Nick Saban says Alabama football among five favorites to win the SEC in 2025
Heading into the 2025 college football season, the SEC is widely regarded as being a wide-open league, with a handful of contenders viewed as championship-caliber squads that could win the conference and make the College Football Playoff.
It’s an opinion shared not just by various media members and pundits, but arguably the greatest coach to ever roam a college sideline.While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at a function for his charity, Nick’s Kids Foundation, legendary former Alabama coach Nick Saban identified five teams he believes can win the SEC.
Perhaps the most notable inclusion in the group is the Crimson Tide, as excluding the program he won six national championships with would have been an ominous sign for coach Kalen DeBoer heading into a crucial second season at the helm. Alabama finished 9-4 in 2024, its most losses in a season since 2007. That underwhelming mark included its first loss to Vanderbilt since 1984 and a 21-point beatdown at the hands of a .500 Oklahoma team.
The Tide is No. 8 in the preseason US LBM Coaches Poll, ranking it third among SEC programs, behind No. 1 Texas and No. 4 Georgia. No. 9 LSU, No. 13 South Carolina, No. 15 Ole Miss, No. 17 Florida and No. 18 Tennessee also appear in the top 20.
Texas, led by former Saban assistant Steve Sarkisian, is perhaps the safest bet, with an experienced, talent-rich roster that will be guided by first-year starting quarterback Arch Manning, the No.
