Alabama

How far does Oklahoma rise and Alabama fall? College Football Playoff ranking prediction

Published

4 months ago

November 18, 2025

Press Room

How far does Oklahoma rise and Alabama fall? College Football Playoff ranking prediction

Oklahoma is expected to climb to No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings after defeating Alabama.
Alabama’s loss to the Sooners will likely drop them to No. 9, just ahead of Notre Dame.
Ohio State, Indiana, and Texas A&M are projected to remain the top three undefeated teams.

Three high-profile teams — Oklahoma, Alabama and Notre Dame — will take the spotlight in this week’s College Football Playoff rankings.

After beating the Crimson Tide 23-21, look for the Sooners to climb to No. 8. Previously No. 4, Alabama’s fall should stop at No. 9. That will knock Notre Dame back one spot to No. 10 even after the Fighting Irish breezed past Pittsburgh.

While the red-hot Irish have won eight in a row, Alabama has a stronger résumé against a significantly more difficult schedule.

Losses by Louisville, Iowa, Pittsburgh, South Florida and Cincinnati should open a spot for the Group of Five. Tulane is the safest bet to crack the rankings thanks to wins against Northwestern, Duke and Memphis.

Here’s how the top 12 of the third playoff rankings of the 2025 season will look:

1. Ohio State (10-0)

Best win: vs. Texas (14-7), Aug. 30.

Loss: None.

Playoff chances: 100%. The Buckeyes could lose to Rutgers and Michigan and still earn an at-large spot. OSU could even beat Rutgers, lose to Michigan, miss the Big Ten championship game and be in contention for an opening-round bye.

2. Indiana (11-0)

Best win: at Oregon (30-20), Oct. 11.

Loss: None.

Playoff chances: 100%. Taking care of Wisconsin locks Indiana into at least an at-large spot. Beating Purdue on Nov. 28 will send the Hoosiers to the Big Ten title game for the first time ever. That also should wrap up a bye.

3. Texas A&M (10-0)

Best win: at Notre Dame (41-40), Sept. 13.

Loss: None.

Playoff chances: 98%. At this point, the Aggies would have to really stumble down the stretch to miss the playoff entirely. Getting routed by Texas and then backdooring into the SEC title game only to get blown out again, combined with a Notre Dame flop down the stretch, might be just enough to take A&M off the board. But even that’s a stretch.

4. Georgia (9-1)

Best win: vs. Mississippi (43-35), Oct. 18.

Loss: vs. Alabama (24-21), Sept. 27.

Playoff chances: 99%. Only the infinitesimal chance at being upset by one-win Charlotte keeps Georgia from being a playoff lock. A shocking loss on Saturday and a loss to Georgia Tech would knock the Bulldogs out of the field.

5. Texas Tech (10-1)

Best win: vs. Brigham Young (29-7), Nov. 8.

Loss: at Arizona State (26-22), Oct. 18.

Playoff chances: 90%. To reach No. 5 in the rankings strengthens the Red Raiders’ safety net even if they fall short of a Big 12 championship. But losses to West Virginia and in the conference title game would knock Tech out of the playoff.

6. Mississippi (10-1)

Best win: at Oklahoma (34-26), Oct. 25.

Loss: at Georgia (43-35), Oct. 18.

Playoff chances: 99%. Saturday’s unimpressive 34-24 win at home against Florida was still enough to almost ensure an at-large playoff berth regardless of what happens in the Egg Bowl.

7. Oregon (9-1)

Best win: at Iowa (18-16), Nov. 8.

Loss: vs. Indiana (30-20), Oct. 11.

Playoff chances: 60%. The odds are better than not that Oregon is the third Big Ten team in the field. But the Ducks have played two legitimate opponents all season, losing to Indiana and barely beating Iowa. Are they ready for Saturday’s huge matchup at home against Southern California? A loss there would dump Oregon out of the top 10 heading into the finale against Washington.

8. Oklahoma (8-2)

Best win: at Alabama (23-21), Nov. 15.

Losses: vs. Texas (in Dallas) (23-6), Oct. 11; vs. Mississippi (34-26), Oct. 25.

Playoff chances: 55%. Tossed aside after two October losses, the Sooners have rallied into at-large position with wins this month against Tennessee and Alabama. Oklahoma is in with wins at home against Missouri and LSU – and likely with home game in first round – but can’t afford a third defeat.

