It really is a whole new era of college football. On Saturday there were four teams ranked in the Top 10 that lost. One of those programs was Alabama (No. 8). It was the first time since 2001 that the Crimson Tide lost its season opener.
The 31-17 road embarrassment to unranked Florida State caused the team to drop a whole 13 spots in the Week 2 AP Top 25 rankings to No. 21. Not since 2008 has the program sat outside the Top 20 and that was for the preseason poll that year. It was also the first time the team had lost an opener by two touchdowns since 1970 (a 21-point loss to No. 3 USC).
📉Alabama tumbles thirteen spots to #21 in the latest AP Top-25 poll after the week 1 loss to Florida State.
— Alabama Crimson Tide | AL.com (@aldotcomTide) September 2, 2025
Do you think this is the right spot for the Tide? pic.twitter.com/t8W388nA8I
Alabama's snapped 278 poll streak of being ranked within the Top 20 signals a wake up call for head coach Kalen DeBoer who inherited the impossible task of following up the legacy of the legendary Nick Saban. Some 'Bama fans may be wishing to go back in time to when things were less... uncertain.
What was life like the last time Alabama was ranked outside the AP Top 20?
Taking a trip back in the time machine, let's revisit what life was like in August of 2008 when Alabama was not on anyone's college football national championship radar.
Well, for starters, George W. Bush was president and the 2008 election between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama was entering the home stretch. The iPhone had just been released in late June by Apple, something that quickly became a part of our everyday lives.
Also, Alabama's top receiving option this year — Ryan Williams — was only just a year old. The preseason Heisman hopeful was born Feb. 9, 2007.
The reigning national champions were Alabama's rivals in Baton Rouge — LSU and the New York Giants had pulled off the upset of the century in Super Bowl XLII over the undefeated New England Patriots earlier in February.
On the entertainment side, Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" was the top movie at the box office in August 2008 while "Breaking Bad" had people glued to their television screens. What a different time it was.