Alabama, Georgia and Texas headline playoff contenders for 2025-26

In January when they brought the intensity and uh early on you could tell these guys were determined and you know that’s been the challenge to them uh question I keep asking them and ask them again, you know, and it’s it’s the season and it’s uh it’s *** practice, it’s *** play, um, it’s sustaining the intensity at the level, uh, from start to finish, but, um, good day and uh open for questions. Mhm. Yeah, yeah, he’s, uh, he’s his trajectory is going up, uh, Deonte, um, you know, his leadership is the thing. I think that’s really come out, uh, so that’s exciting. He is gonna be limited and, you know, just the number of reps, the volume, I guess the best way to put it. Uh, and what he can take as as expected, and that was gonna be the plan just with his timeline from the beginning. But, uh, it’s great having him out there. I think he feels really good about being out there, uh, mentally and physically. I think he’s in *** really good spot, you know, but there’s still progress to be made, uh, as we build for the first game. Stand on the topic. Can you talk about Jalen Hale’s progress? Yeah, you know, just Jalen Hale and, uh, you know, where he was at *** year ago, uh, with the injury actually in the spring in 2024, just, um, you know, pretty significant injury at the time and, uh, you know, between he and then our, our medical staff is doing an awesome job of, of, uh, pushing forward. Uh, our whole team is proud of him, not just me. We, we’ve talked about that. Uh, in the winter, uh, during December, I remember addressing it with the team, uh, guys being excited about having him out there finally doing something with, uh, with the team, and then, you know, the spring was the next step and through the summer and, uh, him out there. But, uh, you know, uh, you know, there’s reps that he hasn’t taken, banked reps that other guys have, and so, you know, he’s, he’s still learning as we go and, um, you know, every rep is gonna get more and more confident, but, uh, he’s certainly. Got *** lot of tools and you know want to see his growth excited about that this fall. Surprise. It’s hard because we’re, we’re literally in spider pads and helmets, you know, and so, um, from *** physicality standpoint and things like that, um, you know, there’s, there’s limitations on what what you can see and do, but, um, um, yeah, I think as expected, I thought. You know, I think our defensive backfield is, you know, but that’s expected. And so, um, You know, I thought it was just good back and forth as it should. Uh, I feel like we got for the most part *** balanced team and so I didn’t feel like one position completely dominated another or one was, you know, getting dominated. So I thought it was good balance across the board as *** team. That can break down each of the quarterbacks and what you saw out there. Yeah, uh, I think they’ve all taken steps through the summer, uh, and you can see they are definitely more comfortable with the install, uh, um, *** lot of it’s the reps they get with the play concepts they have, uh, but the footwork and just the confidence with that and you know, some of the new things that we’re we’re added we’ve added in, uh, so Ty and Austin, you know, those things are still new this spring. Uh, and, you know, they, they’ve now become very comfortable, uh, with it’s, it’s subtle stuff. But, uh, you know, probably Keeling’s gonna be the one that, you know, you’re gonna see the biggest jump naturally and, uh, you know, I feel like that was, that was, that was good. I mean, he’s making quick decisions and, uh, not sitting there thinking too much, um, but I felt all of them did. I think Ty, you know, we talked about. All the quarterbacks, but you know, just the gimme, the, the, the ones that are just should be 100%, uh, making those plays all the time and I really felt like, uh, you know, he did that he got probably more opportunities just because of the, the way the plays developed, uh, to have more of those gimmes and those gimmes add up, you know, uh, gimmes are. 5 yard gains that turn into 15 and 20 and sometimes explosives and they keep the chains moving so uh I like the mindset of our quarterbacks because when you can trust your quarterback to uh go through his progression and be OK with checking it down and not forcing something, you can call as *** play caller *** lot more balls down the field and know that it’s not just gonna be an incomplete pass or an explosive play. Uh, there’s going to be *** progression and it’s gonna be some type of movement down the field. It’s gonna put you in manageable down at distances, whether it’s 2nd, 3rd or 4th. Piggybacking off of that, do you change the way you approach rep rep distribution with the quarterbacks knowing it’s *** different timeline than it was in the spring. We’ll start out pretty consistent with probably how we finished, um, the spring. Uh, just, you know, and again, Keelan’s reps continued to build up, uh, you know, uh, from what it was in spring, where he was primarily with, you know, the, the threes and fours, um, but You know, here early on you’re just installing and you’re trying to give each quarterback along with each other position and player, um, the reps of the install and then you know once you get past that first kind of round of installs, you know, then you