Alabama Extremely Low In Dan Mullen’s New SEC Rankings Prediction

ESPN analyst Dan Mullen shared his 2024 SEC rankings prediction on Thursday morning, and Alabama's placement was quite surprising.

Mullen may doubt what new Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer can achieve in his first season, as first-year head coaches typically face challenges. The team also has a tough schedule, which includes visiting Wisconsin, hosting Georgia, going to Tennessee, hosting Missouri, playing at LSU, and then at Oklahoma.

After Nick Saban retired and Deboer took over, Alabama lost players like Isaiah Bond, Caleb Downs, Amari Niblack, and others to the transfer portal. On the bright side, the team made significant additions, bringing in a top-three transfer portal class and a top-two high school recruiting class.

Despite the end of the Saban era and a challenging schedule, the team still boasts incredible talent. However, the former Mississippi State and Florida coach predicts that the Tide will finish sixth in the conference.

In the preseason AP Poll, Texas and Georgia are the only SEC schools ranked ahead of Alabama, while Missouri, Ole Miss, and LSU are below.

Here are all nine SEC teams that were ranked in the preseason AP Poll:

• No. 1 Georgia
• No. 4 Texas
• No. 5 Alabama
• No. 6 Ole Miss
• No. 11 Missouri
• No. 13 LSU
• No. 15 Tennessee
• No. 16 Oklahoma
• No. 20 Texas A&M

While Mullen also predicted Texas to beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, and his former team, Florida, to finish No. 12, his rankings won't just offend Alabama fans.

Anyway, it will be interesting to see what kind of Alabama team we will see on the field in 2024. Is the dynasty over?

Related: Dan Mullen Reveals 2024 Big Ten Final Standings Predictions