The Alabama Crimson Tide did not qualify for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. They finished the season ranked No. 11 in the final CFP rankings. However, two conference champions were ranked below Alabama, which secured them automatic bids to the playoff. As a result, Alabama was the first team left out of contention.

Alabama director of sports performance David Ballou shared the message players received right after the 2024 season.

With kicking less than two weeks away, it's the time of year when the sport's top "insiders" lend themselves to bold predictions for the upcoming season. CBS Sports' Chip Patterson did the same with regard to Alabama in 2025: Patterson believes the Crimson Tide will win the SEC championship on December 6 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum has openly disagreed with the current rankings, particularly regarding the Buckeyes. On his show, “The Paul Finebaum Show,” he expressed that he does not believe they deserve to be ranked among the top three teams, despite being the reigning national champion.

The new metric -- titled record strength -- will give further credit to how a team performs against its schedule. It will give extra credit for beating quality teams, while lessening the penalty for losses against tougher opponents.

The College Football Playoff selection committee announced it will place more emphasis on strength of schedule this year when determining the 12-team field.

Bud Light announced Aug. 20 it is bringing back its college football team cans for the 2025-26 season. See which teams are represented.

Going into 2025, this group has a veteran trio of returning starters who will all be looking to break that mold and take the next step into becoming an elite unit. Behind them, there’s a lot of room for any of the young players to step up and become role players, as most all of the depth is still very inexperienced.