really start kind of probably dialing it in at that time but we’ll we’ll play it by ear as we go, um, because. You know, someone separates themselves, uh, 12 guys, uh, then you do make adjustments along the way. Is all the experience that you’ve got coming back on defense, I don’t realize it’s just one practice, but does it show up pretty quick? Yes, there is definitely, um, the veterans and then the younger guys, you know, and the, the veterans, it starts with communication and the confidence with that communication and, uh, just. You know, guys in sync, right, knowing, knowing the space that they got *** cover between two guys in the secondary or the back half and you can just see the gelling of that and, uh, they’re really, I can, I can’t really think of anything where there was, it felt like there was *** missed assignment, you know, or something that was blown, you know, really all day and our, you know, our offense does *** lot of stuff to put *** lot of pressure on you to communicate to. Have to see motions and shifting and things like that. So, um, you know, yeah, from where we were at *** year ago or even end of the season, uh, you can see the bank reps that we’ve taken. Uh, adding up and then, you know, the physical piece will continue to happen as we put on the pads and, and, uh, add that part to it. Of course no transfers. Did it feel like today we’ve got some continuity compared to what you saw last year? So what was the first part is just getting guys back in your system *** little bit more familiarity. Did you kind of feel that continuity today even day one? Yeah, I mean, it’s just even the the logistics of how you practice and You know, the transitions and where, where guys go, the flow is just, you know, on another level and you know, it’s even gonna be much better than it was at the end of the fall, uh, because you still have the spring and so, you know, just locations on the field and who you’re going to and those drills and you know, now it isn’t just those drills you’re learning you’re you’re, you’re learning the details and you know the details and how they apply to the play. Um, and you know you’re not just doing that drill on its own and it’s isolated. It’s, it’s how it’s gonna affect you when you’re in this situation maybe 5, 10 times throughout the season, but you can apply it because we’ve shown it and now they remember and they’ve processed it and now they can go operate and execute. Where’s the tight. Uh, it, it will continue to, to, um, get better and better. It it’s in *** good spot, uh. This was gonna be how it was when the injuries happened. um, you know, Cuevas is going to continue to add volume. I think that’s the best word to use because he’s practicing. Danny Lewis the same thing. Uh, they’re adding value, uh, volume, um, you know, the number of reps, uh, from start to finish. It’s not just team, it’s not just individual, uh, but they’ve had *** really good summer and their progress is as we had hoped, as we expected, uh, and the rest of the guys, Marshall I know didn’t practice at the end of the spring. Um, with, with what he had, um, *** couple other guys too, they’re, they’re all full go. We got, we got more tight ends out there now all of *** sudden, uh, than, uh, we could have ever imagined, but they all, you know, competing and, and working together, doing *** good job. Coach Travis Hunter was *** big story last year, of course, being *** full time two-way player. I was wondering if you’d ever. or do you have players that not full time but uh spot duty on the other side for emergencies or something or too many disadvantages? Yeah, no, I, I mean when you have someone that can really fit into *** goal line package and and be the extra tight end and maybe take *** defensive end or ***, you know, defensive lineman and Adam, uh, you know, to *** personnel grouping, uh, we’ll we’ll certainly be open to that or if there’s. You know, *** specific guy that has just ***, *** skill that, you know, we don’t have, but I, I think for the most part, you know, each side of the ball has what they need. Um, if they wanted to do something special, we have that on that side of the ball and, uh, there isn’t someone that is so much better going both ways like that situation, uh, to where we feel the need to do that at this point. How big of *** luxury is it when you look at *** quarterback competition going against the defense that’s got so much experience? Yeah, you know, *** lot of the competition right now, uh, is, is *** lot of pressure on them. You know, there’s pressure to play in games and the quarterback pressure, uh, that exists, you know, going through the season, but really that the pressure that they have to compete and win the spot, uh, is, is, is something that’s preparing them for those times, uh, in the games. And so, uh, going against *** defense like ours and. You know, our defense does *** really good job. I think they’re getting better and better at disguising things, um, you know, which means you don’t know where things might always come from, uh, and then, you know, guys just that are playmakers out there too. They can cover *** lot of ground and, uh, they’re not just giving you those, those, you know, gimmes, those, uh, those blowing coverages, uh, you’re having to make plays. And so, uh, guys are quarterbacks did *** good job of, I think. You know, taking