Alabama moves up in latest rankings, reaches historic milestone in AP Poll
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Alabama used a big first half against South Carolina to stay undefeated through four weeks of the 2026 season.
As a result, the Crimson Tide moved up again in the latest rankings and reached a historic milestone in the Associated Press poll.
Alabama came in at No. 7 in the AP rankings this week, marking the 300th consecutive poll the team has been ranked. The Tide has been ranked in every poll since the 2008 preseason rankings.
This is just the second time in the rankings history that a team reached that mark. Now, Alabama needs to stay in the rankings for another 48 weeks (roughly through the 2029 season) to match Nebraska’s all-time record of 348 consecutive weeks which ended in 2002.
Keep reading to learn more about Alabama’s streak + see what other SEC teams made this week’s top 25.
Alabama’s AP Poll streak reaches 300
Alabama has been ranked in 72% of the AP Top 25 polls all time but this streak started during Nick Saban’s second year in Tuscaloosa.
The Crimson Tide was ranked No. 24 in the 2008 preseason poll and have not fallen out since. Here are some of the other key numbers from the historic streak:
- 105 weeks at #1
- 223 weeks in the top 5
- 271 weeks in the top 10
The second highest number of polls reached since 2008 is Ohio State at 285.
Alabama has reached the top 5 at least one time in each of the previous 18 seasons, needing to rise two more spots to reach that mark in 2026.
The Crimson Tide is first all time with 141 appearances at No. 1 in the poll and fourth with 912 appearances in the AP Top 25.
College football rankings
Alabama moved up one spot in the latest AP rankings and is now the third highest-ranked SEC team. The conference currently has 10 teams in the top 25 and five in the top 10 including:
- 1. Texas
- 2. Georgia
- 7. Alabama
- 8. Florida
- 9. Ole Miss
- 11. LSU
- 16. Mississippi State
- 17. Tennessee
- 24. Kentucky
- 25. Missouri
Kentucky is the only SEC ranked in the AP Top 25 but not in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Week 5 schedule
Alabama’s next three games are against teams currently ranked in the top 20 starting this week with a short trip to Starkville to take on the undefeated Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Here’s the full in-state schedule for Week 5:
- No. 7 Alabama at No. 16 Mississippi State | 11AM | ABC
- Samford at UAB | 2:30PM
- Auburn at No. 17 Tennessee | 2:30PM | ESPN
- Alabama State at Bethune | 3PM
- Alabama A&M at Jackson State | 4PM
- North Alabama at Eastern Kentucky | 5PM
- UL Monroe at South Alabama | 6PM
