The Alabama Crimson Tide and East Carolina Pirates will meet for only the second time in school history when they face off in the2026 college football season opener Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
For Alabama, the Keelon Russell era begins now. The 19-year-old freshman and five-star recruit in the class of 2025 out of Duncanville, Texas, won the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback competition in fall camp.
Russell beat out former class of 2023 four-star recruit Austin Mack, who backed up Ty Simpson a year ago. Russell had been the the favorite for months until coach Kalen DeBoer made things official in August.
The Crimson Tide finished 11-4 a year ago and enjoyed a 10-2 regular season that led them to the SEC Championship Game. But blowout losses
in two of their final three games to Georgia and Indiana somewhat marred what had been an otherwise successful season in Year 2 under coach Kalen DeBoer, and Alabama is replacing a lot of experience on both sides of the ball.
East Carolina is coming off a nine-win season in 2025 that included a victory over the Pitt Panthers in the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland. The Pirates' 6-2 record in the American Athletic Conference was tied for the second-best mark with South Florida but trailed conference champion Tulane, North Texas and Navy (7-1).
Alabama is ranked No. 11 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and No. 13 in the AP Top 25 poll entering the season. East Carolina qualified as one of the better Group of Six programs in USA TODAY Sports' preseason 1-138 FBS rankings. The Pirates were ranked No. 46 overall. eighth-best among non-Power Four teams.
The Crimson Tide defeated East Carolina, 23-22, in the teams' only previous matchup on the gridiron on Oct. 17, 1998 at Legion Field in Birmingham.
Transfer quarterback among Pirates to know vs. East Carolina in Week 1
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) September 1, 2026
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Will Alabama football roll against East Carolina in Week 1 college football?
Ahead of Alabama-East Carolina, ESPN's Bill Connelly predicted the final score using his popular SP+ metrics. Connelly has the Crimson Tide winning by three scores over the Pirates, but not covering oddsmakers' 28.5-point spread.
His final score prediction: Alabama 35, East Carolina 12.
Connelly gives the Crimson Tide a win probability of 92%.
Where Alabama football sits in ESPN SP+ rankings entering 2026
Alabama is No. 13 in the final ESPN SP+ team rankings entering the season.
The Crimson Tide have an overall rating of 17.6. Alabama is one spot below the USC Trojans (17.7) and one spot ahead of the Tennessee Volunteers (17.3) in ESPN's team rankings.
To break down Alabama's rating by units, SP+ gives the Crimson Tide a 31 rating on offense (No. 33 nationally) and a 13 rating on defense (No. 6). In special teams, Alabama is given a minus-0.4 rating, which ranks 109th nationally.
East Carolina is No. 80 in the SP+ team rankings with an overall rating of minus-2.3, one spot behind the Stanford Cardinal. The metrics give the Pirates a 24.1 rating on offense (No. 86 nationally), a 26.3 rating on defense that's No. 73 nationally, plus a minus-0.2 rating in special teams (No. 84).
What are ESPN SP+ rankings?
According to Connelly, SP+ is "simply a measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football. If you're lucky or unimpressive in a win, your rating will probably fall. If you're strong and unlucky in a loss, it will probably rise."
"SP+ is not a résumé ranking, so it does not automatically give credit for big wins or particularly brave scheduling -- no good predictive system does," he adds.
Alabama football vs. East Carolina: start time, channel for Week 1
Start time, TV announcers for Alabama football vs East Carolina in Week 1
— Roll Tide Wire (@RollTideWire) September 1, 2026
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Kickoff for Alabama-East Carolina in Week 1 of the 2026 college football season is 11 a.m. CT Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The game will be televised on ABC. Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick will have the call of the game. Stormy Buonantony will report from the sidelines.
Alabama football schedule 2026
- Sept. 5: vs. East Carolina Pirates, 11 a.m., ABC
- Sept. 12: at Kentucky Wildcats, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Sept. 19: vs. Florida State Seminoles, 2:30 p.m., ABC
- Sept. 26: vs. South Carolina Gamecocks, prime time
- Oct. 3: at Mississippi State Bulldogs, early window
- Oct. 10: vs. Georgia Bulldogs, prime time
- Oct. 17: at Tennessee Volunteers, TBA
- Oct. 24: vs. Texas A&M Aggies, TBA
- 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
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: ESPN predicts the final score of Alabama football vs East Carolina
