The Aporia · No. 13 Alabama looks to return to the CFP with a new starting QB, Mack or Russell

No. 13 Alabama looks to return to the CFP with a new starting QB, Mack or Russell

Read the original at Toronto Star ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Long, M. (2026, August 20). No. 13 Alabama looks to return to the CFP with a new starting QB, Mack or Russell. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/no-13-alabama-looks-to-return-to-the-cfp-with-a-new-starting-qb-mack-or-russell/article_38864aea-a7f1-5edf-b6a2-4f38511d1eb4.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

The University of Alabama's football team, ranked No. 13 in 2025 with an 11-4 record, is looking to return to the College Football Playoff under coach Kalen DeBoer and end the Southeastern Conference's three-year national championship drought. The team will be led by a new starting quarterback, either Austin Mack or Keelon Russell, who will throw to top receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams (1,654 yards receiving in two seasons). Alabama's defense is expected to be strong, particularly its secondary, which returns all five starters from last season and ranked third in the SEC in total defense. The team's main weakness is at running back and quarterback, where they struggled in 2025 and lost several key players due to graduation or injury.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-20, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

No. 13 Alabama, a powerhouse team in the Southeastern Conference, is looking to return to the College Football Playoff with a new starting quarterback. The team has been without a consistent starter, with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell vying for the position under third-year coach Kalen DeBoer. This season marks an opportunity for Alabama to end the conference's three-year national championship drought. Last year, the team made it to the Rose Bowl but was defeated by top-seeded Indiana 38-3 after beating Oklahoma in the opening round of the CFP. The Crimson Tide also boasts a strong secondary, with all five starters returning from last season, including cornerbacks Zabien Brown and Dijon Lee Jr., as well as All-SEC safety Bray Hubbard.

Written for “College Football Recruiting” on 2026-10-17, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

No. 3 Georgia has QB Gunner Stockton back to lead pursuit of SEC and national championships different event · 90%

Toronto Star

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 5% hedged 1 of 21 📰 publisher trust 63

“Two articles discuss separate college football teams' expectations and starting quarterbacks for the upcoming season, without mentioning a shared incident or event”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 15 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

63/100

Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-08-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 7681 article(s) · 22 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 22 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Mark Long

19 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Philo is expected to be listed as questionable on the weekly Southeastern Conference injury report released later Wednesday, the person said.

2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Florida QB Aaron Philo might not play at No. 7 Texas because of a shoulder injury, AP source says

🔮 GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — South Carolina defensive end Dylan Stewart, a projected first-round pick in the 2027 NFL draft, returned from a one-game suspension and forced two fumbles in a 38-19 victory at No. 16 Florida on Saturday.

2026-10-11 · assertive framing · South Carolina's Dylan Stewart returns from suspension and forces two fumbles in Swamp win

🔮 The Gators (4-2, 2-2), who were double-digit favorites at home, lost a second consecutive game in lopsided fashion and surely will fall out of the AP Top 25.

2026-10-10 · assertive framing · LaNorris Sellers shows up big, and South Carolina stuns No. 16 Florida 38-19 in the Swamp

🔮 Yet much of the talk was about the struggles of Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye and the Bengals playing most of the game without All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Jaguars believe defensive success and takeaways are 'part of our DNA' after 3-1 start

🔮 Bhayshul Tuten scored on the next play, which surely will cause angst in the fantasy football world.

2026-09-27 · assertive framing · Lawrence throws 3 TD passes as Jaguars rout Patriots and raise more questions about Maye

🔮 A road victory last week at Auburn was huge, but beating a top five team might be the turning point.

2026-09-27 · assertive framing · Jadan Baugh and No. 21 Florida run roughshod over 4th-ranked Ole Miss, 52-28

🔮 Trainers could be seen working on his thigh.

2026-09-26 · assertive framing · Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss injures his left thigh at No. 21 Florida but returns to game

🔮 None of it should have been that surprising given the Gators lost arguably the best backcourt in school history, the trio of Walter Clayton Jr., Alijah Martin and Will Richard.

