Alabama Fans Are Outraged By Their Preseason Top 25 Ranking

The 2026 college football regular season is set to begin in a couple of months - yes, it'll be here before you know it - and the preseason Top 25 polls are starting to come out.

Fox Sports announcer Joel Klatt released his on Monday. You can view the complete Top 25 rankings here. But one team's ranking in particular sparked some outrage - and confusion - online.

Alabama, which is used to starting the season ranked somewhere between No. 1 and No. 3 most seasons, is all the way down out of the Top 10. In fact, Kalen DeBoer's team isn't even in the Top 15 of Klatt's poll.

Alabama, which is coming off an 11-4 season that ended with a 38-3 loss to Indiana in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, comes in at No. 16 in Joel Klatt's preseason Top 25 rankings.

Alabama has to replace starting quarterback Ty Simpson, among other players. The Crimson Tide got absolutely blown out by future national champion Indiana in the College Football Playoff, too.

Is No. 16 a fair ranking for Kalen DeBoer's squad?

This isn't Nick Saban's Alabama, after all. Still, Crimson Tide fans are not happy with the ranking.

Alabama fans outraged by preseason Top 25 ranking

Fans are not happy.

"Penn State over Bama gotta be the biggest ragebait probably of all time," one fan wrote.

"This why Klatt's opinion stinks... nobody other than you thinks Penn State is better than Bama."

"I think Joel Klatt has lost his mind," one fan added.

"Doesn't surprise one Alabama fan but there a lot of teams that are unproven. This is him trying to push his narrative that Bama has fallen," one added.

"This man 🤦🏾‍♂️ Klatt knows nothing about football obviously," one shared.

"Joel "BIG" Klatt has programs with first year coaches that didn't even make the CFP last year ahead of Bama because… Bama has a QB battle where they can win with either QB..? Make it make sense. 😂🤷‍♀️ The homerism is laughable atp," one fan added.

Is Klatt showing homerism for the Big Ten or is he fair in his assessment of Alabama football right now?

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This story was originally published May 5, 2026 at 9:47 AM.