The Alabama Crimson Tide face a massive 2026 season, which is Year 3 of the Kalen DeBoer era.
If you need a reminder, the Tide qualified for the College Football Playoff last year as the No. 9 seed and then became the first team ever to win a road Playoff game by taking down the Oklahoma Sooners.
Folks in Tuscaloosa are screaming at me right now to stop right there and don’t say anything more.
But we all know what happened next. The Tide went to the Rose Bowl and suffered a humiliating 38-3 loss to No. 1 seed Indiana. The Hoosiers would go on to win the title in dominant fashion. (Imagine showing this paragraph to someone who just woke up from a coma.)
The good news? None of that matters now. All that matters is the present. If DeBoer gets his squad back to Atlanta and back into the Playoff, he’ll have a chance to earn Year 4.
Alabama, by virtue of being first alphabetically in the SEC pecking order, get our first Crystal Ball treatment. Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll go through every SEC team 1-by-1 and predict each regular-season game.
Let’s get started with Alabama:
One Big Question: Can the offensive line play better?
Oh, you were expecting discussion about the quarterback battle here? The competition between Keelon Russell and Austin Mack is certainly noteworthy and deserves to be analyzed from every angle, but it’s tough to succeed as a quarterback if your offensive line can’t block.
Alabama’s offensive line wasn’t very good last year, and that was with first-round NFL Draft pick Kadyn Proctor and fifth-round pick Parker Brailsford playing. The Tide did fine in the transfer portal bringing guys in, but most of those will be depth pieces.
I like the addition of Racin Delgatty from Cal Poly. He figures to step in for Brailsford at center. Cal Poly is far from the SEC (literally and figuratively), but the buzz around him has me believing.
The key to the Alabama offensive line this year, fair or not, will be the performance of redshirt freshman Jackson Lloyd. The 4-star lineman out of California stands 6-foot-7 and weighs in at 325 pounds. He played in 5 games last season, but for only 41 total snaps. And only 3 of those snaps came against SEC competition.
He has the size and has spent a year at Alabama, but filling in for Kadyn Proctor won’t be easy. And a running back corps that was a major disappointment in its own right last season will be counting on Lloyd and the offensive line to create more holes for them to run through this fall.
Alabama’s Projected Wins Total
Here’s what Kalshi has to say about Alabama’s win total for 2026:
Alabama to win 9 or more games: 55% Alabama to win 8 or fewer games: 47%Use Kalshi promo code SDS when you click here to sign up today and you’ll earn a bonus of up to $500 to use during college football season:
Prediction Markets How many games will Alabama win in 2026? Learn more about Prediction Markets Kalshi 8+ wins 70% 9+ wins 55% 10+ wins 39% 11+ wins 26% 12 wins 12% PredictGame-by-Game Predictions
Here’s how I see the 2026 season going for the Alabama Crimson Tide:
Week 1: vs. East Carolina (W)
East Carolina should be a pretty solid team in the American this year, but the Tide can’t afford to have anything go wrong in Week 1 this time around. After getting trounced at Florida State to start last season, DeBoer and company can’t take any opponent lightly this year. Alabama’s defense leads the way in this one and the Tide avoid a second-straight Week 1 upset.
Week 2: at Kentucky (W)
The Crimson Tide get lucky to face Will Stein and the Kentucky Wildcats in Week 2. Alabama has continuity at the head coach and coordinator positions while Kentucky is rebuilding. Yes, this game is in Lexington, but after an early scare, the Tide should take command in the second half and start 1-0 in SEC play.
Week 3: vs. Florida State (W)
I mentioned that loss Alabama suffered in Tallahassee earlier in this column. Now the series returns to Tuscaloosa, where the Tide are a much different squad. Florida State won’t have QB Tommy Castellanos back (though he is apparently looking to return to college football). It also won’t have Gus Malzahn and his elite run-game design back on the sidelines this fall. Alabama should get its revenge.
Week 4: vs. South Carolina (W)
If this game was in Columbia, I’d give it a longer look. But Tuscaloosa has been a tough place to play for opponents for a couple of decades now, and I expect that to continue this year. This will be too tough of a test for the South Carolina offense to pass.
