Alabama
How far does Oklahoma rise and Alabama fall? College Football Playoff ranking prediction
US LBM Coaches Poll: Georgia team to beat in SEC
USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg breaks down the latest US LBM Coaches Poll and has Georgia as the SEC’s top contender after Texas blowout.
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.
Alabama
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TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) – Pauline Love, the new head coach of the Alabama women’s basketball team, says her late college coach, Joye Lee-McNelis, is the reason she got into coaching.
Love played for Lee-McNelis at Southern Miss, describing her as a second mother. Lee-McNelis passed away last summer after a long battle with breast cancer.
A relationship that changed her path
Love said she once told Lee-McNelis she would never go into coaching, a conversation the two laughed about often.
“I used to tell her all the time, I would never do this. I would never put up with somebody like me or I would never work for somebody like her. I was like coach, you’re crazy. We used to laugh about it all the time and she was like you’ll see one day, you’ll see,” Love said.
Love had planned to work in the tech industry. Instead, she has spent 15 years in coaching.
“She pretty much paved the way for me. There’s no way I’d be sitting here if it wasn’t for her,” Love said.
High expectations at Alabama
Love returns to Tuscaloosa after previously serving as an assistant at Alabama. She was introduced as head coach in April, and was brought to tears when she mentioned Lee-McNelis during that introduction.
Her goals for the program are clear.
“I’m going to have a passion about it. I want to bring a Final Four to the University of Alabama and make Tuscaloosa proud,” Love said.
This year’s roster includes Spring Garden’s Ace Austin, back for her sophomore season.
Love said she wants her players to know that difficult times are part of the process.
“I can say for them, I’ve been there. I’ve done it. Just learn how to figure out and fight through hard things. You gotta do something hard and fight through it and I promise you it’s rewarding at the end of it,” Love said.
Love said she also wants to be a source of support for her players off the court, the same way Lee-McNelis was for her.
“I know we always get caught up in the money part of it, but I got a group of girls that doesn’t care about that. They want to care about making the fans happy and giving them something good to watch,” Love said.
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Alabama football fans are invited to a preseason pep rally Aug. 4 at the Tuscaloosa River Market.
The pep rally is part of the annual fall kickoff event hosted by the Tuscaloosa County chapter of the University of Alabama National Alumni Association.
The family friendly event will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the River Market, 1900 Jack Warner Parkway. Tickets, which include a barbecue dinner, cost $30 for adults and $15 for children ages 8 to 12. Children 7 years old and younger will be admitted for free.
The pep rally will feature live entertainment, a silent auction and a range of family-friendly activities. There will also be a cash bar with wine and beer.
Tickets can be purchased on the chapter’s website, tuscaloosacountyuaalumni.com. Membership in the local alumni chapter is not required for attendance.
University of Alabama President Peter Mohler and UA baseball coach Rob Vaughn will be part of the festivities.
Mohler began his duties as UA president on July 21, 2025.
Before being named UA president, Mohler spent nearly 15 years at Ohio State University, where he held senior leadership roles overseeing research, innovation and economic development. He also served as OSU’s acting president, providing leadership during a pivotal period for one of the nation’s largest public universities.
Mohler earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a PhD in cell and molecular physiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Duke University Medical Center before joining the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Vaughn has been UA’s head baseball coach for three years, leading the Crimson Tide to the College Baseball World Series in 2026.
The Humble, Texas, native served as head baseball coach at Maryland for five seasons before coming to Tuscaloosa.
Vaughn played collegiate baseball at Kansas State, where his position was catcher.
Alabama begins the 2026 football season on Sept. 5 with a home game against the East Carolina Pirates. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
Other Alabama home games include Florida State on Sept. 19, South Carolina on Sept. 26, Georgia on Oct. 10, Texas A&M on Oct. 24, Chattanooga on Nov. 21 and Auburn on Nov. 28.
Reach Ken Roberts at ken.roberts@tuscaloosanews.com. To support his work, please subscribe to The Tuscaloosa News.
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