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This week, the biggest matchup in college football is #2 Georgia @ #6 Alabama.

I think Alabama is the best team in college football this season, so let’s take a look to see why.

The Crimson Tide haven’t won a national championship since 2020. That’s not a long time ago but for the standard Nick Saban set, it is. He retired after the 2023 season, with Bama losing in the CFP semifinal to the eventual national champions, Michigan.

At the time, Kalen DeBoer led Washington to the 2023 national championship game against Michigan.The Huskies finished 14-1 and he took over as the head coach in Tuscaloosa.

He had almost impossible shoes to fill based on the success Saban had. He also is navigating the transfer portal and NIL era of college football. He went 9-4 in 2024 and 11-4 last season.

They still made the College Football Playoff last season after a 10-3 regular season. Bama got beat 28-7 by Georgia in the SEC Championship. They did avenge their loss to #8 Oklahoma in the first round.

In the quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl, they were embarrassed by #1 Indiana, losing 38-3. QB Ty Simpson entered the NFL draft and he was selected 13^th overall by the Rams.

They also ranked 123^rd in rushing offense. This program has been known for being physical and producing great running backs like Mark Ingram, Trent Richardson, Derrick Henry, Josh Jacobs, Najee Harris and Jahmyr Gibbs.

They came into the season with obvious weaknesses that had to be addressed. Sophomore QB Keelon Russell was named the starter in late August after training camp. He won the Gatorade High School Football Player of the Year as a senior in 2024. He also won the Elite 11 finals and was named MVP of the competition.

After five games, he’s a front runner for the Heisman. This is coming off of the 56-23 win at #16 Mississippi State. He accounted for 4 touchdowns in the game. He passed for 285 yards, 3 scores and he completed 72.7% of his passes.

“Just going out there, just having fun, understanding the assignment, doing me, playing my game,” said the 19-year-old Russell.

“Not really worrying about the Heisman right now. Accolades and stuff will come,” Russell said. “I don’t want to spoil myself too much about what I can get and rather (focus on) what am I going to do to make myself better.”

The Tide are currently ranked 43^rd in rushing offense. They have scored at least 45 points in each game this season. They have three running backs with at least 200 yards; Daniel Hill, Trae’shawn Brown and EJ Crowell. Hill is the teams leading rusher but he fumbled twice against Miss State and lost one of them.

“Yeah, Daniel just needs to keep playing and keep going about it,” DeBoer said in his postgame press conference. “Things happen. You know, he put the ball on the ground, but he’s a guy we got a lot of trust in. Not going to lose trust in him.”

DeBoer does have a 2-1 record against UGA, so they should play well. The other ranked teams left on Alabama’s schedule are at 15)Tennessee and at 10) LSU.