Alabama Football: Crimson Tide nosedive in polls could have been worse
By Ronald Evans
When the latest polls were released on Sunday, Alabama Football took a nosedive. It could have been worse.
Texas was one of the biggest movers in the Coaches Poll, moving up four spots from No. 10 to No. 6. The Crimson Tide assumed the latest No. 10 spot, dropping seven positions as voted by the coaches.
Alabama football fans, still licking wounds from Saturday night, can breathe a small sigh of relief that the Crimson Tide’s fall was not lower.
There are five SEC teams in the latest Coaches Poll Top 25, compared to six last week. Texas A&M joined Kentucky, Auburn, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi State as ‘others receiving votes.’
According to the Coaches Poll voters, the Top 10 are Georgia, Michigan, FSU, Ohio State, USC, Texas, Penn State, Washington, Tennessee and Alabama. The other two Top 25 SEC teams are LSU at No. 14 and Ole Miss at No. 19.
Alabama Football was also No. 10 in the updated AP Poll. The Texas Longhorns zoomed up to No. 4 in the AP Poll and Alabama Crimson Tide fans will be hoping Steve Sarkisian’s team is really that good.
AP Poll voters showed sound judgment in dropping the Tennessee Vols two spots down to No. 11. Tennessee had an unimpressive performance on Saturday against the Austin Peay Governors, scoring only 30 points on the FCS team and winning by just 17 points.
The Georgia Bulldogs are No. 1 in the AP Poll, followed by Michigan, FSU, Texas, USC, Ohio State, Penn State, Washington, Notre Dame and Alabama. Other SEC teams in the AP Poll Top 25 are LSU at No. 14 and Ole Miss at No. 17.
The Ole Miss game a week from Saturday will be huge for the Crimson Tide. It could be called a must-win game, except that every game is now a must-win for Alabama.
Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi State made the AP’s ‘others receiving votes.’ Unlike the Coaches Poll, Auburn did not.
Even with the loss to Texas, Alabama remained No. 1 in the ESPN FPI, though the Crimson Tide’s probability of making the CFB Playoff plummeted to 26%. It is hard to defend the Tide’s FPI ranking, other than to say, algorithms only use numbers and not ‘eyeball’ tests.
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After a few deep breaths, perhaps Alabama football fans can take solace in the Alabama football season still having ‘all to play for.’