The Alabama Crimson Tide head into the 2026 season with a ton of questions after Kalen DeBoer's first trip to the College Football Playoff in Tuscaloosa. Alabama made the Playoff, but they also lost 4 games including blowouts at the hands of Georgia and Indiana down the stretch of the season. Heading into his 3rd season in Tuscaloosa, Kalen DeBoer still has plenty of questions to answer.
The Crimson Tide will have their 3rd starting quarterback of the Kalen DeBoer era, but the quarterback battle is still up in the air. Once Kalen DeBoer and his staff nail down their roster, all attention turns toward winning 3 pivotal games.
These 3 games are most important for Alabama in 2026
LSU Tigers
Kalen DeBoer dominated Brian Kelly in their two matchups, but now the Alabama head coach has a new challenger. Lane Kiffin has built a loaded roster using NIL and the Transfer Portal building what will likely be the best LSU team he faces. Beating LSU this season will put Alabama well in the mix for the College Football Playoff while a loss could be the difference in missing out.
Florida State Seminoles
When the season opened last year with an embarrasing loss against Florida State, it instantly brought back all the concerns from Kalen DeBoer's first season. This year, Florida State travels to Tuscaloosa, and a loss would be unacceptable given the standard in Tuscaloosa. Mike Norvell is on the hot seat, and Kalen DeBoer can quickly take his place starting the year with another loss to this team.
Georgia Bulldogs
The biggest positive in Kalen DeBoer's first two seasons has been his ability to beat Georgia in the regular season. After losing to Georgia in the SEC Championship in the fashion that Alabama did, the Crimson Tide have a ton to prove in this matchup. While a loss wouldn't end Alabama's season, the team needs to look far better than the product we saw at the end of the year.