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If the College Football Playoff were to begin immediately, Alabama football would make the 12-team tournament.
Each of the major college football preseason polls — the Associated Press Poll and the US LBM Coaches Poll — has Alabama ranked at No. 8 heading into the 2025 season. The Crimson Tide did not receive a first-place vote from either poll coming off a 9-4 season to begin the Kalen DeBoer era in Tuscaloosa.
The 2025 season will bring a return of the 12-team College Football Playoff. But starting this season, the bracket will be seeded directly based on the rankings released by the CFP Selection committee with the four highest-ranked teams securing a bye, and the next four hosting first-round games.
What would Alabama‘s CFP path look like based on each preseason poll? There doesn’t seem to be much of a difference between the two.
Who would Alabama football face in CFP based on preseason AP Poll?
According to the preseason AP poll, Alabama could add a few SEC games to its schedule in the College Football Playoff.
As the No. 8 team in the country, Alabama would host No. 9 LSU in the first round for a quarterfinal date against No. 1 Texas.
Alabama could potentially see No. 12 Illinois, No. 5 Georgia or No. 4 Clemson in the semifinal before a championship game against No. 10 Miami (FL), No. 7 Oregon, No. 11 Arizona State, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 2 Penn State or No. 3 Ohio State.
Who would Alabama football face in CFP based on preseason Coaches Poll?
Alabama’s College Football Playoff path does not change much according to the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll.
Alabama’s No. 8 ranking would pit the Crimson Tide against No. 9 LSU for a date with No. 1 Texas.
Illinois and Georgia would be potential semifinal matchups along with Notre Dame. Miami, Oregon, Arizona State, Ohio State and Penn State would be potential CFP national championship game opponents, along with Clemson.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.