ESPN analysts predicted the best case and worst case scenarios look like for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team in 2023.
In the 2023 college football season, fans from across the country are hoping to see the Crimson Tide dynasty ride off into the sunset. After a two-loss regular season in 2022, some are beginning to question whether Alabama has lost the exclusive right to the throne. Georgia enters the new season with eyes set on winning a third-consecutive national championship.
Over the course of the 2023 offseason, Alabama lost many key contributors from last year. Quarterback Bryce Young, outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr., and running back Jahmyr Gibbs all left for the NFL, along with a few others. The Crimson Tide also fell victim to the transfer portal a few times. Overall, the starting lineup for Week 1 is still somewhat of a mystery, but it will certainly be loaded with a fair amount of young, inexperienced players.
Because of such uncertainty, experts are unsure as to whether or not Alabama is a championship-caliber team this season. The Coaches Poll has the Tide ranked No. 3, while the AP Poll has them at No. 4.
ESPN recently took the top 25 teams in the nation and listed their best and worst-case scenarios for the 2023 season. For Alabama, there’s a stark difference between the two.
For the ceiling, Alabama is a national championship hopeful.
“The roster, top to bottom, is championship-caliber,” writes ESPN’s Alex Scarborough. “Finishing in the top three of the recruiting rankings virtually every season for the past decade will do that. But at key positions, Alabama needs things to break exactly right.”
Scarborough mentions the need for elite talent at positions that don’t have a clear-cut starter, like at quarterback. He goes on to write,
“What’s more, the Tide needs to develop at receiver, and quickly, after taking a big step back last year in terms of creating separation and drops. Do that, and the offense will be solid enough to navigate a tricky SEC schedule. Remember, Alabama’s two losses last season came on the road and on the final play. And this season, both of those games — LSU and Tennessee — are at home.”
As for the floor for this team, it’s rough. Scarborough predicts, at its worst, the team will suffer three losses.
“The offense has a lot of what-ifs. Almost too many, in fact. Everyone will focus on the quarterback, but the lackluster play at receiver is almost as glaring an issue. Bryce Young was just so good that he covered up for it. Unless Ja’Corey Brooks or Isaiah Bond or someone else steps up in a big way, Alabama will struggle to score in crunch time. And if that happens, go ahead and chalk up back-to-back losses to LSU and Tennessee. From there, it’s hard to see Alabama winning both against Texas and on the road at Texas A&M.”
Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama football as the 2023 season approaches.
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