John David Mercer-US PRESSWIRE
The Alabama Crimson Tide has their bye this week, and it’s always nice to take stock of what we have accomplished so far. Yes, we’re number 1 in the country. Yes, we have looked very, very good. But if we were to trip up over the next few weeks, would we be able to recover? We would need other teams to lose, of course, but our strength of schedule would come into play. Would the Tide still be in the National Championship race with one loss?
As of right now, we would not.
Here are the College Football Strength of Schedule Power Ratings for every SEC team according to teamrankings.com:
- Vanderbilt: 2nd
- Arkansas: 4th
- Florida: 5th
- Tennessee: 7th
- Auburn: 8th
- Missouri: 10th
- Texas A&M: 15th
- Kentucky: 21st
- Ole Miss: 26th
- LSU: 43rd
- Mississippi State: 56th
- Georgia: 48th
- Alabama: 59th
- South Carolina 62nd
Outside of South Carolina, Alabama has the worst strength of schedule in the SEC. Obviously, through no fault of our own, teams on our schedule are massively underperforming. Michigan has proven to be average. Auburn and Arkansas are pitiful. And, we avoid playing Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina this year out of the East.
Florida, ranked 5th, has the best shot of anyone in the SEC to win conference championship with one loss and play for the national championship. They have already beaten Texas A&M on the road. They will play Georgia and South Carolina, as well as their yearly inter-divisional match up with LSU. They also finish the season with number 4 ranked Florida State. A loss against LSU this weekend would not necessarily doom the Gators.
But a loss for Alabama might. These rankings are fluid and change from week to week. I do believe our ranking will go up as the weeks go on. We have to remember if we make it to the SEC Championship Game, we will tack on another top five team to our schedule, which will improve our stock substantially.
But if we were to win the SEC Championship game with one loss, could we catapult above a one loss Oklahoma(ranked 9th), a one loss Texas(ranked 11th), or a one loss Oklahoma State(ranked 1st overall) if they were to win their conference?
The good news for Alabama is the other teams near the top are in a similar situation as Alabama. Oregon, the 2nd ranked team in the country, is just one spot ahead of Alabama in the overall rankings at 58th. Florida State’s schedule is currently ranked 31st overall, but many feel their S.O.S will trend downward as the season goes on due to playing an ACC schedule. Voters are also not likely to look favorably upon FSU for scheduling Savannah State.
As of right now, Bama’s schedule is mediocre, but that can change as the season goes on. If Alabama wins out, there’s nothing to worry about. But if not, things could get dicey for the Alabama team and their fans. Sweating out the selection show is about as stressful as it gets. Hopefully the Tide can take care of business and control its own destiny this year.