Alabama Football: 2017 Season preview and predictions
Schedule and predictions
| WEEK | DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION |
| 1 | Sept. 2 | vs. Florida State | Atlanta, Ga. |
| 2 | Sept. 9 | vs. Fresno State | Tuscaloosa, Al. |
| 3 | Sept. 16 | vs. Colorado State | Tuscaloosa, Al. |
| 4 | Sept. 23 | @ Vanderbilt | Nashville, Tennessee |
| 5 | Sept. 30 | vs. Ole Miss | Tuscaloosa, Al. |
| 6 | Oct. 7 | @ Texas A&M | College Station, Tx. |
| 7 | Oct. 14 | vs. Arkansas | Tuscaloosa, Al. |
| 8 | Oct. 21 | vs. Tennessee | Tuscaloosa, Al. |
| 9 | Oct. 28 | BYE WEEK | |
| 10 | Nov. 4 | vs. LSU | Tuscaloosa, Al. |
| 11 | Nov. 11 | @ Mississippi State | Starkville, Ms. |
| 12 | Nov. 18 | vs. Mercer | Tuscaloosa, Al. |
| 13 | Nov. 25 | @ Auburn | Auburn, Al. |
The week one matchup between Alabama football and Florida State could very well be a prequel of a college football playoff game. Both teams are ranked in the preseason top five and each is the front-runner in their respective conference.
After a heavyweight fight against the Seminoles, Alabama has a slew of relatively easy games. They shouldn’t have trouble winning their next few games. Who can stop them? LSU and Auburn have traditionally given the Tide a test late in the season. Both teams will be competitive this season and have the pieces to hang with Alabama.
Auburn in particular looks designed to be a giant killer in 2017. They have the offense and defense to counter the Tide punch for punch. Alabama is good, but they won’t survive the SEC unscathed again. They’ll lose one game along the way and drop the Iron Bowl rivalry game against Auburn. That would put them just outside the College Football Playoff for the first time ever.
Tuscaloosa might explode.
Next: Top 50 breakout candidates in 2017
Prediction: 10-2 (6-2 SEC)
There aren’t many places where 10-2 would be considered a failed season. Alabama is going to be a good football team in 2017, maybe even great. But college football is a game of inches and odd bounces. No team, no matter how great, can be perfect forever. This will be the season that someone gets a few more bounces than Bama. It happens. That’s football. And Alabama isn’t immune from that.