Alabama finds itself in unfamiliar territory entering the 2026 college football season, ranked No. 13 in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll released Monday.
The Crimson Tide’s ranking marks the first time in 18 years that the program has opened a season outside the top 10. College football insider Brett McMurphy noted the significance, writing that Alabama’s No. 13 ranking is the lowest since 2008, when the Tide started at No. 24.
Alabama received 904 points from the 69 media members who voted in the poll but earned no first-place votes. The ranking ends a streak of 17 consecutive seasons in which the Crimson Tide began the year ranked among the nation’s top 10.
Ohio State claimed the No. 1 spot with 1,672 points and 40 first-place votes. Oregon followed at No. 2 with 1,597 points and 14 first-place votes, giving the Big Ten Conference the top two positions in the preseason poll for the first time in 65 years.Georgia sits at No. 3, followed by Notre Dame at No. 4 and Texas at No. 5. Defending national champion Indiana opens at No. 6, its highest preseason ranking in program history, after receiving eight first-place votes.
Miami is No. 7, Texas A&M No. 8, Ole Miss No. 9 and Oklahoma No. 10. LSU holds the No. 11 position, with Texas Tech at No. 12 just ahead of Alabama. BYU and USC are tied at No. 14.
The Southeastern Conference leads all leagues with nine teams in the Top 25, including five in the top 10 for the first time since 2013. The Big Ten has eight ranked teams, while the Big 12 has four and the Atlantic Coast Conference has three.
Alabama is entering the third season under head coach Kalen DeBoer. The Tide finished 11-4 last year, reached the SEC championship game and advanced to the College Football Playoff before losing to Indiana in the Rose Bowl.
Voters appear to have factored in uncertainty surrounding the roster. Alabama enters the season with an ongoing quarterback competition that has leaned toward Keelon Russell, along with significant turnover on the offensive line and in the defensive front seven.
DeBoer has acknowledged the external questions surrounding his program.
“Yeah, we are definitely aware,” he said when asked if his players are paying attention to skepticism about the team’s ranking and outlook.
The Crimson Tide also ranked 11th in the preseason coaches poll, another low mark since 2008. Alabama opens its season Sept. 5 at home against East Carolina.
Historically, Alabama has been a fixture near the top of the preseason rankings during its dominant run under former coach Nick Saban and the early years under DeBoer. The Tide opened at No. 1 in multiple seasons between 2010 and 2022 and had not started lower than No. 8 since climbing back into the top 10 in 2009.
Ohio State is ranked No. 1 for the ninth time in the preseason poll and the first time since 2015. The Buckeyes are now tied with Alabama for the second-most preseason No. 1 rankings in history, behind only Oklahoma’s 10.
Ten of the 12 teams that reached the College Football Playoff last season appear in the Top 25. No Group of Five programs cracked the rankings, though several received votes.
The preseason poll often fails to predict final standings, as multiple teams ranked in the previous year’s preseason Top 25 finished unranked. Alabama will look to use its current placement as motivation while preparing for a challenging SEC schedule that includes matchups against several teams ranked ahead of it.
The full rankings continue with Michigan at No. 16, Washington at No. 17, Penn State at No. 18, SMU at No. 19 and Tennessee at No. 20. Utah, Iowa, Houston, Louisville and Missouri round out the Top 25.
Alabama’s next opportunity to climb the rankings will come after the season begins, when on-field results replace preseason projections.
