Kalen Deboer and Alabama’s Playoff Picture Gets Clearer With Big Strength of Schedule Update

Right now, the Alabama Crimson Tide fans must be facing the biggest dilemma. To be or not to be proud of Kalen DeBoer’s boys. After all, the squad fell flat in their 2025 season opener against Florida State. However, they made up for the loss by going on an unstoppable run against Louisiana Monroe, securing a 73-0 win. As DeBoer and co. gear up for the upcoming game against Wisconsin, and with two games down, here comes a projection of the rest of their schedule. Looks like a playoff ticket could be in their destiny.

On September 7, Alabama beat writer Nick Kelly tweeted, “Alabama has the 8th toughest remaining strength of schedule, per ESPN FPI. 1. Florida 2. Arkansas 3. Oklahoma 4. Wisconsin 5. Mississippi State 6. Georgia 7. Texas A&M 8. Alabama 9. Vanderbilt 10. South Carolina.” While DeBoer’s program now holds the eighth rank when it comes to schedule toughness, before the season had started, CBS Sports had placed them at the tenth rank when it came to the SEC. 

“It’s difficult to get a read on Florida State, but opening the season against a team of unknown talent is going to come with a learning curve. Road trips to Georgia, Missouri, and South Carolina await later in the year. The good news is LSU, Wisconsin, Tennessee, and Oklahoma are coming to Tuscaloosa,” predicted Brandon Marcello back then. He highlighted how DeBoer and co.’s path isn’t without hazards, especially during a grueling month-long run that pits them against Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Tennessee, and South Carolina on five consecutive Saturdays with no bye week to recover.

But after Kelly’s strength-of-schedule update, it also comes with a glimmer of hope. The schedule opens gates for a bounce-back year and a CFP appearance. If DeBoer’s boys win, the CFP committee will love it. Surviving a schedule ranked top-10 hardest means stacking quality wins and boosting their playoff résumé. A single loss might not sink them, because the strength of schedule (SOS) cushions the blow. Now that DeBoer’s program has ignited the playoff conversation, what are the analysts saying?

Alabama has lost the ‘frightening others’ factor

Under DeBoer, the Crimson Tide had their first season-opening loss since 2001. So, after Week 1, when asked if they thought Alabama is still a playoff team, Paul Finebaum simply said, “no.” The former Crimson Tide safety, Roman Harper, shared, “After one week, Alabama is not a playoff team. I’m sorry to say that.” George Wrighster did not have much hope from DeBoer and co. even while the season was yet to hit the gridiron. 

Back in July, on his podcast, the analyst claimed, “They are going to miss the College Football Playoff again. If the Tide do not start 4-0, the pressure to be perfect is going to be something that’s going to cause this team to fall apart.” Meanwhile, there is a serious issue in the squad, something that DeBoer must start working on.  As we know, oftentimes, the psychological factor plays a crucial role. Your work is half done when your rival is frightened by your name. That was the case for Alabama when Nick Saban was holding the reins. This was highlighted by someone who had beaten Saban’s Alabama.

That’s none other than former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel. On the Nightcap podcast, he shared, “The one thing that I will say that I think, in the past, you walk in, face an Alabama team, you probably got a little fear…The team, you got a little fear. That fear aspect of what Alabama is, is completely gone. And nobody’s scared of them boys. Not Vandy, not Kentucky, not nobody. Nobody’s walking in and seeing Alabama on the schedule and having any kind of shake, any kind of fear, nothing.”

Time for a hard pill for Kalen DeBoer to swallow. The bottom-tier SEC teams like Vanderbilt or mid-tier programs like Kentucky don’t circle Alabama on the calendar with dread anymore. The only way forward is to continue winning games the way they did in Week 2.