Week 5: at Mississippi State (W)
Mississippi State has put together a roster that has talent on both sides of the ball, but the depth just isn’t on par with the SEC’s elite teams. Alabama rolls into Starkville and silences the cowbells early.
Week 6: vs. Georgia (L)
Kirby Smart finally got over the hump against DeBoer in the SEC title game last season. I think this Georgia team has flaws and am not completely sold on Gunner Stockton at quarterback. But Alabama’s rebuilt offensive line will struggle in this matchup and the Bulldogs will pull out a narrow victory in a low-scoring game.
Side note: my colleague Spenser Davis expects College GameDay to be in town for this contest. Probably one of his safer picks in this column.
Week 7: at Tennessee (W)
Neyland Stadium is always rocking when it gets to host the Third Saturday in October rivalry, and the Vols have won the last 2 matchups on Rocky Top. But this year, I expect Alabama to have the narrow edge. The Tide win against Tennessee on a last-second field goal from new kicker Lorcan Quinn.
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Week 8: vs. Texas A&M (W)
To me, this is perhaps the most-important game on Alabama’s 2026 schedule. Texas A&M is another legitimate Playoff contender from the SEC. I currently have 7 teams that could make CFP runs in the SEC — Texas, Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. There’s no way all 7 of them are making the field, so taking care of business at home against fellow contenders will be of the utmost importance. I expect Alabama to hold serve here.
Week 9: OFF
Three weeks of Georgia, Tennessee and Texas A&M will have the Tide happy to see this open date on the schedule. But another tough task looms.
Week 10: at LSU (L)
Remember what I said about those 7 SEC Playoff contenders holding serve at home? The new-look LSU Tigers under coach Lane Kiffin do just that, taking care of business in Death Valley to keep their postseason hopes alive. Sam Leavitt does just enough, making a key play with his legs down the stretch to score a win for the Bayou Bengals.
Week 11: at Vanderbilt (W)
Vanderbilt QB Jared Curtis should be settling in as the starter by this point, but that won’t be enough to have the Commodores pull off another stunning upset of the Crimson Tide. Look for the true freshman to throw a late interception into the teeth of the elite Alabama secondary.
Week 12: vs. Chattanooga (W)
Alabama gets to take advantage of what will likely be one of only a few remaining opportunities for “Cupcake Week.” This will be a blowout where the backups see plenty of action in the second half.
Week 13: vs. Auburn (W)
When the Iron Bowl is at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the Auburn Tigers are at least competitive. The last 5 Iron Bowl matchups at Jordan-Hare have seen the Tigers lose by 7, 3 and 2 points in 2025, 2023 and 2021, respectively. The Tigers also won by 3 points in 2019 and by 12 points in 2017.
At Bryant-Denny Stadium, however, it has been a completely different story. The Tide have won by 14, 22, 29, 31 and 18 points in the even-numbered years during that span. Unfortunately for Alex Golesh, his first Iron Bowl is in Tuscaloosa. Expect recent trends to continue once again with a lopsided Alabama victory.
2026 Projection: 10-2 (7-2)
I expect the Tide to match last year’s 10-2 overall record in the regular season, with one major caveat. Instead of going 7-1 in SEC play and making it to Atlanta, the extra league game bites Alabama and keeps Kalen DeBoer and company from making a second-straight trip to the SEC Championship Game (stay tuned to see which 2 teams I have making it).
The good news? Winning 10 regular-season games with a 9-game SEC schedule is pretty much an automatic ticket to the Playoff.
12-Team Playoff Berth? Yes
Alabama, if all goes according to my projections, will indeed be back in the Playoff this fall. Earlier this offseason, I projected the Tide as the No. 10 seed in the Playoff. It depends on how some of the other conference championship games shake out, but a 10-2 record with no possibility of losing in Atlanta might be enough to vault the Tide into the top 8, which, of course, would mean hosting a first-round Playoff matchup.
There’s a lot that needs to go right for DeBoer and Alabama to reach this record, but the talent and continuity is there for this to be another solid season in Tuscaloosa.
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