9. Alabama (9-2)

Best win: at Georgia (24-21), Sept. 27.

Losses: at Florida State (31-17), Aug. 30; vs. Oklahoma (23-21), Nov. 15.

Playoff chances: 75%. Alabama can still lock down a spot in the SEC title game and an at-large berth by beating Auburn. But a loss in the Iron Bowl will knock the Tide out of the mix.

10. Notre Dame (9-2)

Best win: vs. Southern California (34-24), Oct. 18.

Loss: at Miami (27-24), Aug. 31; vs. Texas A&M (41-40), Sept. 13.

Playoff chances: 85%. While they shouldn’t lose to Syracuse or Stanford, dropping one spot in the rankings will make the Irish feel a little more anxious about securing that at-large bid. Falling to No. 10 would move them a little closer to Miami, and it would be bad news for Notre Dame if that head-to-head tiebreaker came into play.

11. Brigham Young (9-1)

Best win: vs. Utah (24-21), Oct. 18.

Loss: at Texas Tech (29-7), Nov. 8.

Playoff chances: 33%. The Cougars’ best chance is via a conference title. But a chaotic finish in the Big Ten or SEC might give the Big 12 a chance at two playoff teams. In that scenario, BYU would need to beat Cincinnati and Central Florida convincingly and then play dramatically better against Texas Tech in the conference title game to crack the top 10.

12. Utah (9-2)

Best win: vs. Cincinnati (45-14), Nov. 1.

Losses: vs. Texas Tech (34-10), Sept. 20; at Brigham Young (24-21), Oct. 18.

Playoff chances: 10%. Losses to the Red Raiders and BYU will block Utah from the Big 12 title game. Getting an at-large bid is possible but very improbable given the number of teams ahead of the Utes and the fact there are still two teams behind them — the ACC champion and the Group of Five representative — who will be bumped into the bracket with the final rankings.

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Alabama

Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child

Published

4 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Husband, 19, fatally shot wife, 24, himself at Alabama hospital moments after welcoming their first child

A husband fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself at an Alabama hospital just moments after they welcomed their first child on Sunday.

Kynath Terry Jr., 19, gunned down 24-year-old Precious Johnson before fatally shooting himself inside the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital around 9:30 p.m. Sunday night, WTVM 13 reported.

Johnson delivered a healthy baby just before she was murdered. It’s not immediately clear if the baby was present during the shooting, but police said that Terry and Johnson were the only ones injured.

Terry’s mother told the outlet that the couple were having some marital issues leading up to Johnson’s due date, but nothing that made her fear her son would become violent.

She told the outlet that Terry completed Army National Guard training before tying the knot with Johnson.

She noted that Johnson didn’t want Terry’s side of the family at the hospital for her child’s birth, but it’s unclear if anyone from the mother-to-be’s own family was there.

The hospital was plunged into a lockdown “out of an abundance of caution” while police investigated reports of a shooting. It wasn’t lifted until hours later when they determined there was “no active threat to patients, team members or the public,” the outlet reported.

The Homewood Police Department described the tragedy as “an apparent murder-suicide and is domestic in nature.”

Danne Howard, the president of the Alabama Hospital Association, told the outlet that the chilling attack “was an isolated incident” unlike anything she’d encountered during her three decades working in the state.

Howard said, in the wake of the tragedy, the Baptist Health Brookwood Hospital would undergo a security overhaul implementing “lessons learned” from a mandated after-action report.

Just three months ago, in a town six miles outside of Homewood, a beloved sports reporter was fatally shot by her husband before taking his own life. Their 3-year-old son, who was unharmed, led his grandfather to his parents’ bodies.

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Alabama

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

Published

16 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Air Force base security tightens, AL reacts after attacks in Iran

The United States and Israel-led attacks on Iran are having an impact in Central Alabama.

The military actions that began Saturday targets the military forces of Iran and the nation’s ability to build nuclear weapons.

In Montgomery, Maxwell Air Force Base and Gunter Annex have stepped up security so that all entry points will have a 100 percent ID check, the bases said on social media. The Trusted Traveler Program is suspended, which allowed Department of Defense identification holders to vouch for passengers.

Visitors without base access will have to go through the visitor center to get a pass.

