It has been a foregone conclusion for many that Alabama will be in the top 10 of the AP poll each week it is released. The program has been college football's most consistent powerhouse since Nick Saban arrived in Tuscaloosa.
Cracks in the armor have begun to appear, however. The Crimson Tide have gone from winning the national championship in 2020 to losing the title game in 2021 and missing the College Football Playoff altogether in 2022.
And there are even more concerns now in 2023. Through three games, Alabama has suffered Nick Saban's worst home loss as the Crimson Tide's head coach and labored through a slog against 1-1 South Florida, just coming away with the win in a disappointing 17-3 final. The team has also shuffled through three quarterbacks as it searches for answers offensively.
Alabama is sitting at 2-1 as it prepares to head into SEC play, and all but certainly still in control of its CFP fate — win the SEC, and it will be in. But the doubts are certainly creeping in on the program, and that doubt was reflected in the team's AP ranking, where it found itself in a spot the team has seldom been in recent years.
BENDER: Rankings all 133 college football teams after Week 3, from No. 1 to No. 133
Here's what you need to know about Alabama's AP Top 25 ranking ahead of Week 4.
Alabama football ranking
Following the Crimson Tide's dreadful showing against USF, Alabama was dropped to No. 13 in the latest AP Top 25 poll. It had previously been ranked 10th following its 34-24 loss in Tuscaloosa to Texas.
Falling to No. 13 is hardly a low ranking. It is in the middle of the top 25, and still puts it above 120 other FBS teams overall.
But the standard is higher at Alabama, and falling as low as No. 13 in the AP Top 25 has not happened in some time. The last time the Crimson Tide fell out of the top 10 came in 2015, after No. 2 Alabama lost 43-37 to No. 15 Ole Miss. That sent the Crimson Tide all the way down to No. 12. Following a 34-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe, Alabama dropped even one more spot, landing at No. 13.
The next week, Alabama crushed No. 8 Georgia 38-10 in Athens, vaulting the Crimson Tide back up to No. 8. And since then, Alabama has stayed in the top 10 for 128 straight AP poll appearances, the second-longest streak of top 10 appearances behind only Miami's 137 straight from 1985-93.
Since Alabama returned to the top 10 in Week 6 of the 2015 season, the Crimson Tide have found near unprecedented levels of success, particularly for the modern era. That season, Alabama would not lose another game, running all the way to the national championship, where it beat Clemson 45-40.
MORE: Saban explains Alabama's ongoing quarterback battle
The Crimson Tide lost the national championship the next year, then won a title, then lost the national championship game. Alabama missed the College Football Playoff in 2019, but bounced back to win a title in 2020 and return to the national championship game in 2021.
How does that run of success compare to Miami's? Quite favorably. Miami earned three national championships during that span — though it came before a designated national championship game, let alone a playoff. Alabama also won three national championships, but also won at least one bowl game during each of those seasons, while Miami lost two bowl games during that span.
It would surprise no one to see Alabama return to the top 10 this season, and the Crimson Tide will likely have an opportunity to do so in Week 4 when it plays No. 15 Ole Miss. Of course, a loss and Alabama could slide even farther.
