Alabama football bowl projections: where experts see the Tide this postseason

Alabama football is in the midst of its second and final bye week of the 2024 season and currently sits at 6-2 (3-2) on the season. The Crimson Tide bounced back from its loss in Knoxville to Tennessee with a 34-0 win over Missouri at home last week.

Alabama still likely controls its own destiny for the College Football Playoff, but has to win out the rest of the way to make that a reality. If Alabama wins out and finishes 10-2, it would have an impressive resume with wins over Georgia and Missouri at home as well as road wins over Wisconsin, LSU, and Oklahoma.

The win over the Bulldogs looks better each week as once again Kirby Smart has his team looking like a prime contender for another national title.

The majority of the experts don't see a College Football Playoff berth in Alabama's future. It's hard to argue with it at this point; Bama knows what it needs to do to make that a reality, and maybe nobody believing they can do it will provide a little extra motivation.

The most popular bowl destination right now for the Crimson Tide is the Citrus Bowl. Action Network, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and Athlon Sports are all projecting Alabama to play Indiana in the Cirtus Bowl in Orlando on New Year's Eve.

It would be the first ever meeting between Alabama and Indiana in football, and Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti used to be on Nick Saban's staff in Tuscaloosa.

ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura see a less prestigious bowl for the Crimson Tide. Bonagura projects Alabama to face off in the Gator Bowl against Dabo Swinney and Clemson. Schlabach has Alabama all the way down in the Las Vegas Bowl against Arizona State.

The only possibility of Alabama slipping down to Vegas would be multiple more losses in the regular season. A 9-3 Alabama will almost certainly end up in that Cirtus Bowl slot.

Only one expert is currently projecting the Crimson Tide in the College Football Playoff. CBS Sports' Jerry Palm is still a believer in Kalen DeBoer and Alabama, projecting Alabama to make the playoff as the No. 10 seed, with a first round matchup on the road against 7-seeded BYU. The winner would face No. 2 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl.

ESPN's playoff predictor still gives Alabama a 53% chance of making the playoff. It believes if Alabama wins out that it will have a 97% chance of making the playoff and a 60% chance of hosting a first round playoff game with the most likely matchup being Indiana coming to Tuscaloosa in the 8/9 game.