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College Football Analysts Slot Alabama in Middle of Early Rankings

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nicholas Simon | Last updated Jan 20, 2025 7:13 PM ET

The 2024-25 College Football Playoff will officially wrap up tonight with Notre Dame facing Ohio State in the national championship game. The Alabama Crimson Tide missed the cut for this year's playoff and in the eyes of the national media, they'll have some work to do to re-establish themselves at the top of the sport next season.

On3 Sports' Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman released their way-too-early top 25 rankings for the 2025 season on Monday and Alabama checked in at No. 14 in the list. SEC rival Texas checked in at No. 1 with Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, and Notre Dame rounding out the top five.

No. 14 is an interesting early projection for Alabama considering that it has perennially been tabbed as a top five team in these types of rankings over the last several years. The program is coming off the first season of the Kalen DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa and there were certainly growing pains.

The Tide finished with a 9-4 record, marking their first non-double digit win campaign since Nick Saban's inaugural season in 2007. Their defining loss came at the hands of Vanderbilt on October 5 and setbacks against Tennessee and Oklahoma later in the fall ultimately kept them out of the expanded playoff field.

While Alabama should field one of the more talented rosters in the entire country in 2025, there are understandable questions keeping the On3 analysts from automatically throwing the Crimson Tide into the top 10.

The biggest question mark is at quarterback, where DeBoer will have to replace veteran Jalen Milroe next season. Returnees Ty Simpson and Austin Mack will battle for the starting role, as well as incoming five-star freshman Keelon Russell. Whoever wins the job will have some firepower to work with at receiver, including freshman All-American Ryan Williams and Miami transfer Isaiah Horton.

What's interesting about Alabama's positioning in these rankings is the fact that it is ranked behind six of its peers in the SEC. Texas and Georgia are expected to once again be the top two teams in the league, but interestingly enough, the likes of South Carolina, Florida, and Tennessee all check in with higher rankings than the Tide. We'll have to wait until late August to see if DeBoer can return Alabama to the very top of the league hierarchy.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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