How quickly things change in the week-to-week grind that is life in the SEC on fall Saturdays. Two weeks after a 5-0 start that had many wondering if coach Kalen DeBoer had his best Alabama football team, the Crimson Tide are reeling after two straight losses.
Alabama (5-2, 3-2 SEC) fell to No. 13 in this week's US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 after a 26-10 loss to rival Tennessee at Neyland Stadium in Week 7. The offense, which scored 45 points or more through the first five weeks, has gone cold.
The Crimson Tide were shut out in the second half in each of their last two games after Georgia escaped Tuscaloosa with its first win since 2007 on Oct. 10 and after Tennessee simply dominated Alabama for four quarters last Saturday in Knoxville.
In its weekly college football Fraud Alert on Tuesday, USA TODAY Sports examined whether Alabama was indeed a "fraud" after the Tide's recent struggles against top-15 teams.
USA TODAY Sports' verdict: guilty.
College football analyst Jordan Mendoza said:
"Neyland Stadium is turning into a house of horrors for the Crimson Tide after its prolific offense was held to just 10 points against Tennessee, losing consecutive regular-season games for the first time since Nick Saban's first year in 2007.
"After getting off the hook last week, there's no avoiding the charges now. Alabama really did get suffocated by the Volunteers, exposing that the offense isn't as great as it seemed to be out of the gate. That's a concern as this was the toughest stretch for the Crimson Tide, and they failed."
Alabama had 13 offensive series against Tennessee. Not counting an 11-play, 62-yard drive when the Crimson Tide were down three scores late in the game, the longest march went for 35 yards on 10 plays to open the second half. It ended with one of two fourth-down stops by the Vols' defense when Daniel Hill was dropped on fourth-and-1.
Keelon Russell entered the fourth quarter with less than 100 passing yards, and Tennessee's defense forced three turnovers by the first-year starting quarterback.
USA TODAY Sports concluded:
"The rest of the schedule is easy enough for Alabama to play into the playoff, but don't be mistaken by the fraud label that would come with it."
How easy the schedule is for the Crimson Tide is a bit subjective. Alabama hosts the struggling Texas A&M Aggies (4-3, 1-3) at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week 8, but will travel to LSU (5-2, 2-2) and a raucous Tiger Stadium to face Lane Kiffin's Tigers on Nov. 7.
Alabama has a winnable game at last-place Vanderbilt (3-4, 0-4) on Nov. 14, two weeks before its annual showdown with Auburn (4-2, 2-2) in the Iron Bowl. The Tigers upset Georgia, 27-24, at Sanford Stadium in Week 7.
Kickoff for Alabama-Texas A&M is 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday. The game will be televised on ABC.
National media predict Alabama football CFP fate after back-to-back losses
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) October 20, 2026
📸 Randy Sartin, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/ZkouIijvh4 pic.twitter.com/5Q6t0oeLeB
Alabama football schedule 2026
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, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Nov. 7: at LSU Tigers, TBA
- Nov. 14: at Vanderbilt Commodores, TBA
- Nov. 21: vs. Chattanooga Mocs, 1 p.m., SEC Network+
- Nov. 28: vs. Auburn Tigers, TBA
Record: 5-2 overall, 3-2.
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: National outlet labels Alabama football a fraud after Tennessee loss
