Alabama football might not get help to make the CFP ― Will Tide actually need it?
If there was going to be a slip up or loss among teams ahead of Alabama football in the College Football Playoff rankings, this past Saturday had a decent chance to be the day.
No. 5 Washington sat in a tight game with No. 11 Oregon State. Iowa State stayed within striking distance vs. No. 7 Texas until the fourth quarter. No. 4 Florida State trailed North Alabama 13-0 at the end of the first quarter. (OK, the last one didn't look like a serious upset brewing, but a double-digit lead by North Alabama was not expected at any point in the game).
Then, Washington outlasted Oregon State, Texas pulled away from Iowa State in the fourth quarter and Florida State cruised to a 58-13 victory.
As a result, for another week, Alabama will probably be ranked No. 8 in the CFP rankings Tuesday. Sorry for the spoiler.
The Crimson Tide is running out of time to get help from another program to move up in the rankings. There's only one week left in the regular season then conference championships before the CFP committee makes its determination as to which four teams will play for a national championship.
At this point, it's looking more and more bleak that the Crimson Tide will get the help it seeks. But maybe, just maybe Alabama won't need help. A win over No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game would make it awfully tough to leave Alabama out of the playoff.
The more the Bulldogs play, the better they look.
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For a while, Georgia wasn't necessarily looking primed for a three-peat. Sure, it didn't lose, but by the end of October, its best win was either vs. Kentucky or Florida. The Wildcats were ranked at the time, but they've shown that was incorrect. Florida is hoping to get bowl eligible heading into the final week of the season.
Georgia was critiqued, and rightfully so, for a relatively easy schedule. "How good really is this team?" was a fair question. Then Georgia beat a top-10 Missouri team at home that looks primed to play in a New Year's Six bowl game. Then the Bulldogs stomped on No. 12 Ole Miss 52-17. Then Georgia went into Neyland Stadium and obliterated No. 23 Tennessee 38-10.
At this point, as good as the Bulldogs have looked, it might be more of a surprise than anything if Georgia doesn't win a third consecutive national championship.
The Bulldogs have won 28 consecutive games, tying the SEC record. In all likelihood, Georgia will grab the record with a win over Georgia Tech this week.
That means the Bulldogs will ride into Mercedes-Benz Stadium having won 29 consecutive games. That's nothing short of absurd in this era of college football.
If Alabama (10-1, 7-0 SEC) manages to beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, it will mark the first loss for the Bulldogs in any game since the Crimson Tide beat Georgia in the 2021 SEC Championship Game. An Alabama win would also give the Crimson Tide the best victory of any team in the CFP rankings. Alabama would then be a 12-1 SEC champion, with wins over ranked teams in Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU and Tennessee.
That's a résumé that would be ridiculous for a team outside the playoff.
That doesn't mean it's for sure a lock that Alabama would move into the top four with a win in Atlanta. It just means there's definitely a scenario where help might not be needed for the Crimson Tide to return to the playoff.
Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him @_NickKelly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: Will help be needed to make CFP? Maybe not
