The Alabama Crimson Tide are beginning to enterprise into uncharted territory. A minimum of for them.
The Crimson Tide fell all the best way right down to No. 21 on this week’s AP Ballot following an unsightly Week 1 loss to Florida State, making it this system’s lowest ranking in nearly two decades.
You must go all the best way again to the beginning of the Nick Saban period to search out the final time Alabama was ranked this low nationally. The Crimson Tide completed the 2007 unranked, after which opened 2008 with the No. 24 rating within the nation. They jumped as much as No. 13 the next week and didn’t depart the highest 20 till this newest rating.
That could be a stretch of 16 years constantly within the high 20.
The Crimson Tide nonetheless stay ranked — for now — and have been for 280 consecutive polls. However yet one more ugly loss — or any loss generally — within the coming weeks may put that streak in critical jeopardy.
It additionally ought to be in jeopardy.
As dangerous as Saturday’s sport in opposition to Florida State was, it was not a completely out-of-nowhere efficiency.
With that loss, Alabama is simply 5-5 in its previous 10 video games going again to the 2024 season, with three losses to unranked opponents in that stretch of video games. Virtually every other program would have a tough time nonetheless discovering a solution to crack the rankings, however Alabama’s previous success and popularity are at all times going to hold a variety of weight within the eyes of voters.
Alabama has a really winnable sport at dwelling this Saturday in opposition to Louisiana-Monroe, earlier than a troublesome stretch of video games in opposition to Wisconsin, No. 4 Georgia and a Vanderbilt group that upset Alabama a 12 months in the past.
If it drops one or two of these video games it may convey its stretch of consecutive ballot appearances to an finish, and solely improve the strain on second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer.
