The Alabama Crimson Tide are beginning to enterprise into uncharted territory. At the least for them.
The Crimson Tide fell all the way in which all the way down to No. 21 on this week’s AP Ballot following an unsightly Week 1 loss to Florida State, making it this system’s lowest ranking in nearly two decades.
You need to go all the way in which again to the beginning of the Nick Saban period to seek out the final time Alabama was ranked this low nationally. The Crimson Tide completed the 2007 unranked, after which opened 2008 with the No. 24 rating within the nation. They jumped as much as No. 13 the next week and didn’t go away the highest 20 till this newest rating.
That could be a stretch of 16 years constantly within the high 20.
The Crimson Tide nonetheless stay ranked — for now — and have been for 280 consecutive polls. However another ugly loss — or any loss basically — within the coming weeks might put that streak in critical jeopardy.
It additionally needs to be in jeopardy.
As unhealthy as Saturday’s recreation towards Florida State was, it was not a completely out-of-nowhere efficiency.
With that loss, Alabama is simply 5-5 in its previous 10 video games going again to the 2024 season, with three losses to unranked opponents in that stretch of video games. Virtually another program would have a tough time nonetheless discovering a method to crack the rankings, however Alabama’s previous success and fame are all the time going to hold a whole lot of weight within the eyes of voters.
Alabama has a really winnable recreation at residence this Saturday towards Louisiana-Monroe, earlier than a troublesome stretch of video games towards Wisconsin, No. 4 Georgia and a Vanderbilt group that upset Alabama a yr in the past.
If it drops one or two of these video games it might carry its stretch of consecutive ballot appearances to an finish, and solely enhance the stress on second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer.
