There is a doomsday scenario for Alabama football and the entire SEC.
We are still hoping to have a complete college football season with a College Football Playoff. If the CFP happens, Alabama football will be firmly in the mix. However, there is room for some chaos in the SEC this season.
With a conference-only schedule, it will be hard to prove how good each team is. The SEC could have four of the six best teams in college football next year, but they will each end the year with some bumps and bruises.
There are many ways for the 2020 college football season to play out. The ideal scenario is for an undefeated team and a one-loss team to make it to the College Football Playoff. It could be Alabama football and Georgia, Alabama and Florida, or even Georgia and LSU. However, there are plenty of other ways for the season to go, including some devastating scenarios.
These are the worst case scenarios for the 2020 SEC football season.
Doomsday scenarios for Alabama football and the SEC.
A 2-loss SEC champion
There are many ways that a two-loss team could win their division. Georgia faces off against Alabama, Auburn and Florida in 2020. They could beat Florida, lose to their SEC West rivals, and still win the division if Florida were to drop another game. With the Gators playing LSU and Texas A&M, that is certainly possible.
Georgia could walk into the SEC Championship with two losses and get revenge on the Crimson Tide. How would that impact the College Football Playoff? Surely some team in the SEC would make it to the CFP, but would two?
Upsets outside of premiere matchups
The SEC has plenty of strong teams. With the second and third tier of teams, expect some parity. This causes upsets quite often, and we could see some of them this year. Tennessee could upset a Georgia. Ole Miss could upset Alabama football. LSU could lose to Texas A&M towards the end of the year.
These types of upsets make it difficult for one or two teams to rise above the rest, which will make it hard for the SEC to dominate the College Football Playoff.
Four teams outside of the SEC dominate
This scenario is totally outside of the SEC’s control. I see four to five teams in the ACC and Big 12 who have a chance to have solid seasons. In the ACC, Clemson should dominate. However, Notre Dame has an easy schedule outside of their game against the Tigers. If Notre Dame goes undefeated, upsets Clemson, and then loses to them in the ACC Championship, then you have two ACC teams in contention for the CFP.
In the Big 12, you could have Oklahoma and Texas near the top of CFP rankings. Oklahoma State is also in the mix. There is a chance for two one-loss teams out of the Big 12.
Let’s say that the ultimate doomsday scenario happens. Clemson, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Texas all have one loss. The SEC beats up each other. How will the committee decide?
One SEC team sneaks into the SEC Championship by default
divisional champions will be based on win percentages as opposed to total record. If one team has a COVID-19 outbreak and is forced to cancel some of their toughest games, they might be able to have a better win percentage than other teams. I’m sure the SEC would try to reschedule games, but a lot about the 2020 season remains unknown.
All in all, there are plenty of doomsday scenarios for Alabama football and the SEC. Let’s hope that the Crimson Tide can simply go 11-0 on their way to the College Football Playoff.