Alabama football must make the College Football Playoff in coach Kalen DeBoer’s second year. Otherwise, it will be viewed as a failure. Those are just the expectations in Tuscaloosa, especially now that the playoff is expanded.
The good news for the Crimson Tide: DeBoer appears to have the roster and staff to compete not only for a spot in the CFP bracket but also an SEC championship and maybe even a national championship.
First, Alabama will have to get through its 12 regular season opponents. No season in the SEC is easy, and 2025 won’t be any different. But which teams will be the toughest and easiest to face?
Here’s a complete ranking of every Alabama opponent on the 2025 schedule, from easiest to hardest.
12: Eastern Illinois (Nov. 22)
The lone FCS team on the schedule. Next.
11: Louisiana Monroe (Sept. 6)
The only other non-Power Four team on the schedule. Next.
10: Vanderbilt (Oct. 4)
Diego Pavia and company fooled Alabama once. The Commodores won’t fool the Crimson Tide twice. Especially at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
9: Wisconsin (Sept. 13)
The Badgers will have a different offense in 2025 and a different quarterback after signing Billy Edwards Jr. from the transfer portal after previous stops of Wake Forest and Maryland. Whether he can turn things around in Madison, Wisconsin remains to be seen. Wisconsin is projected by many to finish in the bottom half of the Big Ten.
8: At Florida State (Aug. 30)
The Seminoles will be better than they were in 2024, but that won’t be hard to accomplish. Florida State won only two games a season ago. As expected, the Seminoles turned over much of the group that was part of that disaster. Tommy Castellanos comes over from Boston College to be the quarterback, and plenty of SEC flavor was added to the mix such as Tennessee transfers Squirrel White and Jayson Jenkins as well as running back Gavin Sawchuk and Micah Pettus. Oh, and Gus Malzahn will be calling the offense. But how much of a difference all the changes make remains to be seen. So, for now, the Seminoles remain lower on this list.
7: Tennessee (Oct. 18)
Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is gone, and while that might be good for the team culture, the quarterback position probably isn’t better. The Tennessee offense also has to deal with finding a way to replace running back Dylan Sampson, who rushed for 22 touchdowns a season ago. No other runner scored more than three otherwise. The Vols signed Duke running back Star Thomas, but making up for Sampson’s lack of production won’t be easy. On defense, the top two pass rushers went to the NFL in James Pearce Jr. and Omarr Norman-Lott. The defense should still be solid, but it won’t be easy replacing that elite talent either. Getting back to the College Football Playoff could be tough for the Vols this year.
6: At Auburn (Nov. 29)
Time is running out for coach Hugh Freeze on the Plains. The missteps of past Auburn coaches can only be blamed for so long. So, it’s a good thing the Tigers went out and bolstered the roster with some of the better talent the transfer portal had to offer. Auburn secured Georgia Tech transfer Eric Singleton Jr. to be another top receiver alongside freshman phenom Cam Coleman. The Tigers also secured Xavier Chaplin, the No. 2 offensive tackle in the transfer portal per 247Sports, to bolster the offensive line. But it will all come down to transfer quarterback Jackson Arnold. Can he return to five-star form under Freeze? That will determine how tough this game is. But either way, it figures to be anything but easy, especially considering the game will be played at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
5: At Missouri (Oct. 11)
The Tigers lost some key components from the successful past two seasons such as quarterback Brady Cook, receiver Luther Burden III and offensive tackle Armand Membou, among others. But Missouri also returns 71% of their production from a season ago, according to ESPN, which is the second-highest in the SEC. Plus, the Tigers added the No. 7 transfer portal class, per 247Sports, and that includes defender Damon Wilson II. Coach Eli Drinkwitz’s squad is fresh off back-to-back double-digit-win seasons. He has proven his methods work. Plus, the Tigers figure to provide more problems at home than they did at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
4: At South Carolina (Oct. 25)
The Gamecocks bring back LaNorris Sellers at quarterback, but will he have enough help around him? The defense returns edge rusher Dylan Stewart, but the group saw five players drafted in 2025. Can South Carolina rebound from the defensive upheaval? The Gamecocks carry plenty of momentum over from the way the 2024 season finished and could have one of the nation’s best quarterbacks, but there are plenty of questions that prevent the Gamecocks from being ranked higher for now.
3: Oklahoma (Nov. 15)
The Sooners signed one of the top transfers available in quarterback John Mateer from Washington State. He has a chance to elevate an often-dormant offense from a season ago, especially because Mateer will work with the same offensive coordinator from 2024; Oklahoma hired Ben Arbuckle away from Washington State this past offseason. Plus, Arbuckle added Cal running back Jaydn Ott from the transfer portal. The Sooners lost a few key pieces on defense including linebacker Danny Stutsman, but if the offense can elevate significantly, the Sooners figure to give plenty of teams problems in 2025.
2: At Georgia (Sept. 27)
The reigning SEC champs could be the toughest team to beat on Alabama’s schedule this season, but how much of that is based on history and how much of that is a reflection of what Georgia will be this season? Coach Kirby Smart has definitely earned the right to be viewed as a contender every year. And no doubt, he figures to have another good football team. The Bulldogs revamped at several positions, including receiver with the additions of Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch. But is quarterback Gunner Stockton going to light up the SEC in his first year as a full-time starter? Maybe. Maybe not. Georgia also must figure out a way to rebuild after 13 players turned into NFL draft picks. Smart has a good pipeline and is no stranger to filling in gaps created by NFL departures. But it’s never been more difficult to keep elite talent waiting in the wings than it is now. Georgia will be a tough out for the Crimson Tide, but there will be one tougher.
1: LSU (Nov. 8)
Coach Brian Kelly seems to be in a bit of a make-or-break year. And his program’s offseason moves have reflected that. The Tigers paired the No. 10 recruiting class with a variety of transfer additions, several from SEC schools, to bolster a roster that already features a player who figures to be one of the best quarterbacks in the conference in Garrett Nussmeier. 247Sports ranked LSU’s portal haul as the best in the country for 2025. Meanwhile, 71% of production on defense returns for another season, per ESPN. For now, with the influx of talent, the Tigers look to be the toughest opponent on Alabama’s schedule.
