Okay, so the last time we saw them was a 44-16 national championship loss to the Clemson Tigers. But it’s not enough to knock the Alabama Crimson Tide out of the top spot in our preseason SEC Power Rankings.
More from Vols Football
- How to Win a GUARANTEED $200 Bonus Betting Just $5 on the Vols vs. Florida!
- Tennessee Football at Florida: Five Keys to a Vols Victory
- Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Did Tennessee Football’s Win Help At All?
- Week 3 AP Polls: Why Did Tennessee Football Drop in the Polls?
- Tennessee Football: Top Five Performers in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay
Even with that loss, Bama still won their bowl game before that, technically a semifinal game, and they beat the Oklahoma Sooners and Heisman winner Kyler Murray, a better team than who the Florida Gators or LSU Tigers beat. So that has to count.
Meanwhile, Nick Saban’s program actually has a surprisingly high amount of talent returning this year. He has over 60 percent of his production back, and that includes Tua Tagovailoa, who is still a Heisman-caliber quarterback despite how he ended last season.
We’d also like to point out that Alabama had another No. 2 ranked recruiting class, and it was No. 1 by some standards. So Saban has still stocked the cupboard and has the program rolling entering his 13th season on the job.
Whether or not you think Alabama is slipping as a program after what Dabo Swinney did to Saban for the second time in three years in the national title game, you can’t ignore that they belong up here for now. Somebody has to knock them off, as they have lost one SEC game in the past three seasons. That’s incredible.