Greg McElroy Predicts Alabama's College Football Playoff Fate

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Grant Bricker | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 4:50 PM ET

The Alabama Crimson Tide won the 2009 national title over the Texas Longhorns with the help of quarterback Greg McElroy under center.

The team also featured Heisman winner Mark Ingram II and Julio Jones. Alabama ultimately won the game 37-21 for the first national title of the Nick Saban era in Tuscaloosa.

Saban went on to win six national titles from 2007-2023 with the Crimson Tide. He won seven overall, after his one with the LSU Tigers back in 2003.

On Thursday, McElroy released his College Football Playoff predictions on a recent episode of "Always College Football."

He had his alma mater reach the semifinal, losing to the Clemson Tigers.

"I will take the Clemson Tigers to knock off the six-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide," McElroy said. "Clemson just has so many pieces back from a year ago. They have championship game experience. They have so much riding on this game, and Clemson, I think, in this scenario, with an elite quarterback, elite weapons at wide receiver. Just a few more known commodities than Alabama at this point."

McElroy was not the only one who predicted how the 2025 season would go for Alabama, with ESPN also weighing in. ESPN believed Alabama would also make the CFP, but lose in the quarterfinal round instead to the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Another former Nick Saban quarterback was in the news earlier. Julian Sayin was a five-star Alabama signee from the 2024 class.

However, Sayin transferred to the Ohio State Buckeyes following Saban's retirement. Sayin won the starting job under center in Columbus for 2025.

A trip back to the playoff would do head coach Kalen DeBoer plenty of good.

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

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