The latest College Football Playoff rankings brought Alabama another boost, and the Crimson Tide now sit third in the committee’s newest poll.
Georgia holds the top spot, followed by Utah, with Alabama right behind at No. 3.
UCLA checks in fourth, Notre Dame is fifth, and Texas rounds out the top six. Miami, Tennessee, Indiana, and BYU fill out the rest of the top 10.
Here’s the full list from the committee:
Georgia
Utah
Alabama
UCLA
Notre Dame
Texas
Miami
Tennessee
Indiana
BYU
Kentucky
Texas Tech
Wake Forest
Houston
Iowa
Oregon
South Carolina
USC
Ole Miss
Ohio State
LSU
Missouri
Arizona
Boise State
Oklahoma State
The committee clearly tried to smooth out some of last week’s oddities. Tennessee, Notre Dame, and UCLA all climbed significantly, while Indiana took a notable fall. Alabama’s win over LSU gave the Tide another strong argument, and the committee rewarded them by moving them up again.
What stands out is where Alabama landed: between undefeated Utah and undefeated UCLA. That suggests the committee is putting a premium on strength of schedule and quality wins rather than simply treating the loss column as the deciding factor.
Hunter Yurachek brought up the idea of quality wins, and Alabama’s collection of them appears to have pushed the Tide into the top tier of contenders. When asked again about Tennessee versus Alabama, Yuracheck said Tennessee simply didn’t have the schedule, specifically pointing to games against teams with a 110 plus ranking, though he did not go further.
That setup would give Alabama a bye in the opening round before a matchup with the winner of Texas and Kentucky.
From a betting standpoint, the window for value on Alabama is basically gone. FanDuel has the Tide at -20000 to make the playoff, tied with Notre Dame for the best odds in the country since Georgia is already locked out.
Still, the season isn’t finished, and Alabama has two more games to handle: Vanderbilt and Auburn. The committee’s approval can disappear fast, and a loss in Nashville would send the Tide right back into danger, or even out of the mix altogether.
In Other News...
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For Mack, the timing matters. He has had limited playing time since arriving in Tuscaloosa, but this could be the kind of opportunity that changes the conversation around his future, especially with a possible transfer in the background. Vanderbilt may not be the biggest stage on Alabamas schedule, but it could be a valuable one for a quarterback still trying to show he can handle real game action. [Read more 🡒]
Alabamas Defensive Front Just Got A Boost Fans Have Been Waiting For
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Terrance Greens return from injury helped make that happen. He made his presence felt with a sack of his own and steady work against the run, giving Alabamas defensive front a more complete look and drawing praise from the coaching staff for the way he changed the lines energy. For a unit that has been searching for consistency up front, Greens impact may have been just as important as the numbers beside Thompkins name. [Read more 🡒]
Alabama Just Forced A Playoff Ranking Debate Fans Will Obsess Over
Alabamas win over LSU has done more than pad the rsum in November. It has reopened the kind of playoff-rankings debate that gets college football fans arguing all week, with analysts split on where the Crimson Tide should land when the next set of rankings comes out. Some see the victory as the kind of statement that can push Alabama as high as No. 3 or No. 4, while others think the committee could still leave the Tide closer to the middle of the top 10.
The messier part is what it means for Tennessee, because the comparison between the two teams is now impossible to ignore. Head-to-head results and strength of schedule both have a way of complicating the conversation, and Alabamas latest win only sharpened the question of how much weight the committee will give each factor. However it shakes out, this is the sort of ranking fight that could linger well beyond Tuesday night. [Read more 🡒]