By SEC royalty standards, both Alabama and Georgia had letdown seasons in 2024. Both went under their win total by a half of a game — UGA did wind up winning the SEC, but losing to Notre Dame in its first College Football Playoff game. Meanwhile, ‘Bama was left out of the CFP at 9-3.
The Bulldogs had a really tough road schedule last season, which led to a 10-2 record. This time around, the road schedule eases up, which is why I played them over their win total. UGA is favored in all 12 games this season, and gets all of its most difficult matchups at home — where they haven’t lost since October of 2019. Alabama is favored in 11 games this season, only priced as an underdog in a massive late September showdown in Athens.
We should be looking at a couple of double digit win teams here, but we know there can also be a path to a 9-3 SEC team getting into the mix if it doesn’t have any really bad losses (like ‘Bama did last season). You can get my analysis on why I think Georgia will return to form this season by clicking on the win total article above, so I’ll focus on the Crimson Tide more here.
Kalen DeBoer should have this Alabama team ready to take the next step in his second season at the helm replacing Nick Saban. As elite as Jalen Milroe can be with his legs and throwing the deep ball, Ty Simpson’s style fits much more what DeBoer wants to do on offense. Not to say Simpson will be anything close to Michael Penix Jr., but DeBoer’s offense revolves around a pocket passer. It should also be helpful to bring Ryan Grubb in at offensive coordinator — which was the case when DeBoer and Grubb were at Washington, but Grubb coached in the NFL last season.
Phil Steele’s position rankings have ‘Bama as a top-10 quarterback room and top-10 offensive line, and the explosiveness should come from the wide receiver room. Steele ranks the pass-catchers as No. 4 in the nation, led by the freakish talent of Ryan Williams. The Crimson Tide should be firing on all cylinders on offense in 2025.
Steele ranks Alabama’s defense as a top-10 unit at all three levels, led by the second-ranked secondary in the country. The Crimson Tide virtually have no holes on this roster. If you want to search for a concern, starting running back Jam Miller injured his collarbone, and is going to miss the start of the season, so the running back room may take some time to come together.
Going back to the schedule, Georgia is clearly the tough one, but it won’t be held against either team that loses that game when it comes to getting into the CFP. Outside of that, ‘Bama will be a single digit favorite only three or four times, and favored by double digits in more than half its games. I think we see SEC royalty return to form, and both the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs in the CFP field, and threats to win it all.
CFB Parlay: Alabama/Georgia to Make CFP: YES (+107) 1-unit
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