Which Game is a “Trap” Game for Alabama in 2025?

We're just 116 days away from Alabama beginning the 2025 college football season in Tallahassee, Florida, against the Florida State Seminoles. The buzz around the 2025 Crimson Tide is palpable, even in the dog days of summer. Alabama is expected to return to contention for a national title, something the Crimson Tide has not won since the 2020 COVID-19 season.

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However, it seems that all great national championship teams have one slip-up - a loss to an unranked opponent, a close call on the road, an edge rusher who gets the better of a future first-round pick on seemingly every rep. Maybe the offense isn't clicking the way everyone thought it would in the game. Either way, it can be a wake-up call to teams at the top that they have to take every opponent seriously every week.

That's especially true in the SEC, where it just means more.

The Crimson Tide got the full force of SEC teams licking their lips to take down the proverbial king of college football, especially in a season where the Tide was seemingly "down" following Nick Saban's retirement. Alabama fell three times on the road, and in all three losses, the Crimson Tide had to scamper to the locker room amid a sea of opposing fans as they stormed the field after an upset of Alabama. Financially, Alabama benefited from the losses by collecting $400,000 in field storming fines that opposing schools had to pay under the new rules by the SEC.

While $400,000 is a nice payday, the money didn't ease the sting of seeing SMU pop up as the final at-large bid in the College Football Playoff and Alabama being the first team out of the playoffs. The Tide will look to return to the national stage in 2025, but it won't be easy. 12 teams will line up against Alabama on Saturdays this fall with the hopes of dashing the Crimson Tide's dreams of returning to the CFP.

Which team could lull Alabama to sleep? Even at the height of Nick Saban's football machine in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, it was not immune to trap games. A young buck named Johnny Manziel walked into Tuscaloosa and became a college football legend after stunning the Crimson Tide. Chad Kelly did the same just three seasons later, and Alabama fans will never forget the infamous ULM game during the 2007 season.

Who is the opponent that could trap Alabama and give the Crimson Tide a mud fight for 60 minutes?

Three opponents immediately come to mind when taking a first-look glance at Alabama's 2025 schedule.

At Missouri on October 11. It's in the middle of a five-game stretch where Alabama will look to get revenge for two of its losses last season (Vanderbilt, Tennessee) and two road games against SEC Championship quality opponents (Georgia, South Carolina).

Alabama could be coming off an emotional win against Vanderbilt while looking ahead to another emotional, rivalry game against Tennessee back in Tuscaloosa.

At South Carolina on October 25 is another option. It's the final game of the five-game stretch before Alabama gets its second bye week of the season. It's also on the heels of Alabama's game against Tennessee, where the Tide will be looking for revenge for last year's slugfest in Knoxville. The game against South Carolina will almost certainly be a night game as well, adding to the difficulty element of the game.

The final 'trap' is a home game for Alabama on November 15 against Oklahoma. The Sooners got the better of the Crimson Tide last season, ending Alabama's College Football Playoff hopes on a cold night in Norman. The 2025 game will be fresh off the heels of the Tide's matchup with LSU, which is always a physical contest, and just before the annual "cupcake week" before Alabama rolls into Jordan-Hare Stadium against Auburn. The Sooners look to be much improved this season, so it may not be an easy contest against Oklahoma.

We asked you guys, the Crimson Tide fans, who you thought the trap games were for Alabama in 2025.

Former Alabama linebacker Cornelius Bennett didn't like the question, saying every game is important, no matter the opponent.

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_.