South Florida debacle pushes Alabama out of top 25 of this week's NCAA 1-133 Re-Rank
Alabama has already dropped out of the top 10 in the US LBM AFCA Coaches Poll for just the second time since the 2015 season. But it gets worse. Much, much worse.
The Crimson Tide are out of the top 25 entirely in this week's USA TODAY Sports NCAA Re-Rank 1-133 following a putrid 17-3 win at South Florida. Alabama, 2-1, now clocks in at No. 28 amid the program's worst stretch of play since Nick Saban's first season since 2007.
There is plenty of season to play and plenty of opportunities for the Tide to turn things around, beginning with this weekend's frightening matchup against No. 17 Mississippi. The Rebels are up two spots after dropping 48 points on Georgia Tech to move to 3-0.
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But the eye test shows a team that has not come close to earning a place among the best in the Bowl Subdivision. Alabama ranks 71st nationally in yards per play despite playing two Group of Five opponents sandwiched around a humbling loss to No. 6 Texas. (Which raises another good question: How can we really say that Texas deserves to be in the top five based on a win against this Alabama team?)
It's becoming apparent that this might not be just a down year for Alabama relative to the standard set across the past 15 seasons. This could be a disaster of a season, period. After the Rebels, the Tide face No. 48 Mississippi State, No. 30 Texas A&M, No. 43 Arkansas, No. 22 Tennessee, No. 14 LSU and No. 25 Kentucky. If this group wasn't named Alabama, how many games would you pick them to win out of that bunch?
While the re-rank does not keep extensive records of historic rankings dating to its inception in 2010, choosing instead to live in the moment instead of dwelling in the past, a team of researchers is confident this is the lowest-ever ranking for the Tide.