Alabama opened the preseason outside the Top 10 for the first time since 2008, a jolt for a program that spent that era almost always sitting near the top of the sport. The Tide’s placement has already split the betting market, with some handicappers seeing Alabama as high as eighth and others keeping it just outside the top 10.
That search is happening now because the ranking lands as the new season takes shape and oddsmakers are trying to decide whether Kalen DeBoer’s team has enough to climb back into the elite tier. In 2008, Nick Saban was in his second season in Tuscaloosa, and Alabama finished 12-2 after a Sugar Bowl loss to undefeated Utah. This time, the conversation starts from a less familiar place: outside the Top 10 before a snap is played.
Ed Salmons, speaking from Las Vegas, said Alabama’s problem last season was simple. “Alabama could not run the ball last season,” he said. “That was never an issue at the height of their powers under Nick Saban. I like Kalen DeBoer and there’s always going to be talent there, but they must get back to running the ball.” The point matters because Alabama finished 11-4 last season and was beaten 38-3 by eventual champion Indiana, a margin that underscored how far the offense drifted from the standard that made the program a constant preseason favorite.
The disagreement over where Alabama belongs is not small. Motoi Pearson ranked the Tide 11th. Brad Powers had them 13th. One former bookmaker turned bettor went the other direction and put Alabama eighth, ahead of several teams he listed near the top, including Ohio State, Notre Dame and Oregon tied at two, Texas fourth, Georgia and Indiana tied at five, and Miami seventh. He said Alabama “acquired a ton of talent in the transfer portal” and added five transfers in the offensive line room, arguing that DeBoer addressed the weakest part of the team even if the quarterback remains young, though a five-star recruit.
That is the friction inside Alabama’s preseason case: the roster still draws belief, but the offensive line and run game have to prove the new additions mean something. The market is treating the Tide as a team with room to rise, not a locked-in top-10 lock, and that is why the ranking landed as a statement instead of a routine number.
Elsewhere in the board, Joey Feazel said Florida State “left a lot to be desired against New Mexico State,” and the line for Florida State against SMU was holding steady around 3 after being 1.5 and 2 before Week 0. He said the Monday night matchup should be one of Caesars Sportsbook’s biggest handled college games of the year because it is the only game on Monday night and the NFL is not back yet. Feazel also said Caesars’ worst Heisman result right now is Lincoln Kienholz, pointing to a sizable 80/1 bet and noting that there are more tickets on John Mateer and Arch Manning. For Alabama, though, the question is more basic than futures or handle: whether the transfers up front can turn preseason belief into a running game that looks like Alabama again.
