Alabama must get big season from this player to return to College Football Playoff: expert
Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer is hoping for a better Year 2 than his debut season in Tuscaloosa.
Not that Alabama couldn't have done far worse than a 9-3 regular season that included a thrilling win over Georgia, a blowout victory at LSU, and a fifth straight Iron Bowl win over Auburn. Those and six other victories aren't bad for any new coach to have on his résumé.
But it's still Alabama, where high expectations will always be part of the job for any coach (historically, some have understood this better than others). For DeBoer to improve on last year's mark, a trip to the 12-team College Football Playoff is a must.
On Thursday, CBS Sports looked at the biggest X-factors for 12 prime College Football Playoff hopefuls. In Alabama's case, analyst Carter Bahns highlighted linebacker Qua Russaw as the player he views as poised to "make or break" the Tide's playoff hopes in 2025.
Per Bahns:
"The Alabama defense lost some of its identity last season as the pass rushing scheme lacked explosiveness and did not feature the superstar-caliber edge rushers that were cornerstones of the roster under Nick Saban. Someone needs to take a step forward in 2025 for the Crimson Tide to be more than just a mid-tier defensive front. Enter Qua Russaw, who cut his teeth as a redshirt freshman and should be the top option at the "wolf" position in Year 3. He managed just one sack a year ago, and Alabama needs more from the former No. 64 overall recruit."
Russaw committed to Nick Saban as a five-star player from Montgomery's Carver High School in 2022. As a redshirt freshman a season ago, he played in 13 games and made six starts while totaling 36 tackles (2.5 for loss) to go with two interceptions.
DeBoer has a talented roster heading into 2025, and it's apparent everywhere you look. PFF (Pro Football Focus) ranked the Tide's offensive line as the best in the nation, while the secondary was ranked No. 2 behind Texas. The wide receivers room, led by sophomore Ryan Williams and senior Germie Bernard, was recently ranked by CBS Sports as the third-best unit.
That talent will have to carry Alabama back to the College Football Playoff for the season to be considered a success.
Alabama opens the 2025 season against Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Aug. 30. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.
Alabama football schedule 2025
All times Central.
Aug. 30: at Florida State, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Sept. 6: vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 6:45 p.m., SEC Network
Sept. 13: vs. Wisconsin, 11 a.m., ABC or ESPN
Sept. 27: at Georgia, 6:30 p.m., ABC
Oct. 4: vs. Vanderbilt, TBA
Oct. 11: at Missouri, 11 a.m., ABC or ESPN
Oct. 18: vs. Tennessee, TBA
Oct. 25: at South Carolina, TBA
Nov. 8: vs. LSU, prime time
Nov. 15: vs. Oklahoma, TBA
Nov. 22 vs. Eastern Illinois, 1 p.m., ESPN+
Nov. 29: at Auburn, TBA
Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinion.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
17 minutes ago
- USA Today
Where Joel Klatt has Oregon Ducks ending up in 2025 College Football Playoff mix
A year after taking the No. 1 seed on the first 12-team College Football Playoff, the Oregon Ducks are back again in 2025 with expectations of getting into the postseason and competing for a national championship. The new season will bring new challenges for Dan Lanning and his team, with a new-look roster taking shape that returns just four total starters from a year ago. However, despite the lack of experience, Oregon is as talented as they've maybe ever been, and expectations are high going into the new season, which is just over a week away. When forecasting what's to come, it's common to predict what the upcoming CFP will look like. Ahead of the season, Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt predicted his 12-team playoff field, and he had Oregon coming in as a No. 6 seed, hosting the No. 11 Michigan Wolverines at Autzen in the first round. Klatt has Penn State as the No. 1 overall seed, meaning they would win the Big Ten Conference, and Ohio State at No. 4, meaning they would lose to the Nittany Lions in the conference title game. Klatt predicts that Oregon would beat Michigan, but then lose to the Clemson Tigers in the second round. Coincidentally, Klatt has the Tigers going on to win the national championship, which would make it the second year in a row that Oregon would have lost to the eventual champion in the quarterfinals. Going into the season, there is a belief that Oregon has to go at least 10-2 in order to make the playoff, but a 9-3 record would likely see them all short. With road games against Iowa, Penn State, and Washington, the Ducks will have their work cut out for them to get back into the postseason. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
US Open draw: Tennis' final major championship of 2025 reveals brackets
The final Grand Slam event of the tennis season – the U.S. Open – is already underway with qualifying matches in progress. But the real action doesn't start for another couple of days. The official unveiling of the men's and women's singles brackets provides the first glimpse of how the fabled tournament might unfold over the next two weeks. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is back to defend the 2024 men's title he won over American Taylor Fritz. Meanwhile, top-ranked woman Aryna Sabalenka is set to defend after defeating Jessica Pegula a year ago. One interesting note in this year's women's draw: Two-time champion Venus Williams received a wild-card entry and will compete at age 45. U.S. Open officials announced the seeds and pairings for the tournament on Thursday, Aug. 21. Who are the top seeds at the 2025 US Open? Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka will be the No. 1 seeds in this year's U.S. Open men's and women's singles competition. When does the 2025 US Open start? The main draw of the 2025 U.S. Open begins Monday, Aug. 25, and will continue over the next two weeks, with the men's singles final closing out the event on Sunday, Sept. 7. How can I watch the 2025 US Open? The 2025 U.S. Open will be broadcast on various channels, including ABC and ESPN, with streaming coverage available on the ESPN app. Where will the 2025 US Open take place? The U.S. Open will be played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York. What is the schedule for the 2025 US Open? What is the purse for the 2025 US Open? Men's and women's singles Doubles Who were the men's and women's singles winners at the 2024 US Open? At the 2024 U.S. Open, Jannik Sinner held off Taylor Fritz, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5, to win his first U.S. Open Championship. In the women's singles final, Aryna Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula, 7-5, 7-5. Sabalenka reached the finals in 2023 but lost to Coco Gauff.
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Notre Dame Drops New Logo With Leprechaun Carrying Football
College Football Notre Dame Drops New Logo With Leprechaun Carrying Football Published Aug. 21, 2025 12:11 p.m. ET share facebook x reddit link Football teams are constantly dropping new jerseys and helmets. Well, now they're dropping new logos. Notre Dame unveiled a new logo for the 2025 college football season on Thursday morning that features a leprechaun carrying a football. The leprechaun in a fighting stance has traditionally been the mascot logo of Notre Dame since the 1960s, with a gold "ND" being the acronym logo. Of course, a leprechaun has long been the school's mascot. This new logo is specific to the football program but the school stated that it plans to release sports-specific marks for all its varsity sports. The Fighting Irish are coming off a 14-2 campaign, headlined by them reaching the National Championship and making the College Football Playoff for the first time in four years. No. 6 Notre Dame opens the 2025 season with a pair of ranked matchups, those being a Week 1 road game against No. 10 Miami (FL) and a Week 2 home game against No. 19 Texas A&M. It named redshirt freshman CJ Carr its starting quarterback earlier this week. ADVERTISEMENT The Fighting Irish are entering their fourth complete season with head coach Marcus Freeman (he coached the final game of the 2021 season). Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience College Football Notre Dame Fighting Irish What did you think of this story? share
