Head coach Kalen DeBoer’s second season at the helm was full of ups and downs for Alabama.
Between comebacks, thrillers and rivalries, here are the top five best games from Alabama’s 2025 season.
No. 5: No. 4 Alabama 29, South Carolina 22
On the tail end of Cocktober, Alabama went to Columbia to face the dangerous South Carolina Gamecocks.
With just 10 minutes left in regulation, South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers ran it himself into the end zone to extend the Gamecock lead to eight.
The pressure was on the Alabama offense, which had only managed one touchdown drive to this point in the game. Enter quarterback Ty Simpson and wide receiver Germie Bernard.
The Crimson Tide offense engineered a 14-play, 79-yard drive that ended in a 4-yard touchdown pass from Simpson to Bernard. One play later, Simpson connected with tight end Josh Cuevas on a 2-point conversion to tie the game at 22.
The Gamecocks got the ball back with just over two minutes to play, but star linebacker Deontae Lawson interrupted a LaNorris Sellers scramble and forced a fumble that fellow Crimson Tide defensive tackle Tim Keenan III landed on.
On third and 10 with just 34 seconds to play, Bernard came to the rescue once again. The star wideout took a handoff 25 yards for the touchdown.
Defensive end Keon Keeley closed out the game with a sack on LaNorris Sellers, and Alabama survived Columbia to extend the win streak to seven.
No. 4: No. 16 Vanderbilt 14, No. 10 Alabama 30
Coming off a win over No. 5 Georgia in Athens the week prior, Alabama began its October in Tuscaloosa with a familiar opponent.
At the only Tuscaloosa edition of College GameDay of the 2025 season, former Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban made a powerful statement about Alabama’s matchup with No. 16 Vanderbilt: “Revenge is not supposed to be a factor, but it is a factor today.”
In 2024, Alabama went to Nashville as the newly crowned No. 1 team in college football, but left with a loss at the hands of the rising Vanderbilt Commodores. As Saban said, this particular Saturday was all about revenge.
After trading touchdowns to start, the game was tied 14 apiece at halftime. The second half was much different.
Alabama opened up the second half with three Conor Talty field goals to take a 9 point lead. With 1:18 left, the Crimson Tide defense forced a turnover on downs, which led to a Jam Miller rushing touchdown to put the icing on the victory, 30-14.
The victory meant more than usual to Alabama players and fans alike, putting the 2024 loss in the distant rearview.
No. 3: No. 10 Alabama 27, Auburn 20
The Iron Bowl is a spectacle on its own. Add in Alabama’s playoff hopes on the line plus the game in Jordan-Hare Stadium, and there’s a potential classic.
It was smooth sailing at the start for the Crimson Tide, which rallied off a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, but fate would not allow Alabama to get out of Auburn that easily.
The shifting connection for the Tigers became quarterback Ashton Daniels to receiver Malcolm Simmons, who used two big plays to draw the score back even at 20 late in the fourth.
Even when the offense was stagnant, late in the fourth seemed to become the Crimson Tide’s trademarked time to score. Simpson and his offense engineered a 15-play, 75-yard drive capped off by a clutch fourth-down conversion to wide receiver Isaiah Horton to retake the lead.
Horton cemented himself in Iron Bowl lore, scoring all three Alabama touchdowns on the night.
With its final gasp, Auburn moved the ball into Alabama territory before safety Bray Hubbard forced a fumble on star receiver Cam Coleman. Once again, Alabama survived the Iron Bowl in Jordan-Hare.
This win became not only the seventh in a row over Auburn, but also clinched Alabama a spot in the SEC Championship and College Football Playoff.
No. 2: No. 17 Alabama 24, No. 5 Georgia 21
No. 5 Georgia hosted No. 17 Alabama in Athens, having not lost at home since 2019. An opportunity awaited DeBoer’s Crimson Tide under the lights on Sept. 27.
The Alabama offense got off to a hot start, scoring on four of its first five possessions to take a 24-14 halftime lead.
Between Simpson playing arguably his best game of the season and left tackle Kadyn Proctor getting in on the action with an 11 yard run near the goalline, the entire operation was smooth from the get-go.
Georgia did manage to make it interesting, but an LT Overton shoestring tackle on Georgia running back Cash Jones ultimately sealed the game.
The 24-21 win vaulted Alabama on what became an eight game win streak, adding a trademark win to DeBoer’s tenure in Tuscaloosa.
“You’re gonna get punches thrown at you,” DeBoer said postgame. “What’s your response gonna be? Our response was to punch back and punch back harder.”
No. 1: No. 9 Alabama 34, No. 8 Oklahoma 24 (College Football Playoff)
After sneaking into the College Football Playoff, Alabama had probably the most disastrous start imaginable.
The Sooners got out to a quick 17-0 home lead over the Crimson Tide. They were looking to win their first playoff game and make history, becoming the first team to beat Alabama twice in the same season since 1893.
A fourth down conversion from Simpson to freshman wide receiver Lotzier Brooks who willed his way into the end zone for a touchdown cut the lead to 10. On the next possession, Keenan blocked an Oklahoma punt that turned into a Talty field goal.
Then possibly the biggest play of the season happened — sophomore corner Zabien Brown intercepted Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer and returned it for a pick six, tying the game up at 17 entering halftime.
“He kind of looked like he wanted to go over there pre-snap,” Brown said. “I just fell into the flats, ball fell right in my hand.”Alabama went on to outscore Oklahoma 17-7 in the second half en route to a College Football Playoff comeback win.