2026-09-25 · assertive framing · Florida embraces championship expectations that come with Chinyelu, Condon and Haugh back

🔮 If the line holds, it would be the fifth time since 1978 that a top-five team was a road underdog against a team ranked outside the top 20, according to ESPN.

2026-09-24 · assertive framing · No. 4 Ole Miss and No. 21 Florida try to handle success with a Swamp clash following big wins

🔮 Bailey could have taken a knee, scrambled out of the end zone or even tossed the ball high into the air as the clock expired.

2026-09-20 · assertive framing · Music City Miscue gives Vanderbilt a win over NC State no one saw coming

Also by Mark Long

Florida QB Aaron Philo might not play at No. 7 Texas because of a shoulder injury, AP source says

2026-10-14 · Toronto Star

South Carolina's Dylan Stewart returns from suspension and forces two fumbles in Swamp win

2026-10-11 · Toronto Star

LaNorris Sellers shows up big, and South Carolina stuns No. 16 Florida 38-19 in the Swamp

2026-10-10 · Toronto Star

Jaguars believe defensive success and takeaways are 'part of our DNA' after 3-1 start

2026-10-05 · Toronto Star

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 19 articles by Mark Long →

Topics

Alabama Georgia Mississippi State NFL The Crimson Tide

Subjects

Alabama GPE · 3× NFL ORG · 3× The Crimson Tide ORG · 3× Georgia GPE · 2× Mississippi State ORG · 2× CFP ORG · 1× Indiana GPE · 1× Kalen DeBoer PERSON · 1× Oklahoma GPE · 1× the Southeastern Conference’s ORG · 1×

Narrative

The Crimson Tide look to make back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff under third-year coach Kalen DeBoer and potentially end the Southeastern Conference’s three-year national championship drought.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-20

🔮 DeBoer will turn to his third different starting QB in Tuscaloosa, with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell vying for the starting job.

2026-08-20 · Toronto Star

No. 13 Alabama looks to return to the CFP with a new starting QB, Mack or Russell · assertive framing

Claims (15 extracted, 1 hedged)

Tide → look → drought

The powerhouse league hasn’t even made the title game since Georgia won consecutive championships in 2022-23. asserted

Georgia → make → 2022

Alabama beat Oklahoma 34-24 in the opening round of the CFP last year and then got rolled by top-seeded and eventual national champ Indiana in the Rose Bowl, 38-3. asserted

Alabama → beat → Bowl

DeBoer will turn to his third different starting QB in Tuscaloosa, with Austin Mack and Keelon Russell vying for the starting job. asserted

Mack → turn → job

Whichever guy earns the spot will get to throw to one of the league’s top receivers, Ryan Coleman-Williams (1,654 yards receiving and 12 TDs in two seasons). asserted

earns → earn → seasons

Strengths include a loaded secondary All five starters in Alabama’s vaunted secondary played significant snaps last season, including CBs Zabien Brown and Dijon Lee Jr. as well as All-SEC SS Bray Hubbard. asserted

starters → include → Brown

FS Keon Sabb and NB Red Morgan round out what should be the strength of the defense under coordinator Kane Wommack, who is back for a third year. asserted

who → round → year

The Crimson Tide ranked third in the SEC in total defense and led the league in passing defense, averaging just under 170 yards a game through the air. asserted

Tide → rank → air

Weaknesses include inexperienced RB and QB play The Tide want – and need – to run the ball better to have a chance in 2026. asserted

Tide → include → 2026

The team ranked 15th in the league in rushing offense in 2025, failing to find consistency all season and really struggling (48 total yards on the ground) in their final three games. asserted

team → rank → games

The position group already is down one potential starter after AK Dear injured an ankle in camp, sidelining him for several games to start the regular season. asserted

Dear → injure → season

Daniel Hill and Kevin Riley saw action last year, but neither gained more than 300 yards. asserted

neither → see → yards

True freshmen Trae’shawn Brown and EJ Crowell should get chances to show what they can do. asserted

they → get → what

The ground game could be key to helping whoever starts at quarterback. uncertain

whoever → help → quarterback

Both Mark and Russell played sparingly behind Ty Simpson in 2025. asserted

Mark → play → 2025