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...
Miami Suddenly Has A 5-Star Recruiting Fight It Can't Afford To Lose
A recruitment that once looked headed Miamis way has suddenly become a lot more complicated. Five-star wide receiver Brysen Wright, who had been widely expected to land with the Hurricanes, is now taking a harder look at Texas, Ohio State and Florida, with his recent trip to Austin helping the Longhorns make a stronger impression.
Miami is still pushing hard for Wright, and the Hurricanes have even had one of their own voices working on the case in public, with Malachi Toney urging him to join the program. For a team trying to keep elite South Florida talent from drifting elsewhere, this is exactly the kind of late tug-of-war that can reshape a class, and Miami now has to finish stronger than it started. [Read more 🡒]
Miami Faces A Tough Road Test With Its Secondary Under Pressure
The No. 5 Hurricanes head into their next test with a little more intrigue than a typical early-season road trip. Miami is 2-0 and will visit Wake Forest, which is also unbeaten, in a matchup that has already drawn attention inside the program because of the way the Demon Deacons play and the way their quarterback, Gio Lopez, has looked so far. Mario Cristobal and several Miami players have pointed to Wake Forests physical style as part of the challenge, and it is the kind of game that can demand patience, discipline and a clean night in the secondary.
That secondary is where the pressure is most obvious. Miami will be missing two starting cornerbacks because of injuries, which shifts even more responsibility onto a defense trying to hold up in a tough road environment. For the Hurricanes, the question is less about reputation than readiness, with both sides entering the game unbeaten and the margin for error likely to be thin from the opening series. [Read more 🡒]
Mario Cristobal Just Framed What Miami Built In The FAMU Win
Mario Cristobal spent the aftermath of Miamis win over FAMU talking less about style points and more about the habits the Hurricanes are trying to build. He pointed to the work, energy and execution that showed up in the game, along with a few individual performances that stood out, including JJ Dunnigan, Vance Spafford, Javian Mallory, Armondo Blount, Luke Nickel and Dereon Coleman. For a team still in the process of putting its identity together, those kinds of nights matter because they give the staff a clearer read on where the younger players are and how the group is coming together.
Cristobal also made it clear that the value of a game like this goes beyond the final result, especially when it comes to giving younger players real snaps and keeping the standard where Miami wants it. The Hurricanes came away with a better sense of their depth and camaraderie, but the bigger question is how much of that progress carries forward once the competition stiffens. [Read more 🡒]