calculated risks at the right time. They didn’t put our, our offense in jeopardy really, you know, throughout practice, um, and they’re being challenged by obviously *** group on the other side of the ball that we’ve, you know, got *** lot of confidence in right now. Home coach, speaking about the, uh, speaking about competition, you talk about the uh running back uh running back position and uh how was looking behind uh Jam Miller, just *** different body types and different uh backs back there. Can you talk about that? Sure, sure. Yeah, you know, uh, you got rich and um. You got Rich Young, Daniel Hill coming back also, uh, you know, feel like those guys are healthier than they probably ever were, uh, last season, uh, throughout the year. And, um, and then Dre, Dre Washington, um, I thought he had *** really nice practice today. You know, you can see, again, *** new guy that’s come in and now you’re seeing the install *** 2nd, 3rd time from spring, summer to fall, uh, and how just like we were talking about the quarterback position, how it’s, it’s clicking more, you know, and. So he’s got himself right in the mix there for sure, uh, as we, you know, as we kind of narrow down and, you know, there’s skill sets, there’s different things that each guy brings, body types are *** little bit different, but in the end, it’s not like someone is so much different to where it affects who’s in there. Um, we’re just teaching them all the offense and, and, uh, you know, especially when you get into the, the padded and the, the physicality and the, the tackling pieces, uh, you know, that’s *** big part of it is breaking tackles and. Being able to get in there and protect for the quarterback and and do *** great job of it. So, um, you know, really, you know, they’re all competing, but, uh, really that’s probably where it’s at with those guys and they’re all doing *** good job. Gino, uh, and Cam, yeah, yeah, both of them had doing *** great job all summer, uh, super competitive, uh, Gino, you know, in year two now with us, uh, so. You know, comfortable in the offense and Cam has just been, he’s had *** lot of urgency to really uh put himself, uh, physically and mentally in *** spot where he’s competing for that position and you know, uh, they have, they probably do have different tools that are their strengths. I think they’re both, uh, really good well rounded football players, um. But, uh, you know, both of them can do *** few things *** little better uh than the other. So, um, you know, it’s just *** matter of the best 5 guys, you know, uh, and how they fit into that. um Coach, speaking from *** special team standpoint, can you just talk about, uh, anybody who stepped up since, uh, you know, you just lost *** great one to James Burner, but can you just talk about, uh, the people that’s still in the room, people that come behind him you’ve seen so far from summer to now and. Sure, sure. Specialists as *** whole, um, we had *** lot of special teams guys, and I know that’s what your not your your question is that freshmen that played *** lot of reps, um, you know, on the units, uh, and the specialists though all graduating on, uh, you know, obviously got some holes there and I felt good about what you see with the, the long snapper position and the replacement there, uh, and then. You know, I think Tulte’s done *** really nice job. He’s just I’m proud of him on how he’s, he’s really from last year, you know, taking on the role and dove into it, you know, we did *** nice job on kickoffs and I think that experience and just his growth, uh, showed, you know, getting consistency through the spring, uh, and then, you know, it was evident today, you know, just I thought he was solid, um, in the different times we had him out there doing his thing and. Um, the punters, the punter position is probably the one that is the most open, you know, where, uh, you know, you got *** couple of guys, uh, you know, Alex and, uh, Blake that, you know, both coming into the program that, um, you know, Blake in particular has some reps this spring, um, but still, you know, growing and getting stronger and, and, um, you know, those two guys competing. Alex is, uh, now physically in *** better spot too, and, uh, his. His progress is I guess better than expected, uh, and, uh, you know, from *** physical standpoint and just being able to go out there and do it, so I’m excited about the competition that those two will bring because I know that the ceiling for them, uh, they got pretty high ceilings and so I’m expecting some big things from them. Yeah, I mean, *** lot of times it’s within that. So you’re gonna have your punters, um, *** lot of time and I thought, I thought Blake did *** nice job today. Um, you know, Anderson, uh, does *** nice job too. And so, uh, *** lot of times because they’re together so much, uh, as long as they can do it, that’s just that familiarity and that consistency with all the reps they take each and every day. Uh, that’s the starting point for us. But, you know, I always like to at some point, you know, get the, get *** quarterback involved or some skilled guy, um, you know, puts *** little pressure on the other team when. You know, you got that ability there to, to have *** playmaker, you know, holding the football, but, you know, we’ll see as we go through the fall. All right, thank you guys. Yep.

