Tuesday night is the key event for Alabama Football this week. When the new CFP rankings come out, much will be learned about how the Playoff Selection Committee views the Crimson Tide and the few other teams in contention for the final four.
After Tuesday, there will be only one more ranking before the final selections are announced on Selection Day, Dec. 5.
Crimson Tide fans are also attuned to the annual Iron Bowl tussle. Having to play the game in Jordan-Hare carries some trepidation. The history does not matter this season. The Auburn program is crumbling into irrelevance. Aubies are moving past bemoaning the loss of Bo Nix to injury. Many of them are pining for an exit by first-year head coach, Bryan Harsin.
Alabama Football: Iron Bowl upsets are rare
Alabama Football will win in Auburn. The only question is what the margin needs to be against what, after Saturday, will be a 6-6 Auburn team.
More important for the Crimson Tide are Tuesday night’s Playoff rankings. After Saturday losses by Oregon, Michigan State and Wake Forest, there are (at most) nine teams in contention for the final four slots. They are Georgia, Alabama, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and Baylor. The biggest stretch in the nine-team list is including the Sooners, who have not impressed the Selection Committee so far.
The ACC and the Pac 12 will be left out of the Playoffs this season. The same could happen to the Big 12 after Bedlam and the league’s championship game.
A fair assumption is no Big 12 team makes it, leaving the Bulldogs, the Tide, the Buckeyes, the Wolverines, the Bearcats and the Fighting Irish. On Saturday, one of the Big Ten teams will be knocked out when Ohio State and Michigan battle.
That will leave five teams for four spots. Georgia is in, leaving four teams for three slots. Foremost on the minds of Alabama football fans is whether an undefeated Cincinnati team or a one-loss Notre Dame can keep the Crimson Tide out of the Playoffs. Beating Georgia assures the Tide of a Playoff spot. A two-loss, Alabama team might get in; if the loss is a close one.
Some Alabama fans think if the Tide loses to Georgia, it does not deserve being chosen as a Playoff team. Other Crimson Tide fans are sure neither Cincinnati nor Notre Dame are as good as the Tide. A debate over the merits of the Irish and the Bearcats will be fueled by how they are ranked Tuesday night.
More importantly for the upcoming Tuesday rankings is where the Committee places the Tide. After Ohio State’s blowout of Michigan State, the Tide may slide to No. 3. That slot will be a precarious position for a possible two-loss Tide team. If the Crimson Tide can hold on to No. 2, it will show the Committee values it enough the Tide could become the first two-loss team to make the Playoff.