Kalen DeBoer Sounds off on Alabama Missing CFP Last Year

Alabama was in a state of turmoil for much of last offseason, replacing legendary head coach Nick Saban with Kalen DeBoer, fresh off a national championship appearance with Washington. DeBoer and the Crimson Tide fell short of expectations last year, going 9-3 before just missing out on the College Football Playoffs and losing to Michigan in the Reliaquest Bowl.

Get our free mobile app

The Tide's schedule was tough, making a non-conference road trip to Wisconsin before playing a grueling SEC schedule that included road trips to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma. On the road in SEC play, Alabama went 1-3, with the lone victory a splattering in Baton Rouge.

Alabama also had some close calls at home, narrowly escaping South Carolina with a two-point victory and allowing Georgia to come back from down 30-7 before Ryan Williams and Zabien Brown struck a dagger into the hearts of the Bulldog faithful in Bryant-Denny Stadium last season.

In 2024, Alabama had the 20th-ranked strength of schedule, higher than Indiana (35), Clemson (28), Arizona State (39), SMU (41), and Boise State (67), who all made the playoffs ahead of Alabama. The Tide was also ranked higher than Arizona State and Clemson, who leapfrogged the Tide into the playoffs due to automatic qualifiers for conference champions.

At SEC spring meetings in Florida, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer spoke about the Tide's schedule last season.

"You wonder what would have happened if other people would have played our schedule," DeBoer told reporters on Tuesday.

In 2025, Alabama's schedule once again features marquee non-conference matchups, with Alabama going to Florida State to open the season on August 30, and Wisconsin making a return trip to Tuscaloosa after last year's bout in Madison.

A sticking point to the playoff selection recently has been the weight of the strength of schedule. Alabama continues to schedule big-name nonconference opponents, with the Tide set to play West Virginia, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, and Notre Dame in nonconference home-and-homes by the end of the decade.

"We haven't held back [in non-conference]," DeBoer continued. "How do you figure out strength of schedule [when picking playoff teams] from conference to conference when you don't play as many games as in basketball & other sports?"

In addition to Florida State and Wisconsin, the Tide's SEC schedule once again features big-name opponents at home and on the road. Alabama will host Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma at home this season while traveling to Georgia, South Carolina, Missouri, and Auburn for SEC play.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.