Central Alabama residents react to the Iran attacks

For Travis Jackson of Montgomery, the attacks bring back memories, bad memories. He served one tour in Iraq from 2007-2008 with the U.S. Army. He attained the rank of sergeant before leaving the service and has worked the last 10 years as a community activist and diversity, equality and inclusion coordinator.

“I had a flashback of being overseas again,” he said when he first heard news of the attack. “The first thing I thought of was corporate greed. Of yet again seeing what has transpired throughout the years of any war overseas.”

He feels the attacks are a mistake.

“It’s going to be detrimental to the economy, notably with the increase in oil prices,” he said.

Removing the current regime in Iran and establishing a more western friendly country could improve hopes for a more stable Middle East, said Amy Stephens of Elmore County.

“I don’t know if there will ever be peace there,” Stephens said. “But Iran has been the causing trouble over there for almost 50 years.”

Ray Roberts of Prattville served in Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and 1991 after Iraq invaded Kuwait. He served in an ordinance company with the Alabama Army National Guard. He was a sergeant when he left the service and now works as a draftsman at a Montgomery manufacturing plant.

“It wasn’t a surprise,” Roberts said of the attacks. “President Trump had said they were coming. When he says something like that, he means it. I am glad we are working with Israel so it’s not just the United States. I wonder if Europe and some of the other Gulf nations will join the attacks.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com. To support his work, please subscribe to the Montgomery Advertiser.

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Alabama

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey receives Boy Scouts’ Circle of Honor

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey was honored for her lifelong dedication to youth and community service during the 12th annual Black Warrior Council Boy Scouts of America Circle of Honor awards luncheon.

The ceremony, which was held Feb. 27 at the Embassy Suites hotel in downtown Tuscaloosa, serves as a fundraiser for the council’s scouting program.

The Circle of Honor award is presented to people in west central Alabama whose livelihood and actions reflect the same values of the Black Warrior Boy Scouts. Recipients have also shown advocacy for youth and leadership in the community.

Past recipients of the award include Terry Saban, Nick Saban, former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, scientist and philanthropist Thomas Joiner, pharmacist and retailer James I. Harrison Jr., civic leader Mary Ann Phelps and more.

Cathy Randall, a Tuscaloosa businesswoman, educator and philanthropist, presented Ivey with the award. Randall was inducted into the Circle of Honor in 2025 along with her late husband, Pettus.

Ivey said she was grateful to receive the honor by the Black Warrior Council and highlighted the importance of public service.

“I’m proud to have dedicated my life to public service, there’s no more noble calling than to uplift and empower lives,” said Ivey during the Feb. 27 ceremony.

Ivey thanked the scouting organizations, including the Black Warrior Council for its contributions to educational opportunities, economic development, and public safety.

“In particular, I’m proud of the work done by our Scouting organizations like the Black Warrior Council, who lay a foundation for successful future in both our young people and our state, thank you for all you do to build a stronger Alabama by changing lives and preparing our future leaders,” said Ivey, a native of Camden in Wilcox County.

Ivey is wrapping up her second term as governor after a long career spent primarily in government.

After graduating from Auburn University in 1967, Ivey worked as a high school teacher and a bank officer. She served as reading clerk for the Alabama House of Representatives under then-Speaker Joseph C. McCorquodale and she served as assistant director at the Alabama Development Office.

In 2002, Ivey was elected to the first of two terms as Alabama’s treasurer and in 2010, she was elected to the first of two terms as lieutenant governor. On April 10, 2017, Ivey was sworn in as Alabama’s 54th governor after the resignation of Robert Bentley. She filled out the rest of Bentley’s term before winning the gubernatorial election in 2018 and she was re-elected in 2022.

She will leave office at the end of this year.

She is the first Republican woman to serve as Alabama’s governor but she’s the second woman to hold the state’s top executive office. Tuscaloosa County native Lurleen B. Wallace, a Democrat, became Alabama’s first female governor in 1966.

Circle of Honor luncheon raises nearly $200,000

Also during the ceremony, retired DCH Health System administrator Sammy Watson, who served as the event’s emcee, announced that the council had raised $197,000 through the luncheon that day.

Proceeds from the lunch will be used to expand Boy Scouts programs, making them available to over 3,000 young people in west central Alabama.

The Boy Scouts of America is the nation’s leading outdoor education and character development program. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling in them the values of the Scout Oath and Law.

Reach Jasmine Hollie at JHollie@usatodayco.com. To support her work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.

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