Tony’s take: Alabama a worthy title favorite despite glaring red flags

Nov 8, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer looks on during warmups prior to the game against the Louisiana State Tigers at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Leong-Imagn Images

Alabama’s record is that of a playoff team, and so is its resumé. The results of the games themselves require a bit more convincing. 

If this Crimson Tide team were on the dating market, we might be selling it on its personality rather than its looks. No. 4 Alabama is getting by with a gritty defense and a quarterback who seldom makes costly mistakes. But the Tide’s running game is atrocious, and it takes multiple shots to make the deep passing game look passable. 

Red flags like those often cost teams a date with the College Football Playoff. However, it’s getting close to closing time, and the rest of the contenders have their warts as well. 

No. 1 Ohio State has the nation’s best defense and a top-25 offense. Meanwhile, No. 2 Indiana pairs the No. 5 defense with the No. 6 offense. While it’s hard to argue with those numbers, the rest of college football is gossiping about how easy those Big Ten schools are with their schedules. 

According to ESPN, Ohio State has the No. 41 strength of schedule and the No. 31 remaining strength of schedule. Indiana isn’t much better with the No. 33 strength of schedule and the 26th hardest slate of games to go. 

Meanwhile, on Alabama’s side of the bar, annual wallflower Texas A&M is finally beginning to blossom. The No. 4 Aggies have taken the lead role in college football’s new drama, The Fall I Turned Pretty, featuring a top-25 offense and defense as well as one of the nation’s most electrifying players in quarterback Marcel Reed. 

Still, there’s a pocket of Texas A&M fans waiting for the other glass slipper to drop. It’s worth noting that all six of Reed’s interceptions last season came over his final five games. The redshirt sophomore started November with a solid performance at Missouri but will need to avoid turning into a pumpkin against a tricky South Carolina pass defense this week. 

No. 5 Georgia is always regarded as one of the belles of the ball. However, the Bulldogs haven’t gone dancing the past two years, and seem a little too old-fashioned at times on offense. Plus, Alabama has a knack for stealing their moment and already upstaged them during a house party in Sanford Stadium this season. 

No. 7 Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin talk a big game, but the Rebels always seem to choke when they get too close to the big stage. Meanwhile, No. 6 Texas Tech and No. 8 Oregon are both dressed in new-money fashion. But Oregon has looked unconvincing recently, and Texas Tech’s strength of schedule is even more shameful than those Big Ten slates.

Chances are, all of the above teams will punch a ticket to the playoffs next month. So how does Alabama match up as a potential partner? Despite the Tide’s glaring flaws, I’d still say pretty well. 

Alabama is a touchdown favorite at home against No. 11 Oklahoma this weekend. The Tide’s tepid ground game is in for tough sledding against a stout Sooners’ defense. However, Tennessee scored 27 points against Oklahoma two weeks ago despite mustering up just 63 rushing yards. The week before that, Ole Miss beat Oklahoma 34-26 despite averaging just 2.8 yards per carry. If Alabama can replicate either of those scoring performances, it should provide plenty of wiggle room for its defense to hold off John Mateer and company. 

A win over the Sooners would all but guarantee Alabama a spot in the SEC Championship Game. Unless the Tide suffers an embarrassing loss to either Eastern Illinois or a reeling Auburn team, it could be playing for a No. 1 overall seed as well as a conference title next month. 

Texas A&M is Alabama’s likeliest SEC Championship Game opponent. Right now, I’d pick the Aggies, but who knows what Reed will be looking like in a month. And maybe the Tide will discover its ground game against a pair of top 25 rushing defenses in Oklahoma and Auburn. 

If so, I wouldn’t want to face a battle-tested Alabama coming off a bye week in the playoffs. 

It’s probably too early to start worrying about all that, but it’s also too early to write off the Tide as a title favorite. That’s true, no matter how ugly this running game looks or how different this Alabama team looks from its previous championship versions. 

Five years ago, I might have swiped left on this Alabama team. However, there’s never been this much parity in college football. 

When the final song starts playing next month and the light surrounding the playoff picture becomes clear, don’t be surprised if the Tide is the most appealing option sitting in front of the committee.