Paul W. Bryant Museum: Exploring Alabama football legacy
Discover the legacy of Alabama football through artifacts, memorabilia and state-of-the-art displays at the Paul W. Bryant Museum
Gary Cosby Jr. and Chase Goodbread
Here are the facts.
Alabama football lost its third game of the season 24-3 on the road against Oklahoma. No Crimson Tide team has ended a game without a touchdown since 2011. No Alabama team has been limited to three points or less since 2004.
Alabama is out of the race for an SEC title. Georgia secured one bid while Texas and Texas A&M will play for the second Saturday night.
And in the fourth edition of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night, the CFP committee made sense of those facts, placing Alabama at No. 13 in the top-25 standings and two places outside the top-12 playoff berths.
The Crimson Tide remains the top-ranked three-loss team, ahead of Ole Miss, ahead of South Carolina, ahead of Texas A&M.
In the eyes of the committee, Alabama and Ole Miss are neck-and-neck when it comes to placement in the top-25 ranking. Both have had unexpected losses. Both have beaten Georgia and South Carolina.
But according to CFP selection committee chair Warde Manuel, Alabama still has the advantage. And much of it comes from the rest of the Crimson Tide’s schedule.
“Because (of) their win over Georgia,” Manuel said. “They won against Missouri. They’ve beat South Carolina and they won at LSU in a dominant fashion. So when you put those four wins against, you know, Mississippi and what they did… when we compare resumes, that’s how we saw it.”
Mississippi also beat at South Carolina on the road and had a home win against Oklahoma, but lost to LSU in overtime.
It may be close between Alabama and Ole Miss. But the gap between the two seems insurmountable.
ESPN’s Playoff Predictor still gives Alabama a 41% chance of making the CFP if the Crimson Tide beats Auburn Saturday. And even with a win against Mississippi State Friday in the Egg Bowl, Ole Miss would only have a 7% chance at reaching the CFP.
In the committee’s eyes, Alabama’s argument lies in strength of schedule, currently holding the 11th-best strength-of-schedule ranking according to ESPN, ahead of teams like Boise State, Arizona State and Clemson.
In the committee’s eyes, Alabama has a shot because of a Georgia win that continues to carry weight, because of a South Carolina win that is looking better each and every day, because of a Missouri win that certainly helps and a dominant LSU win.
Alabama definitely needs help for a CFP spot, but the committee showed Tuesday night that if a three-loss team were to be in the 12-team field, the Crimson Tide would likely be first in line.
Alabama will take on Auburn at 2:30 p.m. CT at Bryant-Denny Stadium on ABC.
Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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Publish date : 2024-12-01 05:45:00
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