There may not be a bigger gap between a team fighting for a spot in the College Football Playoff national championship game, and a team spending bowl season in Nashville.
Yet with Alabama's Week 9 bye upon us, ESPN college football analysts Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura differ considerably on the Crimson Tide's postseason outlook in their weekly playoff and bowl game projections.
Following Alabama's 31-20 come-from-behind win over the Texas A&M Aggies at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Bonagura sees Keelon Russell leading the Crimson Tide to the playoff as the No. 11 seed. In his projection, Alabama visits Bloomington for a first-round rematch with the Indiana Hoosiers on Dec. 18 or 19.
Schlabach, one of the longest-tenured college football writers at
ESPN, disagrees and sees Alabama visiting Nashville for the Music City Bowl and a matchup against the Wisconsin Badgers.
The Music City Bowl in one of three SEC vs. Big Ten postseason events this year, in addition to the annual Citrus Bowl in Orlando and the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, that pit the sport's two super conferences against each other.
Alabama (6-2, 3-2 SEC) is No. 10 in the US LBM Coaches Poll and the AP Top 25 after its win over Texas A&M. Russell threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, and the Crimson Tide defense forced three three-and-outs in the final 15 minutes to lift Alabama past the Aggies.
Alabama faces the LSU Tigers (6-2, 3-2) at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge on Nov. 7. Kickoff for Alabama-LSU is 2:30 p.m. CT. The game can be seen on ABC.
USA TODAY Sports offers bold prediction for Alabama football, CFP race
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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 (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.
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This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: ESPN torn on Alabama football's CFP outlook in latest projections
