In one of two major college football polls, Alabama football will begin its 2024 season with its lowest ranking since 2009.

The Tide was picked No. 5 in Monday’s preseason AFCA coaches poll, compiled by the USA Today. That ends a streak of 14 seasons (2010-23) in which Alabama began in the top three of the coaches poll.

The last time Alabama football was ranked outside of the top three of a preseason coaches poll was 2009, when it began No. 5 after a 12-2 season in 2008. The Tide was unranked in the preseason coaches poll in 2008.

The Tide coming in at number 5, huh? I get it, there’s no Saban and all that…. But still, the disrespect is strong and will be noted.

Really, it’s the undying love for Oregon that’s got me a little confused on all of these preseason polls. The Ducks just lost their 6th-year senior QB to the first round of the NFL Draft and are now going to have to play in a more competitive conference than they were before.

And if you’re interested in how these rankings would line up in the new Playoff format:

Alabama was ranked fifth overall in Monday’s poll, the first time since before the 2009 season that the Crimson Tide is not ranked in the top three of the preseason Coaches Poll, and the team was not one of the three to get a first-place vote. It is the third-highest ranked team from the SEC, meaning if these rankings were identical to the ones that will eventually take shape on Selection Day, Alabama would not get a bye.

The teams seeded fifth through 12th will play against one another in the postseason extravaganza’s opening round. Alabama would be seeded seventh, hosting 10th-ranked Michigan at Bryant-Dennt Stadium in a Rose Bowl rematch. Texas, new to the SEC as well, would get the No. 6 ranking as it finished one spot ahead of the Crimson Tide in the poll.

The Tide would be playing Michigan as a wildcard match, and Alabama would not have a bye week.

DeBoer enters his debut season following the retirement of longtime coach Nick Saban in January. DeBoer brings nearly an entirely new coaching staff to Tuscaloosa, led by offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan and defensive coordinator Kane Wommack.

To keep talking season going as practice gets going in Tuscaloosa, The Tuscaloosa News asks you how many games do you think Alabama football will win this season?

Voting is now open and will remain open until noon CT on Sunday.

Advertisement

If you think that #5 rating is too low… Now’s your chance to vote with the Tuscaloosa News on how well you think Alabama will do this year.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn Tigers may just have two superstars on their hands with two in-state highly touted freshmen wide receivers.

For Auburn, it comes via Cam Coleman of Central Phenix City, who last season helped the Red Devils end the Thompson run of dominance in Class 7A with an MVP performance in the state championship game.

Coleman was a top-five recruit in the entire nation and has received nothing but great reports from Tigers staff throughout the spring. The official Auburn social media page shared an image of him coming down with a sensational one-handed grab at practice over the weekend.

Not to be outdone, Alabama freshman Ryan Williams out of Saraland, who skipped his senior year and reclassified after becoming the first player to ever win back-to-back Mr. Football awards, made a similar catch in practice that circled social media over the weekend as well.

There’s been something of a Twitter feud making its rounds over the last month or so with Auburn fans relentlessly hyping up Cam Coleman and going out of their way to trash talk about Ryan Williams.

I suppose it’s only natural since both would have been the #1 WR in most any given recruiting class, but Williams reclassifying to 2024 group at the last minute makes the rankings interesting and a bit ambiguous. Add in that they’re from the same state and went to rival schools, and we could have an even more heated version of the Julio Jones – AJ Green rivalry 15 years ago.

Finally, we have updated heights and weights on the official roster.

Go check out my other article on this specifically if you want the details, but the biggest changes are Tyler Booker dropping all the way down to 325, Parker Brailsford adding 15 pounds, and Keon Keeley officially moving to the line of scrimmage, bulking up over 30 pounds to 277.