logo
The Sporting News predicts Alabama's 2025 season, CFP fate in Year 2 under Kalen DeBoer

The Sporting News predicts Alabama's 2025 season, CFP fate in Year 2 under Kalen DeBoer

USA Todaya day ago

The 2025 college football season is just over two months away, and The Sporting News is among several national media outlets making its prediction for the Alabama Crimson Tide in Year 2 under coach Kalen DeBoer.
Alabama finished 9-4 last season, hardly the worst start for a coach tasked with enormous expectations following the retirement of Nick Saban. But a stunning loss to Vanderbilt after the Crimson Tide's rollercoaster win over Georgia, followed by a pair of ugly losses down the stretch to Oklahoma and a Michigan team that was a shell of its 2023 self, left something of a sour taste to close 2024.
DeBoer and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb will have to break in a new quarterback in Ty Simpson, but Alabama has a lot of talent returning in 2025 -- particularly in the wide receiver room with Ryan Williams and Germie Bernard leading the way, and in the secondary with cornerbacks Zabien Brown and Domani Jackson, and safeties Keon Sabb and Bray Hubbard.
The Crimson Tide also have an incoming freshman class that ranks in the top five in recruiting.
Earlier this week, the Sporting News made its 12-team playoff predictions for the 2025 season. In the outlet's preseason projections, Alabama makes the College Football Playoff as the No. 7 seed and hosts a first-round playoff game against the Miami Hurricanes at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Per Bender:
"Kalen DeBoer gets the Crimson Tide back in the College Football Playoff in his second season, and the Hurricanes are the at-large bid for the ACC. That means Carson Beck delivers as the new starting quarterback, and Mario Cristobal avoids a season-altering upset."
A return trip to Tuscaloosa would mark Beck's second game in Bryant-Denny Stadium in as many seasons. As Georgia's starter in 2023 and '24, Beck went 0-2 against Alabama, including last year's 41-34 thriller on Sept. 28 that was clinched by a game-saving interception from the freshman Brown.
For its part, Miami looked to be a lock for the ACC Championship Game last year under Heisman Trophy finalist and No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Cam Ward, but the Hurricanes lost its regular season finale in an upset at Syracuse.
The Sporting News sees Alabama taking on defending national champion Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2026. That means a matchup against former 5-star Crimson Tide QB commit Julian Sayin.
"The Buckeyes are in the Rose Bowl for the second straight season as the Big Ten champion, and Alabama would be a formidable matchup. Julian Sayin -- who decommitted from Alabama after Nick Saban retired -- would be the center of attention in this matchup assuming he wins the starting job for the Buckeyes."
Bender sees Alabama falling to the Buckeyes in Pasadena as part of his overall prediction that Ryan Day's team will return to the national championship game for a second year in a row; this time in a matchup against Texas at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Jan. 20.
Alabama football schedule 2025
Alabama opens the 2025 season against Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Aug. 30. Kickoff was announced earlier this spring for 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.
Here's the rest of the 2025 Alabama football schedule with updated start times. All times Central.
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Social media reacts to Alabama players signing undrafted NBA free agent deals
Social media reacts to Alabama players signing undrafted NBA free agent deals

USA Today

timean hour ago

  • USA Today

Social media reacts to Alabama players signing undrafted NBA free agent deals

Over the course of this past Wednesday and Thursday night, the Alabama Crimson Tide did not see any of their four draft-eligible players selected in the two rounds of the 2025 NBA draft. Yes, throughout both the first-and-second rounds, none of Alabama's four draft-eligible prospects - Mark Sears, Grant Nelson, Clifford Omoruyi, and Chris Youngblood - heard their names called, and instead entered undrafted free agency late Friday night. Since, it has not taken those four Alabama players long to find a new home at the professional level either, as all have signed an undrafted free agent deal as of Friday, June 27. Let's take a look at some reactions on social media to Alabama's draft prospects landing with NBA teams on free agent deals. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

Hurricanes Select NCAA Center Charlie Cerrato 49th Overall
Hurricanes Select NCAA Center Charlie Cerrato 49th Overall

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Hurricanes Select NCAA Center Charlie Cerrato 49th Overall

The Carolina Hurricanes have selected Penn State center Charlie Cerrato with the 49th overall pick of the 2025 NHL Draft. Cerrato, 20, is a double overager, having gone through multiple drafts, but he put the time in in the NCAA to round out his game and get on scout's radar. Advertisement The 6-foot center had 42 points in 38 games last season with Penn State and was a finalist for the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Center was a big need for the Canes, so the addition of Cerrato, an older prospect, could certainly help out the pipeline.

