Welcome to the first year of 12-team College Football Playoff.

In anticipation of the first four-round postseason in college football history, we’re counting down our projected playoff participants as the season approaches. The top five conference champions in the CFP Selection Committee’s rankings will advance to the playoffs, and the rest of the field will be filled by seven at-large teams. Who will lift the national championship trophy on January 20 in Atlanta?

Previous previews: No. 25-13, No. 12 Boise State, No. 11 Utah, No. 10 Florida State, No. 9 Missouri, No. 8 Michigan, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 6 Ole Miss

Record 2023: 12-2, 8-0 SEC

Last season in 100 words or less

The Crimson Tide’s margin for error in the playoffs was gone in Week 2 with a 34-24 home loss to Texas. The game established Texas as a CFP contender and forced Alabama to win to get into the postseason.

And guess what? That’s exactly what Alabama did. The Crimson Tide won their final 10 games of the regular season to face Georgia in the SEC title game. There were some close games – Alabama beat Arkansas and Auburn by three points and Texas A&M by six – before defeating the previously unbeaten Bulldogs 27-24 in the SEC title game.

However, Alabama was not playing for the title after a chaotic play resulted in Jalen Milroe being stopped on fourth down in overtime of the Rose Bowl against Michigan.

Why Alabama can make the playoffs

Alabama is in for a season of change. That will be the Crimson Tide’s motto in the 2024 season, when the football program begins its first season of the post-Nick Saban era. Saban retired in the days following the Rose Bowl as the winningest coach in modern college football history and will be replaced by a coach who has a remarkable winning percentage throughout his time as a college football head coach.

Kalen DeBoer just made the playoffs in Washington, where the Huskies went 25-3 in his two seasons with the team. Overall, DeBoer has a 37-9 record as a head coach at the FBS level with Washington and Fresno State and a 67-3 record in five seasons as head coach at NAIA Sioux Falls.

There will certainly be an adjustment period. But there is also no reason to believe that Alabama won’t be very good again in 2024. We’ll start with the offense, which could be incredibly dynamic despite some questions that need to be answered at wide receiver.

Jalen Milroe rebounded from an early-season trade in 2023 to throw for over 2,800 yards and run for over 500 yards. His development over the course of the season was remarkable, and he enters the 2024 season as one of the early Heisman favorites.

The offensive line should be better with four starters returning, including Kadyn Proctor after his offseason flirtation with Iowa. Sophomore Justice Haynes could be the lead back, though we wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a running back-by-committee approach throughout the season.

However, the Tide will be looking for a receiver or three to use in 2024. The team’s top three pass catchers are gone and Kobe Prentice is the leading returning receiver. He had 18 catches for 314 yards. Germie Bernard transferred from Washington and could take on a larger role in 2023 after his time as the Huskies’ No. 4 receiver.

The defense could also look very different without Saban. Alabama has hired South Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack to run the defense. The Jaguars have allowed 21 points per game in each of the last two seasons and easily beat Oklahoma State in Week 2 last season.

DB Caleb Downs is going to Ohio State, but the secondary returns with reliable safety Malachi Moore. He will be the leader of the defense. Deontae Lawson and Jihaad Campbell are back at linebacker, as are Tim Smith and Tim Keenan on the line.

Saban’s defense has always been able to put consistent pressure on the quarterback, and figuring out who Alabama’s best pass rushers are will be crucial for Wommack. The Tide had 39 sacks as a team last season and will need to replace many of those with the departures of Dallas Turner, Chris Braswell and others.

But we are confident that this can be achieved with the talent that is still in Tuscaloosa despite the losses to the NFL and the transfer portal. DeBoer, Wommack and Co. do not have to shy away from empty stands.

Key players

It could be the former four-star recruit’s time to shine. Prentice had 13 fewer catches as a sophomore than he did in 2022, but he averaged many more yards per catch. In 2022, Prentice had 31 catches for 337 yards and two scores. In 2023, he averaged over 17 yards per catch.

Prentice has as good a chance as anyone to be Alabama’s top receiver in 2024, and it’s hard to ignore the success DeBoer’s teams had against both Fresno State and Washington. While this Alabama team likely won’t have three early draft picks at receiver like last year’s Washington team did, DeBoer and his team’s ability to develop receivers should be given the benefit of the doubt.

Biggest game

Alabama isn’t exactly off to a relaxed start to the 2024 season. Games against Western Kentucky and South Florida should have been easy wins to start the season, but the Bulls should be fierce in the AAC this season, holding Alabama to 17 points in the game where Milroe was on the bench last year.

Alabama then travels to Wisconsin in Week 3 before having a week off before Georgia’s road game in Tuscaloosa in Week 5. Even if Alabama knocks off its first three opponents, Georgia could be the favorite going into that game.

After Georgia, the Crimson Tide’s road schedule for the rest of the season is no picnic. The Tide will play Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma. A regular season record of 10-2 should be enough to make the College Football Playoffs.