Alabama Football: What Florida’s loss means for Crimson Tide

Florida’s loss to LSU is good news for Alabama football.

Alabama football is the best team in college football, and you have to like their odds to win a national championship. However, outside factors must be considered, and they got some great news on Saturday.

The Florida Gators somehow lost to the depleted LSU Tigers. Between a freshman quarterback balling, three turnovers from Kyle Trask and an insane unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, it was one of the most entertaining games of the college football season. 

With this loss, the Florida Gators are now 8-2 before the SEC Championship. That begs the question: what does this mean for the Alabama Crimson Tide?

Let’s start with Alabama’s title hopes. The path to the top seed is simple. As long as Alabama beats Florida, they will be ranked first overall. However, this loss gives the Crimson Tide a cushion. For all intents and purposes, the Gators are eliminated from CFP contention. That means that Alabama should make it to the College Football Playoff, no matter what happens in Atlanta on Saturday.

However, this loss also impacts the Heisman race. Kyle Trask had three turnovers and multiple opportunities to have a Heisman moment. Against one of the worst defenses in the SEC, Trask failed to score when his team needed it most. He will still have a great statistical case for the Heisman Trophy, but you can’t consider him a top contender after this performance.

That gives Alabama football’s trio of candidates a better chance to win the Heisman. Whether it is DeVonta Smith, Mac Jones or Najee Harris, the Heisman Trophy should be heading to Tuscaloosa at the end of the year. We thought that the SEC Championship would determine the Heisman winner earlier this year. It still will, but between Alabama players.

All of these things are great, but none of them matter in the eyes of Nick Saban. He isn’t worried about trophies or what happens if Alabama loses. He watched this game with the hopes of finding ways to exploit the Gators. He certainly learned a lot about how to beat them on offense. The running game will likely tear the Gator front to shreds, and they will get tired by the end of the game.

The Florida offense will look different with Kyle Pitts back. That being said, this game proves that Florida has no running game worth mentioning. If Alabama can stop Kyle Trask and the passing game, they can stop the Florida Gators.

Alabama football would have been fine without this loss by Florida. However, it is still a good sign for the Crimson Tide as we wrap up the 2020 regular season.