Jumbo Package: Alabama and the SEC continue to argue for “Strength of Schedule” considerations

Starting in 2025, Alabama has a 10-season stretch where its non-conference schedule includes two matchups against Power 4 programs including home-and-homes against Ohio State in 2027-28, Notre Dame in 2029-30 and Virginia Tech in 2034-35.

“We scheduled them based off the information we had,” Byrne said. “Coach (Nick) Saban and myself, at the time, both encouraged more SEC games. When we didn’t think that was going to happen, we started scheduling two Power-5 non-conference games — now Power-4.”

Heading into 2025, Byrne said he hopes the CFP committee recognizes “the attempt to schedule good games and create really good strength of schedule on top of playing all the great SEC teams that we play.”

With talks swirling about more playoff changes and the SEC 8 vs 9 game schedule again, Alabama AD Greg Bryne talked a little more about it again at the SEC Spring Meetings.

Personally? I don’t want the 9-game SEC schedule. I think 8 is good. BUT, I’d like for all teams to schedule 2 Power-4 games each year. Maybe even 3. We don’t want the league to become even more insular, as it further removes data points from strength of schedule comparisons.

If there were 32 or even 48 total games in the season with SEC teams playing others, I think that would go a long ways towards spreading out some of those losses.

But what do I know?

Kirby Smart gave a similar opinion yesterday:

“It blows me away [in other sports] when the SEC can end up with 13 of 16, 14 of 16 [teams in the playoff formats], and they’re larger pools–but when you look at what they’re able to do and there’s no outcry, Smart said at the SEC spring meetings on Tuesday. “There’s nobody beating the drum saying that it’s completely unfair. They do a lot of things based on RPI. A lot of things based on strength of schedule, and they reward teams for that. I have a hard time seeing Ole Miss, Alabama, South Carolina not being [considered] among the best [college football] teams last year. And to me, that’s a big part of the SEC.”

Next, we also got a full press conference from the head man, Kalen DeBoer.

“I think with Jalen, he just had added elements to his game, right? He could throw the ball, but you had to make sure you were utilizing, to benefit your team, the things he could do with his legs. I think that making sure you’re incorporating more offense where he can take advantage of that and we can take advantage of that, it then forces you to have to figure out where you’re taking away, because there are only so many snaps you play in a game or a season. Who’s touching the ball? And it’s going to take away from someone else, and you’re trying to figure out that balancing act. And a lot of it has to depend on the other personnel you have around him, and that will continue to be the case as we move forward this year.

DeBoer went into a variety of topics, particularly getting into the same playoff selection and strength of schedule topics, so give the video a watch or read On3’s transcript if you want the whole thing.

I wanted to highlight this quote above, though, as it quietly highlights just how different Alabama’s offense was last season compared to what DeBoer has coached in the past. He made an intentional decision to route much of the offense through Milroe’s rushing ability, for better or for worse. I think it’s fair to say that 2025 is going to be a lot more representative of the offense that DeBoer wants to run.

Next, keep an eye out today for a new Podcast that will be released into the public.

The podcast with Richardson and McCarron will take a deep dive into the current state of Alabama football while also reflecting on the program’s historic dominance, particularly during the Saban-led golden years, which featured McCarron under center and Richardson bulldozing SEC defenses.

The show premieres this Wednesday, with new episodes set to drop weekly. While football will be the primary focus, “The Dynasty” will also spotlight Alabama basketball, baseball, and other sports, offering a broad view of Crimson Tide athletics.

Chris Stewart will be joined by AJ McCarron and Trent Richardson, which could wind up with some solid stories from the early Saban days. I expect there will be plenty of “kids these days” complaining from AJ and Trent, but there could very well be a lot of good nuggets to come from it too. If you use Spotify, here’s the link.

Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams was announced Tuesday as one of two cover athletes for EA Sports’ College Football 26 video game, alongside Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith.

“As a lifelong fan of EA SPORTS games, being on the cover of College Football 26 is a dream come true,” Williams said in a statement. “It was incredible to see myself in College Football 25 last year, and now to represent Alabama and share this moment with fans who’ve played EA SPORTS games for years is unreal.”

Congrats to Ryan Williams for making the cover art for the upcoming CFB 26 game! It’s been since Mark Ingram was on the cover back in NCAA 12, so getting more Crimson in front of the entire nation is always a good thing.

Roll Tide, Ryan!