Alabama, Georgia and Texas headline playoff contenders for 2025-26

Updated: 10:21 AM CDT Aug 14, 2025

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Video above: Kalen DeBoer talks about wanting to restore Alabama’s championship glory in 2025Now in its second year with an expanded bracket, 12 teams will make the College Football Playoff to close out the 2025-26 season. Five of those slots will go to conference champions. The rest will be at-large bids to be handed out by the 13-person committee. The AP looks at those that should be making plans for the playoffs. They include Georgia, Texas, defending champion Ohio State and, yes, Alabama after barely missing the field last season.>>RELATED: AP Top 25 college football preseason rankings: Alabama in top 10It is a well-versed group of athletic directors, former coaches and players along with a sports writer, who will be armed with statistics, analytics, charts and graphs and enough highlights to start their own college football network as they settle into their work on the College Football Playoff selection committee.In the end, though, the sport’s method of determining a champion – or at least deciding who gets the right to play for the championship – comes down to a matter of opinion.Now in its second year with an expanded bracket, 12 teams will make the playoff to close out the 2025-26 season. Five of those slots will go to conference champions. The rest will be at-large bids to be handed out by the 13-person committee.>> FOLLOW YOUR TEAMS: Sports coverage from WVTM 13Here’s a far-too-early prediction of where they will end up, and what the toughest choices will be before the bracket comes out on Dec. 8.Conference championsThere’s no debate over this: The five conference champions with the best ranking from the committee will make the playoff. But in a change from last year, the top four won’t be guaranteed first-round byes.Best guess here says these champions will be:Southeastern:Texas, with Arch Manning, is the favorite. But Georgia wins a rematch of a Nov. 15 showdown with the Longhorns in the SEC title game that won’t have all that much riding on it, CFP-wise, since, after all, these both look like top-four teams.>> SHARE WITH US: Upload your photos and videos via uLocalBig Ten: Penn State coach James Franklin is 1-10 against Ohio State. Buckeyes have two Heisman Trophy hopefuls in Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin. The game is at the Horseshoe and Ohio State is the reigning national champion. Another Michigan upset could factor in all this, of course, but Ohio State wins the conference.Atlantic Coast: Miami is a dark horse. Clemson has the goods and quarterback Cade Klubnik.Big 12: Let’s assume, just because they’re a Power Four conference, that this league will produce one of the four best-ranked conference champions. But not by much. Kansas State has QB Avery Johnson returning, which could be enough to win a conference in which at least six teams, including defending champ Arizona State, have a chance.Group of Five: If Boise State, sans Ashton Jeanty, wins at Notre Dame on Oct. 4, the Broncos are in. If not (more likely), then let’s assume Tulane takes care of business at home against both Duke and Northwestern and makes the playoff.At-large and in chargeTexas: Longhorns split against Bulldogs with another matchup potentially in store?Alabama: Hard to imagine the Tide losing four games again this season (or the committee overlooking any ugly number in the ‘L’ column if they do, regardless of their strong schedule.)Oregon: QB Dante Moore chose Oregon, then UCLA, then Oregon again, and if he lives up to expectations, the Ducks could go far.Penn State: CFP semifinalists last season, the Nittany Lions try to, once again, take advantage of the second chance the playoff offers.Miami:QB Carson Beck came over from Georgia, but this defense will need to improve.Notre Dame: The Irish game against better-than-expected USC on Oct. 18 will be the equivalent of a playoff play-in.Mississippi:If only to save us from another Lane Kiffin social media barrage. But seriously, this program had one of the best transfer-portal hauls in the country. The Rebels are also getting used to winning 10 games a year and you can’t ignore that forever.>> FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube And the matchups are …The bye teams: No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Clemson.The first-round matchups, on campus:No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Alabama:This will be the conspiracy theory game. Tulane, probably ranked about 16th, will take the spot that could’ve gone to yet another SEC team. (Did you know Tulane was once in the SEC?) Meanwhile, Alabama might be good enough to be ranked fourth but the committee wanted to assert its independence by not handing byes to three SEC teams.No. 11 Kansas State at No. 6 Oregon: The fifth, final and probably most decisive of the Big 12 vs. Big Ten matchups in 2025.No. 10 Mississippi at No. 7 Penn State: They met in the Peach Bowl in 2023. Now, Ole Miss gets a cold welcome to the big time.No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Miami:They play a regular-season game Aug. 31. You can’t ever get enough of a good thing.Stay updated on the latest sports stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —

