The Alabama Crimson Tide football program finds itself in unfamiliar waters, sliding significantly in the latest AP poll.
The Associated Press released its Top 25 college football poll on Tuesday, September 2, with the program sliding from No. 8 to No. 22. The ranking is the team's lowest since Alabama was No. 24 in 2008 in a preseason poll.
Alabama can blame it's tumble after losing to the Florida State Seminoles over the weekend by a score of 31-17. After the game, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said, "There's no excuse about what happened… Last year isn't this year. It's going to be an uphill climb for us, but you can't think of it in the big scope of things. You've got to focus on the moment and the next moment is what happens tomorrow."
DeBoer continued, "I choose to believe we've got a good football team, but we can't play on our heels. We're not going to be what we think we can be, what we want to be, if that's the case. And so that falls on everyone. I don't just point the finger at the players."
DeBoer took over after Nick Saban after the legendary coach announced his retirement in January 2024.
The 2008 season and No. 24 ranking marked Saban's second year with Alabama—he went on to lead the program for 17 seasons—winning the National Championship six times.
At the top of the AP Poll is the Ohio State Buckeyes followed by Penn State and LSU. The top ten is as follows:
1. OSU
2. Penn State
3. LSU
4. Georgia
5. Miami
6. Oregon
7. Texas
8. Clemson
9. Notre Dame
10. South Carolina
Alabama will take on LA-Monroe next week in a matchup at home where they look to secure their first win and get some momentum to move back up the poll.
