Season Overview
Following nine SEC championships, eight trips to the College Football Playoff, and six national championships, Alabama now begins the post-Saban era. Instead of promoting from within, the Crimson Tide chose to import Coach DeBoer from Washington, along with a pair of new coordinators. While DeBoer is already a successful college football coach and inherits Alabama talent, the new coaching regime brings new systems, and the schedule isn’t easy. For the first time in a long time, the Tide will begin a season as somewhat of an unknown quantity.
Betting Odds
- Odds to win national championship (Bet365): +1200
- Odds to make CFP: +110
- Odds to win SEC (FanDuel): +750
- Wins over/under: 9.5
Alabama returns 13 starters from a team that wasn’t the average super ‘Bama outfit of recent memory last year but still won the SEC and made the CFP, where it lost a national semifinal bout to Michigan in overtime. The Tide took an early loss to Texas last year and later survived several close calls, most notably in the Iron Bowl against Auburn. The loss to the Wolverines was not unexpected. Over the offseason, Alabama suffered its biggest loss in many years when Coach Saban, disgusted by the current state of affairs in college football, retired. Now ‘Bama moves forward under Coach DeBoer, who just led Washington to the CFP last season.
Seven starters return for a Tide offense that only averaged 393 yards per game last season, the unit’s worst performance in 15 years. However, they include QB Jalen Milroe (23/6 TD/INT last season) and four along the offensive line. Meanwhile, six starters are back on a defense that held opponents to 316 YPG last year, so there are holes to fill on that side of the ball.
Alabama plays an early-season non-conference game at Wisconsin, which should be improved. The Tide later host Georgia and Missouri but play at Tennessee, at LSU, and at Oklahoma, now an SEC “rival.”
After winning several close games last year, combined with the learning curve that comes with the new coaching regime and a top-10 schedule, we see at least three, possibly four potential losses for ‘Bama this season.
Pick
Alabama under 9.5 wins
