A lie fueled Alabama football to beat Washington in the 1926 Rose Bowl for the Crimson Tide's first national championship: The story behind the title.

Alabama is the No. 9 seed in the 2025 College Football Playoff, not budging from its spot prior to its SEC championship shellacking. The No. 9 Crimson Tide will take on No. 8 Oklahoma at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma at 7 p.m. CT Friday, Dec. 19.

Alabama is no stranger to the big stage that is the CFP. Here is where ESPN ranks every Alabama team in CFP history.

Kane Wommack has never coached in a College Football Playoff game. Sixteen seasons into his coaching career, the Alabama football defensive coordinator will enter a postseason still in the running for a national championship. It’s something he recognizes. The CFP is different. But don’t get it twisted.

The 2026 CFP National Championship Game will take place Monday, Jan 19 at 7:30p ET. Teams are currently TBD. For the second year in a row, 12 teams were chosen to compete in the College Football Playoff, putting the National Championship Game in late January.

Before Alabama heads to Norman for a first-round CFP date against Oklahoma, I let EA Sports College Football 26 determine the Crimson Tide's fate.

Alabama lost just once the rest of the regular season (to Tennessee in late October) to clinch the SEC West title, while Florida won its final five SEC games to take the East. That set up a rematch in the SEC championship game, scheduled for Dec. 4 in Atlanta.

Nick Saban, a seven-time national championship coach in college football, has joined the NHL’s Nashville Predators as a minority owner. The team announced Tuesday afternoon on social media that Saban and business partner Joe Agresti have purchased an undisclosed stake in the franchise.