Alabama Football: Enjoying a Crimson Tide bowl game

Instead of holding on to the slimmest of chances Alabama Football can qualify for the College Football Playoffs – let’s jump ahead. After the Crimson Tide finishes the regular season with wins over Ole Miss, Austin Peay and Auburn, a New Years Six invitation will quickly follow.

Current conventional thinking is the Crimson Tide will go to the Orange Bowl to play Clemson. That is what Jerry Palm of CBS has projected. Palm issued his projection before the Tuesday night, week two, CFB Playoff rankings were released. Those rankings suggest the Crimson Tide will play in the Orange Bowl or the Sugar Bowl.

The Sugar Bowl has an SEC vs. Big 12 tie-in. The Sugar will prefer LSU, against a Big 12 foe. Palm projects Texas will be LSU’s opponent. The Orange Bowl gets the highest-ranked ACC team, not in the Playoffs. As Palm projected, the Orange Bowl would love a Clemson vs. Alabama Football matchup.

Alabama fans might prefer a Big Ten team, rather than Clemson, especially if it was Michigan. In a Sugar Bowl, playing Texas again in the same season, plus again early next season would be less fun. But beating a Big Ten team – any B1G team is always fun.

On the other hand, playing Clemson would give the Crimson Tide a payback opportunity for the Jan. 2019, National Championship game.

https://twitter.com/CFBPlayoff/status/1590142171789012992

In the latest CFB Playoff rankings seen above, Alabama Football hangs in the top 10 at No. 9. Mirroring the traditional polls, there are five SEC teams in the top 11 positions. No other conference comes close to being as strong.

Alabama Football Fan Buy-In

How the Crimson Tide finishes the 2022 season matters as a transition to the 2023 season. It is not too much of a stretch to argue the 2023 Alabama football season begins Saturday in Oxford. An 11-2 Crimson Tide, with a solid bowl win, would open next season, as it should always be, with Alabama as a championship contender.

There is also some history to consider. Nick Saban Alabama teams have lost two Sugar Bowl, non-CFB Playoff semi-final games. Turning that around should interest Crimson Tide fans. Alabama also lost its last non-CFB Playoff semi-final, Orange Bowl in 2000, to Michigan.

The history will not matter to current players, but among Crimson Tide fans, a Sugar Bowl or an Orange Bowl win is relevant to the Alabama Crimson Tide legacy.

For the Tide fans whose bowl excitement needs encouragement, remember Alabama is CFB’s most bowl-playing team and the most bowl-winning team.