Alabama moves up in College Football Playoff rankings after win over LSU
Reading time: 4 minutes
Saturday was meant to be a playoff elimination game between Alabama and LSU in Baton Rouge. The nighttime crowd at Tiger Stadium was supposed to play a big role in the outcome.
Instead, one team looked like a title contender while the hosts looked far from playoff worthy.
Alabama’s dominant 42-13 win over the Tigers might have impressed the College Football Playoff committee but it did not show much in the rankings as the Crimson Tide jumped just one spot to #10 in this week’s rankings.
However, the seeding process is a little more complicated.
Keep reading to see where that ranking landed the Tide in the latest playoff bracket projection + how a potential bye is still in the picture for Alabama.
Tide moves up one spot
While Alabama got itself a big victory Saturday night, not many other results helped the Tide as nearly every team in last week’s playoff projection won.
The team that did lose though was Georgia, who was slotted as the #2 seed last week. The Bulldogs lost to Ole Miss which causes Texas to jump to the automatic bid and bye for the SEC.
While Miami’s loss to Georgia Tech could potentially cause chaos in the ACC down the road, it did not have any immediate impact on Alabama’s seeding as one ACC team will likely earn a top-four seed and a bye.
Here’s a look at this week’s rankings from the CFP committee, with their respective seeds in parentheses:
- Oregon (1)
- Ohio State (5)
- Texas (2)
- Penn State (6)
- Indiana (7)
- BYU (3)
- Tennessee (8)
- Notre Dame (9)
- Miami (4)
- Alabama (10)
- Ole Miss (11)
- Georgia
- Boise State (12)
As a reminder: Some of those rankings are not reflected in the bracket due to the playoff rules. The top four seeds in the bracket + a first-round bye go to the four highest ranked conference champions.
The latest projection would have the Crimson Tide traveling to Indiana for the first round of the playoff.
Can Alabama still get a bye?
The SEC could see some really complicated tiebreakers this season. The top two teams in the conference will square off in the SEC Championship Game.
Alabama is suddenly in good position to get to that game, especially if Georgia can knock off Tennessee this weekend. If the Bulldogs win that game, we could see a mass of two-loss SEC teams at the end of the season including:
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- Missouri
- LSU
- One of Texas or Texas A&M (the two teams play each other to finish the regular season)
In a mass tiebreaker situation, the nod goes to the team with the most difficult conference schedule. Right now, Alabama has an advantage on most teams in that category.
Of course, the Crimson Tide would have to win its final two conference games but the team will likely be heavy favorites at Oklahoma and against Auburn in Tuscaloosa.
However, based off this week’s playoff rankings, a 10-2 Alabama team would almost certainly get into the 12-team field without playing in an SEC Championship Game. A 10-3 Alabama team with an extra loss in that conference title? Maybe not so much.
If Alabama makes the conference title game, the Tide would likely have to win that game to secure a spot in the playoff.
Either way, there is plenty of football to be played before we dive into the tiebreakers. But to answer the original question: Can Alabama still get a bye in the College Football Playoff? Yes, it is still possible.
Where do you think Alabama will be in the final playoff rankings of the season? Let us know by tagging The Bama Buzz on Instagram, X, Facebook + LinkedIn.
