The calendar has turned to November, which means we set the clocks back an hour, and the College Football Playoff Rankings are here. Like clockwork, Alabama is right in the mix for the CFP.
On Tuesday night’s first CFP rankings release, the 7-1 Crimson Tide, who have won seven straight after a Week 1 loss to Florida State, claimed the No. 4 spot. Much like the AP Poll, the top four went, No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Texas A&M, and No. 4 Alabama.
With the new CFP format for this season, the four highest-ranked teams, not the four highest-ranked conference champions, earn the bye through the first round of the CFP. So, after missing the 12-team CFP under Kalen DeBoer last year, the Crimson Tide are currently projected to earn a bye with a No. 4 ranking.
While there wasn’t much surprise at the top of the rankings, there is plenty of intrigue when you look at a projected bracket based on these initial rankings. Rematches are something that committees in the past have opted to avoid, but with so many good teams in the SEC through the first 10 weeks, they’re almost unavoidable.
Alabama slated to play winner of Memphis/Georgia in CFP quarterfinals
With that, Alabama would be projected to play the winner of Georgia and Memphis, the highest-ranked Group of Six team in this initial ranking. That would set up another edition of Alabama’s budding rivalry with the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide’s dominance over Kirby Smart.
Since taking over in Athens, former Alabama defensive coordinator and a Nick Saban disciple, Kirby Smart is just 1-7 against the Crimson Tide. It’s hard to argue that Alabama truly has his number, considering that the one in the win column came in the national championship game, but that’s a significant run of dominance in big-time matchups that has carried over from Saban to Kalen DeBoer.
Georgia isn’t Alabama’s most historic rival, but the Tide and Bulldogs have been the defining programs of the last decade or so in college football, and their matchups have largely shaped the landscape of the sport. Of those eight matchups between Alabama and Georgia since Smart got the head coaching gig at his alma mater, three have been for the SEC Title, and two have been in the national championship game.
Alabama narrowly survived this season’s edition of the rivalry, jumping out to a 24-14 first-half lead before being shut out after the intermission. Georgia has been one of the best second-half teams in the country, and though the Tide have owned the rivalry, a rematch wouldn’t be ideal in the CFP quarterfinals.