Nov 9, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers tight end Trey'Dez Green (14) makes a catch just out of bounds against Alabama Crimson Tide defensive back Bray Hubbard (18) at Tiger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

The Alabama Crimson Tide is just a few months away from head coach Kalen DeBoer’s third season at the helm, which also happens to be a season of change, as regards to scheduling, with the SEC now requiring nine conference games through the season.

For the 2026 season, Alabama will now face five conference opponents away from home. Kentucky, Mississippi State, Tennessee, LSU and Vanderbilt are all on the table. Here’s how each matchup ranks in terms of difficulty for the Tide.

1. Nov. 7 @ LSU

If the history of the rivalry and burning passion between the Tigers and the Crimson Tide wasn’t leaving fans with enough action on the field for each go around, the 2026 matchup between Alabama and LSU in Baton Rouge should satisfy fans for a while.

Former Alabama offensive coordinator and, more recently, head coach of Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin’s dramatic departure from Oxford and intentions to make the move to Baton Rouge prior to the playoffs last season left college football fans stunned.

On his arrival, Kiffin managed to retain defensive coordinator Bryce Baker, who has consistently improved LSU’s defense over the past few seasons, which will certainly help the Tigers succeed alongside Kiffin’s notoriously high-powered offense.

LSU landed former Arizona State star quarterback Sam Leavitt and many other notable key offensive pieces out of the transfer portal while convincing many key contributors to stay as well. There’s no reason the Tigers’ offense shouldn’t be lethal.

2. Oct. 17 @ Tennessee

The Third Saturday in October will be headlined by a quarterback duel between two signal-callers who will both be in their first season as starting quarterbacks for their respective teams. As of now, neither team knows who it’s going to start.

Tennessee lost its quarterback, Joey Aguilar, after the NCAA denied him a sixth year of eligibility. This comes a year after they basically swapped with UCLA for Aguilar after their former starter, Nico Iamaleava, hit the portal and joined the Bruins.

The Volunteers must determine whether to start redshirt-freshman George MacIntyre or true freshman Faizon Brandon. Tennessee put together a good transfer haul, but will mostly rely on returning contributors and relatively younger guys.

Regardless of how good Tennessee actually is next season, a game in Knoxville can never be discounted. Neyland Stadium will be rocking, and the Vols will be looking for blood. It could get even more dangerous if the game gets played at night.

3. Sept. 12 @ Kentucky

Since the Wildcats hired Oregon’s offensive coordinator, Will Stein, Kentucky’s program has seemingly already been trending upward. This comes mostly as a result of his immediate impact through the utilization of the transfer portal.

Stein secured Notre Dame quarterback Kenny Minchey, along with some nice additions on offense, to ensure that he’ll carry the success that he found in Eugene with him. He also hired Texas A&M’s Jay Bateman to run the defense.

Bateman helped coach an Aggies defense to an 11-2 season last year and also acquired a nice bunch of defensive guys through the portal, with the most notable addition being former Texas linebacker Elijah Barnes, who ranked as a four-star portal recruit.

Kentucky will be a much different team than fans have seen in recent years. Even if the Wildcats don’t find true, immediate success in Stein’s first year, facing an unfamiliar Kentucky team early in the year could get dangerous for the Tide.

4. Nov. 14 @ Vanderbilt

The last time the Crimson Tide made the trip to Nashville, it got stunned in a 40-35 loss while it was ranked No. 1 in the nation. This time around, both teams are in very different places since the matchup two years ago.

Although the Commodores beat the Tide in 2024, they still didn’t have the best season, going 7-6. However, they managed to improve last year, earning a 10-3 record in the midst of quarterback Diego Pavia’s Heisman-contender campaign.

With Pavia’s departure for the NFL, the Commodores are left with one real option at quarterback: starting true-freshman and the No. 2 quarterback in last year’s recruiting class, Jared Curtis, whom Vanderbilt managed to flip from a commitment to Georgia.

The issue for the Commodores is that they’ll need Curtis to be a star. Perhaps the most important player aside from Curtis is Sedrick Alexander, their starting running back, who will be returning after rushing for over 500 yards.

5. Oct. 3 @ Mississippi State

Mississippi State fans haven’t had much to be happy about through the first two years under Jeff Lebby, who has gone 7-18 overall and recorded just one conference win in his time in Starkville, but there seems to be some potential for change.

Lebby and the Bulldogs brought in 27 transfers, notably adding wide receivers Marquis Johnson and Anthony Evans III, who came from Missouri and Georgia, respectively. They’ll also be returning Kamario Taylor at quarterback.

Overall, Mississippi State added some decent Power 5 talent on both sides of the ball; however, they’re still fairly weak on both sides of the trenches. Most important for them, though, is the ability to stay consistent throughout the season.

The Bulldogs had some good moments last year, but they were never able to consistently execute. Although they’ve put in some offseason work, the biggest thing Alabama will likely have to worry about is the cowbells that get going in Davis Wade Stadium.