Video above: Kalen DeBoer talks about wanting to restore Alabama’s championship glory in 2025

Now in its second year with an expanded bracket, 12 teams will make the College Football Playoff to close out the 2025-26 season. Five of those slots will go to conference champions. The rest will be at-large bids to be handed out by the 13-person committee. The AP looks at those that should be making plans for the playoffs. They include Georgia, Texas, defending champion Ohio State and, yes, Alabama after barely missing the field last season.

>>RELATED: AP Top 25 college football preseason rankings: Alabama in top 10

It is a well-versed group of athletic directors, former coaches and players along with a sports writer, who will be armed with statistics, analytics, charts and graphs and enough highlights to start their own college football network as they settle into their work on the College Football Playoff selection committee.

In the end, though, the sport’s method of determining a champion – or at least deciding who gets the right to play for the championship – comes down to a matter of opinion.

Now in its second year with an expanded bracket, 12 teams will make the playoff to close out the 2025-26 season. Five of those slots will go to conference champions. The rest will be at-large bids to be handed out by the 13-person committee.

>> FOLLOW YOUR TEAMS: Sports coverage from WVTM 13

Here’s a far-too-early prediction of where they will end up, and what the toughest choices will be before the bracket comes out on Dec. 8.

Conference champions

There’s no debate over this: The five conference champions with the best ranking from the committee will make the playoff. But in a change from last year, the top four won’t be guaranteed first-round byes.

Best guess here says these champions will be:

Southeastern:

Texas, with Arch Manning, is the favorite. But Georgia wins a rematch of a Nov. 15 showdown with the Longhorns in the SEC title game that won’t have all that much riding on it, CFP-wise, since, after all, these both look like top-four teams.

>> SHARE WITH US: Upload your photos and videos via uLocal

Big Ten:

Penn State coach James Franklin is 1-10 against Ohio State. Buckeyes have two Heisman Trophy hopefuls in Jeremiah Smith and Julian Sayin. The game is at the Horseshoe and Ohio State is the reigning national champion. Another Michigan upset could factor in all this, of course, but Ohio State wins the conference.

Atlantic Coast:

Miami is a dark horse. Clemson has the goods and quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Big 12:

Let’s assume, just because they’re a Power Four conference, that this league will produce one of the four best-ranked conference champions. But not by much. Kansas State has QB Avery Johnson returning, which could be enough to win a conference in which at least six teams, including defending champ Arizona State, have a chance.

Group of Five:

If Boise State, sans Ashton Jeanty, wins at Notre Dame on Oct. 4, the Broncos are in. If not (more likely), then let’s assume Tulane takes care of business at home against both Duke and Northwestern and makes the playoff.

At-large and in charge

Texas:

Longhorns split against Bulldogs with another matchup potentially in store?

Alabama:

Hard to imagine the Tide losing four games again this season (or the committee overlooking any ugly number in the ‘L’ column if they do, regardless of their strong schedule.)

Oregon:

QB Dante Moore chose Oregon, then UCLA, then Oregon again, and if he lives up to expectations, the Ducks could go far.

Penn State:

CFP semifinalists last season, the Nittany Lions try to, once again, take advantage of the second chance the playoff offers.

Miami:

QB Carson Beck came over from Georgia, but this defense will need to improve.

Notre Dame:

The Irish game against better-than-expected USC on Oct. 18 will be the equivalent of a playoff play-in.

Mississippi:

If only to save us from another Lane Kiffin social media barrage. But seriously, this program had one of the best transfer-portal hauls in the country. The Rebels are also getting used to winning 10 games a year and you can’t ignore that forever.

>> FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

And the matchups are …

The bye teams:

No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Clemson.

The first-round matchups, on campus:

No. 12 Tulane at No. 5 Alabama:

This will be the conspiracy theory game. Tulane, probably ranked about 16th, will take the spot that could’ve gone to yet another SEC team. (Did you know Tulane was once in the SEC?) Meanwhile, Alabama might be good enough to be ranked fourth but the committee wanted to assert its independence by not handing byes to three SEC teams.