The Alabama Crimson Tide have a bye in Week 9 of the 2026 college football season before finishing with road trips to LSU and Vanderbilt, and home games against Chattanooga from the FCS and Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The bye comes at a good time for Alabama (6-2, 4-2 SEC), which is dealing with injuries at multiple positions. Those include star receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, starting offensive linemen Racin Delgatty and Will Sanders, freshman running back EJ Crowell, defensive back Zabien Brown, defensive tackle Terrance Green and others.
The Crimson Tide are coming off a 31-20 win over Texas A&M in Week 7. Alabama trailed entering the fourth quarter but Keelon Russell threw touchdowns to tight ends Marshall Pritchett and
Kaleb Edwards, and the defense didn't allow a first down in the final 15 minutes to help the Tide end a two-game losing streak.
Russell finished 19 of 30 with 311 passing yards and three touchdowns to one interception in the win. Rico Scott had six catches for a career-high 156 yards with Coleman-Williams inactive against the Aggies.
Alabama's next opponent, LSU, also has a bye this week before the Crimson Tide visit Baton Rouge for another massive Alabama-LSU clash on Nov. 7. The Tigers (6-2, 3-2) defeated Auburn, 38-17, at Jordan-Hare Stadium behind Sam Leavitt's 387 passing yards and three touchdown in Week 8.
How will the rest of Alabama's 2026 schedule play out?
Will Alabama football win out or stumble in SEC play? ESPN's prediction
With four games remaining on Alabama's 2026 regular-season schedule, ESPN Analytics has its own odds for every Crimson Tide game leading up to the Iron Bowl showdown with Auburn in Week 13.
Here's a breakdown of each game:
Alabama vs. LSU, Nov. 7 at Tiger Stadium
Oddsmakers have Alabama as an early 2.5-point underdog against LSU. ESPN's matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college football power index and other variables, gives LSU a 55.1% chance to win. Alabama has a 44.9% chance.
The Crimson Tide are fifth nationally in ESPN's FPI, up one spot from last week, and are second among SEC teams. Alabama has a 24.5 overall FPI rating (up slightly from 24.2). LSU has a 24 FPI rating that is tied for seventh nationally in ESPN's metrics.
Alabama vs. Vanderbilt, Nov. 14 at FirstBank Stadium
According to matchup predictor, Alabama has a 94% chance to win. Vanderbilt has a 6% chance. The Commodores have a 0.3 FPI rating that is 68th in ESPN's college football power index.
Alabama vs. Chattanooga, Nov. 21 at Bryant-Denny Stadium
Alabama has a 99% chance to beat Chattanooga, according to matchup predictor. It's the highest win percentage ESPN's analytics can give to a Power Four team against an FCS foe.
Alabama vs. Auburn, Nov. 28 at Bryant-Denny Stadium
According to matchup predictor, Alabama has an 85.5% chance to win. Auburn has a 14.5% chance. The Tigers have a 12.1 FPI rating that is 29th in ESPN's college football power index.
ESPN predicts Alabama football odds of reaching College Football Playoff after Texas A&M win
In ESPN's FPI entering Week 9, Alabama's chances of reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff are 63.1%, a noticeable increase from 49.5% last week. It has the sixth-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 16% chance of winning the SEC championship (up from 12.9% last week), a 12.9% chance of reaching the national championship game (up from 9.8%) on Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and a 6.2% shot of winning the national title (up from 4.9% a week ago).
ESPN's FPI gives Alabama a 24.5% chance of winning out, up from 22.6% this time last week. At No. 5 nationally in the FPI, the Crimson Tide (24.5) are one spot behind the Georgia Bulldogs (26.5) in the FPI and one spot ahead of Indiana Hoosiers (24.1).
SEC football teams ranked by ESPN FPI: LSU rising ahead of Alabama game?
With LSU's decisive 38-17 win on The Plains in Week 7, the Bayou Bengals tied Texas for third among SEC schools in ESPN's college football power index team rankings. Conversely, Auburn suffered the biggest drop of any conference foe just a week after the Tigers stunned No. 1 Georgia in Athens.
The biggest risers among the 16 Southeastern Conference foes from last week are a pair of three-loss teams that have faded from any College Football Playoff talk.
Here is where Alabama and all 16 SEC teams rank in ESPN's FPI entering Week 9, as well as their ranking from this time last week:
- 16. Vanderbilt Commodores (0.3 FPI)
- 15. Arkansas Razorbacks (2.0 FPI)
- 14. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8.5 FPI)
- 13. Auburn Tigers (12.1 FPI, down four spots)
- 12. Missouri Tigers (12.2 FPI)
- 11. South Carolina Gamecocks (12.4 FPI, up two spots)
- 10. Kentucky Wildcats (13.1 FPI, up one spot)
- 9. Texas A&M Aggies (13.4 FPI, down one spot)
- 8. Oklahoma Sooners (14.1 FPI, up two spots)
- 7. Florida Gators (14.5 FPI)
- 6. Tennessee Volunteers 16.8 FPI)
- 5. Ole Miss Rebels (18.9 FPI)
- T-3. Texas Longhorns (24.0 FPI)
- T-3. LSU Tigers (24.0 FPI, up one spot)
- 2. Alabama Crimson Tide (24.5 FPI)
- 1. Georgia Bulldogs (26.5 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. LSU start time, TV channel information for Week 10
Kickoff for Alabama-LSU in Week 10 of the 2026 college football season is 2:30 p.m. CT at Tiger Stadium. The game can be seen on ABC.
Here's a game by game look at Alabama's 2026 schedule and results.
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 predicts the winner of Alabama football's last four games
