With Alabama Football missing the Playoff field, some Crimson Tide fans may disengage from the bowl season. Some of those who remain engaged may have a tough time pulling for Georgia, Texas, and Tennessee in the Playoffs.

Sentiment aside, a broader view of the postseason can include the value of SEC teams racking up wins against other conferences. If SEC teams win a sizable majority of their post-season contests, it will provide additional proof of how hard it is to win in the SEC.

The SEC was good but not great in last year’s postseason. Including the Alabama Football loss to Michigan in the CFP Semi-Final, the SEC posted a 2023-24 record of 5-4. The previous season the SEC was better at 7-5, in no small part thanks to two Playoff wins by the Georgia Bulldogs.

The SEC has 13 teams participating in post-season play this year. The three SEC teams that have failed to earn a bowl game are the Auburn Tigers, Kentucky Wildcats, and Mississippi State Bulldogs.

The 2024-25 bowl season kicks off on Dec. 14 Jackson State and South Carolina State in the Cricket Celebration Bowl, and South Alabama and Western Michigan in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl.

SEC Playoff Games

The complete CFB Playoff schedule as provided by the NCAA.

Transfer portal season is in full swing, as coaching staffs across the country juggle prepping for bowl games, recruiting freshly available talent and re-recruiting their own rosters from potential poachers.

Michigan has suffered a handful of departures via the portal this offseason, but is also hard at work in pursuit of adding talent for the 2025 season. On Friday evening, the Wolverines were linked to one of the biggest targets in the portal — Alabama transfer running back Justice Haynes.

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, bitter rivals Michigan and Ohio State are two schools in early contention for Haynes, the No. 19 overall player currently in the portal.

A former five-star and Top 25 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class, Haynes has spent each of the last two seasons at Alabama, totaling 616 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 104 carries (5.9 yards per carry). The true sophomore added an element to the Crimson Tide’s pass game as well, with 17 catches for 99 yards in 2024 alone.

It’s unsurprising to see Michigan in the market for a running back this offseason. While the Wolverines have recruited the position well over the last several cycles, it’s likely they’ll lose both of their primary running backs from 2024 in Kalel Mullings and Donovan Edwards. Michigan has also seen RBs Tavierre Dunlap and Cole Cabana enter the transfer portal this offseason.

As things stand now, running backs Benjamin Hall and Jordan Marshall are first in line to lead the Wolverines’ running backs room in 2025, but Haynes would give the Maize and Blue another talented option in the backfield should Michigan land him from the portal.

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One of Alabama football’s top contributors at running back, Justice Haynes, is one his way to the transfer portal. Haynes leaves behind a Crimson Tide group that will have five players on scholarship, barring any more transfer portal activity.

Even without Haynes, much of the production from Alabama’s 2024 running backs is set to return. Here’s a look at where the position group will stand entering Kalen DeBoer’s second season in charge.

Jam Miller

Miller was one of the Crimson Tide’s top two backs this season, splitting carries with Haynes. He finished the regular season with 641 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.

The junior had 135 carries throughout the regular season, most among Alabama RBs, ahead of Haynes’ 79. Miller scored seven touchdowns on the ground, and also contributed 119 yards and another score in the passing game.

He figures to continue atop the UA depth chart in 2025, absent a transfer portal decision.

Richard Young

With Haynes out of the picture, Young could see more carries in 2025. As a redshirt freshman this season, he went for 140 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

The 5-foot-11, 216-pound Young joined Alabama as a four-star prospect in the 2023 signing class.

Daniel Hill

One of Alabama’s young running backs who could see more action in Haynes’ absence is hill. He brings a different sort of threat than Miller and Young, playing more of a power style.

Hill is listed at 6-foot-1, 241 pounds. He finished the 2024 regular season with 21 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown.

Hill was a four-star recruit in the 2024 class.

Kevin Riley

A Tuscaloosa County product, Riley redshirted his freshman season with the Crimson Tide. The four-star 2024 signee played in two games, finishing with 10 carries for 30 yards.

AK Dear

The newest addition to the Alabama group is Dear, who joins as a signee in the 2025 recruiting class. Dear was initially committed to Ole Miss before flipping to the Crimson Tide.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Dear, from Quitman, Miss., was ranked as the No. 2 running back in the 2025 class by 247Sports. He’s a four-star prospect.

“Displays good patience and vision at the line of scrimmage while demonstrating the short area burst and explosiveness to change gears from the first to second level to create separation between the tackles,” 247Sports national recruiting analyst Cooper Petagna wrote in his scouting report of Dear. “An efficient mover that can make defenders miss with his one cut elusiveness or contact balance, Dear excels finding hidden yardage and accounting for yards after contact utilizing his powerful lower half.”