a 20-8 mark, reached the SEC Championship Game and got the program back into the College Football Playoff in his second year, which would count as real progress almost anywhere else in the sport.
At Alabama, though, progress is never the whole story. The Tide are still being measured against the standard Nick Saban built, and with the roster and culture now further removed from that era, the margin for patience keeps shrinking. DeBoer has put the program back in the national picture, but the next step is the one that matters most, and it is the one Alabama can least afford to keep waiting on. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Took Another Painful 2027 Recruiting Blow Up Front
The 2027 offensive line board took another hit in the latest round of recruiting movement, and the ripple effect is hard to miss for programs still trying to stockpile elite big men early. Ismael Camara, one of the most coveted interior linemen in the class, is off the board after narrowing his choice to Texas, SMU, LSU and Oregon, leaving several schools to regroup as the cycle starts to take shape.
Camaras profile has drawn plenty of attention because evaluators see him as one of the top interior offensive linemen in the country, with both 247Sports and Rivals drawing a comparison to former Alabama tackle Kadyn Proctor. For LSU, it is another reminder that the battle for premium line talent is already fierce, and the Tigers will have to keep pressing elsewhere if they want to land a centerpiece up front in this class. [Read more 🡒]