Greg McElroy Reveals College Football Team as a 'Legitimate' National Championship Contender
The Alabama Crimson Tide are desperately hoping to return to competing for national titles, a common occurrence during the Nick Saban era.
Kalen DeBoer is now the head coach and is fresh off a 9-4 season in his first year in Tuscaloosa. DeBoer took the Washington Huskies to the national championship in 2023, and Greg McElroy thinks the same can happen for the Crimson Tide in 2025.
McElroy called Alabama a "legitimate" national championship contender on a recent episode of "Always College Football."
Alabama's last national title of the Saban era was in 2020, when the team defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 52-24.
"I think Alabama has a big year," McElroy said. "I'm a believer. I'm buying. I think they are a legitimate national championship contender in year number two for Kalen DeBoer."
The Crimson Tide missed the College Football Playoff last year after going 9-3 during the regular season. The 2024 season was the first time that the 12-team format was used for the playoff.
Alabama had the third-best odds to make the CFP among SEC teams, at -180, according to Circa Sportsbook. The Crimson Tide's trip to the playoff in 2023 ended with a 27-20 overtime loss to the Michigan Wolverines, and Saban retired shortly after.
The team returns top talent on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Ty Simpson, receiver Ryan Williams, linebacker Deonte Lawson and cornerback Domani Jackson.
Simpson was named the starting quarterback after being the backup for the last three seasons. The former five-star prospect brings 16 games of experience with him into the 2025 season.
An elite prospect from the 2026 class named Alabama as a finalist recently. Four-star in-state edge rusher Jaquez Wilkes included the Crimson Tide in his final five schools, but went with the Auburn Tigers instead.
Alabama opens the 2025 season with the Florida State Seminoles on August 30. Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC.This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
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USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
What Trojans need to do to make College Football Playoff
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Los Angeles Times
2 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Times of Troy: What's the best-case scenario for USC football this season?
Welcome back to the Times of Troy newsletter, where the college football offseason is now fully in the rearview mirror. USC opened its preseason camp last week, and already, my arms are a deep shade of red from failure to wear sunscreen at practice. We're back, baby. This is the time of year when anything is possible. (Except for me getting an even tan.) Now is the time to convince yourself of your team's unproven quarterback. Or buy into the hype about the rebuilt defensive line. Maybe you even start to come around on that coach you said you'd never trust again. There's plenty of time for us to get cynical in the next several weeks. But for this week, let's consider what a best-case scenario might look like for USC's season. Let's start here: I don't think it's crazy to convince yourself of a world where Lincoln Riley could lead USC to the College Football Playoff. I'm not suggesting that's the likely outcome. (In my actual opinion, it's not.) But since we're wearing our cardinal-and-gold-colored glasses this morning, let's consider what that path might look like. It's safe to assume that a berth in the playoff would require winning 10 games. Just one team got in with three losses last year — Clemson — and that's only because they had an automatic bid. USC's two toughest games of the season, by far, are its road tilts against Notre Dame and Oregon. I have a hard time envisioning a scenario in which the Trojans escape with two wins against surefire top-10 teams on the road. Losses in both would, in turn, require USC to run the table in their other 10. That's not easy, no matter who you are. So in any scenario that ends with USC slipping into the playoff probably starts with stealing a win in one of Eugene or South Bend. There are plenty of other points in the road where the Trojans could still stumble. If USC can afford to lose just one other game to maintain its playoff candidacy, as last year's field suggests, that means it must win at least three of these four games: Michigan and Iowa, at home, and Illinois and Nebraska, on the road. All four feel like coin flips, as of early August. Not only that, but USC also can't afford to blow any of its games against inferior conference opponents such as Purdue, Michigan State and Northwestern. That shouldn't be a problem. But, well … you never know. Even in a best-case scenario, it's reasonable to expect at least one loss in that crop of seven games. But if somehow USC emerged from its second Big Ten season with a 10-2 record, USC would probably punch its first ticket to the College Football Playoff. It's just that simple. Right? Well … not exactly. But we're staying optimistic here! Which, in this 10-win scenario, means first and foremost that USC's defense — and its defensive line in particular — will have taken a major step forward in Year 2 under D'Anton Lynn. Defensive end Kameryn Fountain and defensive tackle Devan Thompkins will have lived up to their preseason hype with All-Big Ten seasons, while Eric Gentry will lead the Big Ten in sacks before skyrocketing into the first round of the upcoming NFL draft. It's not that difficult to imagine, really. But that sort of leap on defense probably also means more suitors for Lynn in the offseason — either in the NFL or as a college head coach — which is a problem for another day. The best-case scenario for USC's offense, meanwhile, starts with a breakout season for quarterback Jayden Maiava, who, in this hypothetical, proves to be a much better fit for Riley's offense than Miller Moss was a year ago. 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In a sitdown with reporters, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua opened the door for at least one concession to USC in negotiations over the rivalry series. USC, at the moment, is still holding strong with the rest of the Big Ten on pushing for four automatic qualifiers to the College Football Playoff. But if that plan goes nowhere, which at this point seems likely, then I don't see why USC and Notre Dame wouldn't be able to iron something out to keep the series alive. —Offensive line reinforcements are on the way in USC's 2026 class. The rich got richer on the recruiting trail last week as USC nabbed the commitment of Breck Kolojay, a fast-rising interior line prospect from IMG Academy. That gives the Trojans seven (!!) commits on the offensive line, which would be the largest line class in recent memory at USC. That group is headlined by the nation's top offensive tackle prospect, Keenyi Pepe, who just happens to be Kolojay's teammate at IMG. 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After burning through one season in a few days, my wife and I have already dug into Season 2. That concludes today's newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you'd like to see, email me at and follow me on Twitter at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
What is LSU football's record vs. the spread under head coach Brian Kelly?
Brian Kelly is entering year four as LSU football's head coach. In three years, Kelly has elevated LSU from where the program was in Ed Orgeron's final years, but Kelly is yet to lead LSU to a College Football Playoff appearance. LSU won the SEC West in Kelly's first year, but lost to Georgia in the SEC title. Overall, LSU is 29-11 under Kelly. That's a solid record, but let's take a look at how Kelly and LSU have fared vs. the betting spread in recent years. Under Kelly, LSU is 21-19 against the spread for a cover rate of 52.5%. On average, Kelly's LSU teams outperform the spread by 1.8 points. That's a good reflection of LSU's identity over the last three seasons. The floor is high, but LSU is yet to overperform expectations under Kelly. LSU's 2024 win total was 8.5 and LSU finished the regular season with eight wins, earning its ninth win in the bowl game vs. Baylor. LSU thinks it has the talent to take the next step in 2025. The Tigers return quarterback Garrett Nussmeier and sign the sport's top-ranked transfer portal class.
