5 college football teams that will be worse than you think in 2024
By John Buhler
4. Alabama Crimson Tide will pull back mostly because Nick Saban retired
This is so obvious, but it has to be explicitly stated. The 2024 Alabama Crimson Tide are not a Nick Saban Alabama Crimson Tide team from yesteryear. Last season's team went 12-2 with losses to Texas in the non-conference and to Michigan in the Rose Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff. That was a good Alabama team, but not a great one. Also, Kalen DeBoer is taking over the program.
In time, I would suspect that he will find a way to make Alabama his own. However, he is brand spanking new to the southeastern region and is still trying to find his footing. After all, he only has two year's experience of being a Power Five head coach. He did extraordinary things at Washington, but that was the Pac-12 and this is now: The SEC. Alabama is every bit a 10-2 team under DeBoer today.
Truth be told, that might be good enough to get a No. 10 or 11 seed in the expanded 12-team playoff. Alabama could be good enough to merit inclusion as a top-four or five SEC team. However, I cannot in good faith have them any higher than being the third-best team in the league next year behind Georgia and Texas, in that order. Right this instant, I have them behind Ole Miss and Missouri as well.
How the Crimson Tide play vs. the likes of LSU, Missouri and Tennessee will determine their fate.