Where Oregon Ducks' College Football 26 ratings slipped most from a season ago
Where Oregon Ducks' College Football 26 ratings slipped most from a season ago

USA Today

time2 hours ago

  • USA Today

Where Oregon Ducks' College Football 26 ratings slipped most from a season ago

The EA Sports College Football 26 video game is set to drop in a matter of weeks, so new details and trailers have been pouring out over the last months as fans prepare to dive back into the beloved gaming franchise and get onto the digital gridiron. Earlier this week, the team rankings were released for the top 25 squads in the game, giving us a preview of who the best units will be in the game based on the overall rankings. Unsurprisingly, some of the teams at the top of the rankings are who you would expect — Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State, Texas, etc. It was, however, a bit of a surprise to see how low the Oregon Ducks were rated in the game, coming in at No. 9 among the top teams with an overall rating of 86. On its face, seeing the Ducks behind the likes of Texas A&M and Clemson might be a bit jarring, but when you dig deeper into the ratings, some other things stand out. Primarily, it's interesting to compare how the Ducks are rated in the CFB26 version of the game compared to CFB25 a year ago. Let's look at the differences. Oregon Ducks Overall Rating Overall Rating in CFB 26: 86 (ranked No. 9) Overall Rating in CFB 25: 93 (ranked No. 3) Analysis: Going into the 2024 season, Oregon was viewed as one of the favorites to win the national championship. They had one of the leaders in the Heisman Trophy race at quarterback in Dillon Gabriel, and a long list of veteran playmakers across the board, like Tez Johnson, Terrance Ferguson, Jeffrey Bassa, and Jordan Burch. While the Ducks still hold high expectations for 2025, there are a few more questions about how high their ceiling is. With a new quarterback, be it Dante Moore or Austin Novosad, and an admittedly young but talented roster, Oregon's ceiling feels high. Still, there is a lower floor than a year ago, especially with Evan Stewart's injury. For those reasons, it's understandable that CFB26 has the Ducks lower. It should also be noted that no single team in CFB26 is rated at a 90 or above, whereas a total of eight teams held that distinction a year ago. Oregon Ducks Offensive Rating Offensive Rating in CFB 26: 85 (ranked No. 19) Offensive Rating in CFB 25: 94 (tied No. 1) Analysis: The most jarring difference in Oregon's ratings from CFB25 to CFB26 comes on the offense. The Ducks went from having what was tied for the No. 1-ranked offense (alongside Georgia) to having the No. 19 offense in the nation, according to EA Sports. Regardless of what you think about players like Dante Moore and Kenyon Sadiq, two of Oregon's projected stars in 2025, it's hard to see them falling off to the point where they are behind the likes of Baylor, SMU, Oklahoma, and BYU, with all due respect. The Ducks might have lost players like Jordan James and Tez Johnson, but they added the likes of Makhi Hughes, Dakorien Moore, and Isaiah World into the mix. This feels like a drop that is far too drastic. Oregon Ducks Defensive Rating Defensive Rating in CFB 26: 92 (ranked No. 7) Defensive Rating in CFB 25: 90 (ranked No. 3) Analysis: Oregon's defensive unit is getting more respect than the offense going into the new season, but it still dropped below what it was a year ago, which, again, is to be expected after losing players like Bassa, Burch, Derrick Harmon, and Jabbar Muhammad to the NFL. Still, there are a lot of pieces to be excited about going into the new year on Oregon's defense, with Bear Alexander coming in from USC, and Dillon Thieneman, one of the best safeties in the nation, transferring from Purdue. On top of that, both Matayo Uiagalelei and Teitum Tuioti are poised for huge seasons, and there are a ton of freshmen, both redshirt and true, who are in line for significant roles as well. Overall Ratings Takeaways From an outside perspective, it doesn't come as a surprise that the Ducks dropped in the rankings from where they were a year ago. While fans in Eugene may be incredibly excited about where the program is headed and what might be possible this season, a "wait-and-see" mentality should be adopted with this team going into 2025. It's fair for EA Sports to have the same thought when making their rankings. College Football 26 Details The standard edition of College Football 26 is scheduled for release on July 10 for $69.99. Both the Deluxe Edition and MVP Bundle are available for download on July 7. The Deluxe costs $99.99, and the MVP costs $149.99 Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store