Happy Friday, everyone. Athlon released its previews and predictions, and Alabama football is ranked fourth in the SEC.
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Athlon ranked the Crimson Tide fourth in the SEC, below Georgia, Texas, and Ole Miss. It predicted Georgia will defeat Texas in the SEC championship game.
The magazine picked three Alabama players to their preseason first-team all-SEC list. Offensive lineman Tyler Booker, defensive back Malachi Moore, and punter James Burnip were all selected, as was former Crimson Tide wideout Isaiah Bond, who is now at Texas.
You have to wonder where the Tide would be if Nick Saban hadn’t retired, because the team isn’t much different than the one he would have fielded. There is some downgrade from Caleb Downs to Keon Sabb, but it’s difficult to argue that any other transfers out were not filled with near-equal talent or even enhancements in certain cases. Losing Kool Aid McKinstry and Terrion Arnold was always going to be a major issue, as was an offensive line that needed to improve while replacing JC Latham.
SI begins its opponent preview series with South Carolina.
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Alabama is projected to be double-digit home favorites over South Carolina in this mid-October game. Both teams should have settled into their seasons by now, but the Gamecocks have a lot more questions than the Crimson Tide. Jalen Milroe will return as Alabama’s starting quarterback, while South Carolina will either bring in a redshirt freshman or transfer at the position.
Beamer has done an admirable job of turning around the South Carolina program over the last three years, but Alabama still has a far deeper and more talented roster.
South Carolina has had one win in Tuscaloosa all time (2004), and I don’t expect that to change this season.
SI also has a story on Chris Youngblood, who will be an important cog in Nate Oats’ machine this season.
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Youngblood, who averaged 15.3 points per game on 46 percent shooting from the field and nearly 42 percent from outside the arc, was chosen All-AAC first team and American Athletic Conference player of the year.
Youngblood’s massive stature, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 218 pounds, contributes to his tough style of play on both sides of the ball. In addition to being a great finisher around the rim, Youngblood’s 3-point shooting ability fit in wonderfully with the Nate Oats offense, as he has shot over 40% from three in the past three seasons.
In terms of basketball, check out these practice footage of Cliff dunking the ball and Aden Holloway going all Chris Paul in the paint.
If Holloway has a successful season in Tuscaloosa, those on the pasture will be in complete disarray.
It appears that a “Allstate Big 12” conference will be established in the near future.
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The conference has had extensive discussions about this option for the past six months, and a decision is due in the coming months, according to ESPN sources. A contract might result in millions of dollars every year for the conference’s member schools.
The Big 12 gave about $470 million to its member schools in total last year, and that figure is expected to rise once its new media agreement goes into effect in 2025-26. This amounts to tens of millions of dollars less per school per year than the Big Ten and SEC, pushing the conference to seek new revenue streams.
According to ESPN, the Big 12 has also been in contact with private equity company CVC Capital Partners about acquiring a 15% to 20% ownership in the conference. The Big 12 might get up to $1 billion in cash, making it the first known large-scale private equity investment in collegiate athletics.
Sounds like mayhem.
The 1925 Crimson Tide ranked third on Bill Connelly’s ranking of the most impactful collegiate football teams.
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For a variety of cultural and football reasons, the Rose Bowl typically passed over Southern colleges when inviting a team to compete against the best in the west. However, there were no apparent northeastern or midwestern contenders in 1925, so it reluctantly welcomed Bama. And the Tide defeated Washington 20-19 in what became known as “the game that changed the South.” On the train ride back, they were greeted by cheering Tulane students in New Orleans and local bands at various stops. Over the next 20 years, thirteen Southern teams would be invited to Pasadena’s main stage.
There were plenty of Southern programs that had already fallen in love with college football, but after the 1926 Rose Bowl, the sport became a religious frenzy at a number of major Southern universities, ranging from LSU and Tennessee to Alabama and Georgia, and everywhere in between. In the early 1930s, the Southern Conference’s football-obsessed members defected to form the SEC. It has grown into the sport’s most powerful on-field force, and it all began in Pasadena approximately 98.5 years ago.
Finally, an Arizona State research claims that the SEC is literally saving the earth.
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College football reconfiguration raises concerns about carbon emissions: study.
Arizona State researchers predicted that, with the exception of the SEC, each Power Five league will see a large increase in emissions. According to the report, the ACC and Big Ten’s emissions per game will double.
We’ve never seen such a big realignment of distances,” the study’s supervisor, professor Ross Maciejewski, told AZ Central.
The report referred to Cal’s football schedule for the 2024 season. This season, the Golden Bears will travel to Florida State, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, and SMU while bringing East Coast clubs such as Syracuse, North Carolina State, and Miami to Berkeley. All of these are for ACC contests.
Something about Cal-Berkeley being the primary identified culprit in an environmental concern is very humorous. Shame on them.
That’s it for today. Have a wonderful weekend.
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After an in-depth examination at the program, Alabama is clearly a top school for 4-star offensive lineman Maxwell Riley.
Maxwell Riley traveled back to Tuscaloosa earlier this week and got to spend a few of days with the Crimson Tide program.
Maxwell Riley returned to Tuscaloosa earlier this week and spent a few days around the Crimson Tide program.
Riley attends Avon Lake High School in Ohio and is a four-star recruit for 2026. He currently has multiple college football offers, including from Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State, and others.
During an unofficial visit in March, Alabama extended an offer to Riley. Riley’s return visit to Tuscaloosa this week gave him an in-depth look at Alabama’s program.
“I toured the facilities, campus, and weight room,” Riley told Touchdown Alabama. “I also got to watch a player-ran practice and met with coach (Kalen) DeBoer and was with Coach Kap (Chris Kapilovic) for most of the two days I was there.”
After ‘learning more about the program’ during his multi-day visit, Riley has identified Alabama as one of the institutions that stands out to him.
“They are definitely one of my top schools,” Riley stated.
The 6-foot-4, 280-pound left tackle looks to overwhelm defensive linemen by putting someone on their back every play with his combination of size and power.
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Justin Smith is the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You may follow him on Twitter: @Jdsmith31Smith.
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