Alabama football got back in the win column in Week 8 with a hard-fought victory over Texas A&M at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The Crimson Tide's 31-20 win, which required two fourth-quarter touchdown passes from Keelon Russell, moved Alabama up in The Athletic's updated College Football Playoff projections entering Week 9.
Veteran college football analyst Scott Dochterman of The Athletic (subscription required for full access) now sees the Crimson Tide as a No. 7 seed in the playoff with a matchup against the No. 10 seed BYU Cougars. It's a two-spot jump for Alabama, which would host its first-ever playoff game at Bryant-Denny Stadium in this scenario.
Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC) is No. 10 in this week's US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25. BYU (6-1)
fell six spots to No. 8 after its 39-31 double-overtime loss at UCF. It was the Cougars' first loss of the season, and it came a week after their thrilling -- and controversial -- 28-24 win over Notre Dame in Provo.
An Alabama-BYU matchup would be only the second all-time meeting between the two programs, and the first in almost 30 years. The Crimson Tide opened the 1998 season with a 38-31 win over the Cougars and legendary coach LaVell Edwards at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The Athletic is one of several national outlets that includes Alabama in its latest College Football Playoff projections. USA TODAY Sports' Erick Smith sees Alabama taking on Ole Miss in the first round of the playoff at Vaught Hemingway Stadium in Oxford.
ESPN college football analyst Kyle Bonagura has the Crimson Tide visiting Bloomington for a first-round matchup against the Indiana Hoosiers in the No. 11 vs. No. 6 game.
ESPN predicts the winner of Alabama football's last four games
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) October 28, 2026
📸 David Leong, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/Fbr0wCxTAU pic.twitter.com/57qiwAr7bQ
Alabama football schedule 2026
Alabama faces No. 13 LSU (6-2, 3-2) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on Nov. 7. Kickoff is 2:30 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ABC.
All times Central.
- Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates (W, 48-10)
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats (W, 45-17)
- Sept. 19: vs. Florida State Seminoles (W, 50-36)
- Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (W, 49-18)
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs (W, 56-23)
- Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs (L, 20-17)
- Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers (L, 26-10)
- Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M Aggies (W, 31-20)
- Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, TBA
- Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 28: vs. Auburn Tigers, TBA
Record: 6-2 overall, 4-2 SEC.
Contact us at @RollTideWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Alabama Crimson Tide news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Alabama rises in The Athletic's College Football Playoff projections
