The Alabama Crimson Tide and Texas A&M Aggies will meet for the first time in three years in Week 8 of the 2026 college football season at Bryant-Denny Stadium. One of the teams is desperate for a win.
That would be Alabama, which is coming off consecutive regular-season losses for the first time since Nick Saban's first year in Tuscaloosa in 2007. The Crimson Tide (5-2 ,3-2 SEC) are No. 13 in this week's US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 after being dominated in an ugly 26-10 loss to rival Tennessee at Neyland Stadium.
Alabama's offense struggled for four quarters in Knoxville, amassing just 132 yards of total offense through three quarters. Tennessee's defense hammered the Tide and sacked quarterback Keelon Russell five times. The Vols'
defense registered 10 tackles for loss and held Russell to 19 of 29 for a season-low 147 yards. Tennessee forced three Russell turnovers.
Texas A&M (4-3, 1-3) is unranked in the top 25 polls and defeated The Citadel, 41-0, in Week 7 at Kyle Field. Running back Jamario Morrow had three touchdowns, and the Aggies rushed for 264 yards.
Quarterback Marcel Reid has struggled this season with seven touchdown to six interceptions. He's completed a career-low 55.7 percent of his passes for 1,227 yards under first-year offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins.
Will Alabama football beat Texas A&M? ESPN's prediction
Oddsmakers have Alabama as a 14.5-point favorite over Texas A&M, but as always, ESPN Analytics has its own odds for Saturday's games.
ESPN's matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college football power index and other variables, gives Alabama an 83.5% chance to win. Texas A&M has a 17.5% chance.
The Crimson Tide are sixth nationally in ESPN's FPI, down one spot from last week, and are second among SEC teams. Alabama has a 24.2 overall FPI rating (down from 26.6). Texas A&M has a 13.5 FPI rating that is 20th in ESPN's metrics.
ESPN predicts Alabama football odds of reaching College Football Playoff after back-to-back losses
In ESPN's FPI entering Week 8, Alabama's chances of reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff are 49.5%, a sharp drop from 81.8% last week. It has the eighth-best odds among power conference teams (and Notre Dame) of reaching the CFP, and it has the second-best playoff odds among SEC teams behind Georgia.
The Crimson Tide are given a 12.9% chance of winning the SEC championship (down from 23.6% last week), a 9.8% chance of reaching the national championship game (down from 20.5%) on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and a 4.9% shot of winning the national title (down from 10.2% a week ago).
ESPN's FPI gives Alabama a 22.6% chance of winning out. The Crimson Tide are one spot behind the Indiana Hoosiers (25.4) in the FPI and one spot ahead of the Texas Longhorns (23.6).
SEC football teams ranked by ESPN FPI: Alabama's rival sees huge jump after stunning upset
With Auburn's stunning 27-24 win over previously top-ranked Georgia at Sanford Stadium, the Tigers saw the biggest jump among SEC teams in ESPN's college football power index team rankings. Alex Golesh's team rose five spots to No. 9 among the 16 Southeastern Conference members.
Missouri saw the biggest drop, falling four spots to No. 12 after its 31-3 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in Week 7's top-15 showdown in Oxford.
Here is where Alabama and all 16 SEC teams rank in ESPN's FPI:
- 16. Vanderbilt Commodores (0.5 FPI)
- 15. Arkansas Razorbacks (2.7 FPI)
- 14. Mississippi State Bulldogs (9.1 FPI, down three spots)
- 13. South Carolina Gamecocks (11.6 FPI, down one spot)
- 12. Missouri Tigers (12.3 FPI, down four spots)
- 11. Kentucky Wildcats (12.7 FPI)
- 10. Oklahoma Sooners (13.3 FPI)
- 9. Auburn Tigers (13.4 FPI)
- 8. Texas A&M Aggies (13.5 FPI)
- 7. Florida Gators (14.3 FPI)
- 6. Tennessee Volunteers (18.1 FPI)
- 5. Ole Miss Rebels (18.8 FPI)
- 4. LSU Tigers (23.0 FPI)
- 3. Texas Longhorns (23.6 FPI)
- 2. Alabama Crimson Tide (24.2 FPI)
- 1. Georgia Bulldogs (26.7 FPI)
What are ESPN FPI ratings?
ESPN explains:
"The Football Power Index is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season. FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Projected results are based on 20,000 simulations of the rest of the season using FPI, results to date, and the remaining schedule. Ratings and projections update daily. FPI data from seasons prior to 2019 may not be complete."
Alabama football vs. Texas A&M start time, TV channel information
ESPN reveals TV announcers for Alabama football vs. Texas A&M
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) October 20, 2026
📸 David Leong, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect https://t.co/N2cgUqsEcy pic.twitter.com/D1z2q5vPrU
Kickoff for Alabama-Texas A&M in Week 8 of the 2026 college football season is 2:30 p.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game can be seen on ABC. Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer will have the call of the game. Kris Budden will report from the sidelines.
Additionally, the Crimson Tide Sports Network feed of the game featuring Alabama radio voice Chris Stewart and Tyler Watts can be heard on SiriusXM channel 84 and The Varsity App.
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.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: ESPN predicts the winner of Alabama football vs. Texas A&M
