Greg McElroy defends dropping Alabama from his Top 25 rankings

After a long offseason where the Alabama Crimson Tide seemed to be positioning themselves for success in 2025, things went sideways almost right away. Alabama dropped its first game of the season, on the road against Florida State, and now head coach Kalen DeBoer and the team are facing increased criticism. Even former Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy has them out of his Top 25 rankings.

McElroy explained on his show, Always College Football, why he dropped Alabama out of the Top 25 entirely. This comes after McElroy ranked Alabama fifth in the country during his preseason rankings.

“Teams that dropped out of my Top 25,” Greg McElroy said. “First one is Alabama, based on one week’s performance. Now, can Alabama still absolutely get back up? For sure. On a talent profile standpoint, is Alabama a Top 25 team? 100 percent, but I’ve got to see it to believe it. Same reason why I had Ohio State at eight going into the season. Same reason why I had some other teams ranked lower than others. Because I’ve got to see it to believe it.”

Of course, Alabama isn’t just dropping in McElroy’s rankings. In the AP Poll, the Crimson Tide dropped 13 spots from the preseason poll and now sits at 21st in the country. In the Coaches Poll, Alabama fell 12 spots to 20th in the country.

“With Alabama, what I saw in Week 1, to me, did not warrant being in the Top 25. I want to see them be more physical at the point of attack offensively. I want to see them hold up better. When a linebacker’s one-on-one with a running back, I don’t want to see the running back win that battle. I want to see their linebackers play violent football. I want to see finish. Maximum effort at wide receiver, in the back end defensively.”

None of that is to say Alabama is without merit. McElroy highlighted the play of first-time starting quarterback Ty Simpson. He’d finish the game completing 23 of 43 passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 17 yards on nine carries. It just wasn’t enough by itself, and the team as a whole needs to improve.

“I think Alabama, actually, coming out of Week 1, what I was most impressed with was how Ty Simpson played. I thought he played really well. However, other pieces on the roster [are] not playing up to the level of their capability, which is why they drop out of the Top 25 for now. Germie Bernard is a star. Parker Brailsford, the center, is a star. Good moments and some good performances buried in that disappointing result, but now we need more,” McElroy said.

“That’s what I need to see from Alabama as they move forward with a good bounce back opportunity this weekend against Louisiana-Monroe. They go and do all the things they didn’t do this past week and they do it in this game against a G5 opponent, could they get back in the Top 25? Perhaps. Absolutely, they could, but it’s going to be about effort. It’s going to be about execution more so than it was a week ago.”

At the end of the day, it’s one loss for Alabama. The season is still young and Kalen DeBoer can absolutely turn things around and get to the College Football Playoff. However, the margin for error is that much thinner now and the Crimson Tide can’t afford another mistake.