Ua Daniel Hill — Daniel Hill celebrates after a touchdown (University of Alabama Athletics)

Before Saturday’s game against Eastern Illinois, Alabama football got to honor its seniors as many teams do during their final home game of the season.

But with the new College Football Playoff format, the Crimson Tide could find themselves back at Bryant-Denny Stadium on the weekend before Christmas.

Alabama controls its own destiny when it comes to making the SEC Championship Game + the 12-team playoff, but where it would land in the bracket won’t be made clear until Sunday, Dec. 7

So what needs to happen for Alabama to get another home game this season? Let’s dive into the possibilities.

College Football Playoff

The most important thing to remember is Alabama likely needs to beat Auburn to have any chance at making the playoff. If the Crimson Tide can do that, then their sights can be set on seeding.

A win at Jordan-Hare Stadium would clinch a spot in the SEC Championship Game. A win in Atlanta would secure Alabama’s spot in the playoff.

Under the current CFP format, the first four seeds receive a first-round bye while seeds 5-8 will host first-round games. A win in the SEC Championship Game would likely put the Crimson Tide in that 5-8 seed range with a chance at getting into the top four depending on other conference championship games.

Here are the odds for Alabama’s playoff seeding according to ESPN:

SEC champions – 100%: 3% chance of a bye | 65% chance of hosting first round | 32% chance of traveling in first round
SEC runner-up – 59%: 0% chance of a bye | 18% chance of hosting first round | 41% chance of traveling in first round
Loss vs. Auburn – 2%: 0% chance of a bye| 0% chance of hosting first round | 2% chance of traveling in first round

Several other games this week are out of the Tide’s control but could still have an impact on Alabama’s playoff chances + seeding. Here are some of the other matchups for Alabama fans to keep an eye on:

No. 1 Ohio State at Michigan: As much as it may pain Alabama fans, a win by the Buckeyes would limit the chaos. Ohio State and Indiana are likely locks for the playoff at this point but a Michigan win would throw another Big 10 team into the mix. And a loss by Ohio State would not be enough for Alabama to jump the Buckeyes in the rankings.
No. 3 Texas A&M at Texas: If the Tide beats Auburn, this game will determine Alabama’s SEC Championship Game opponent. A win for the Aggies would send them to the title game but if Texas pulls off the rivalry upset, the Tide would get a rematch with Georgia.
No. 6 Ole Miss at Mississippi State: The Crimson Tide did not play either of these teams and an Ole Miss win would not mean anything for the Tide’s championship game hopes. However, an Ole Miss loss could open the door for the Tide to jump the Rebels in the CFP rankings.
No. 7 Oregon at Washington: Another rivalry upset here would certainly increase Alabama’s chances at moving up the playoff rankings.
LSU at No. 8 Oklahoma: Alabama played both of these teams so the strength of schedule argument goes out the window. BUT a 3-loss Oklahoma team would be better for the Tide as it would stop the committee from using head-to-head to keep the Sooners ahead of Alabama in the rankings.
No. 9 Notre Dame at Stanford: This is certainly the biggest long shot on the list but Crimson Tide fans will have no issue rooting against the Fighting Irish.