3. Alabama Crimson Tide (6-1)
Alabama is in the College Football Playoff if … it wins out. The Texas A&M loss left no margin for error, but win out, take the SEC Championship over – almost certainly – Georgia, and get in no matter what.
It’s all going to go wrong against … Georgia. There’s an outside shot the Tide could still get in if they lost to the Dawgs in an all-time classic, but that didn’t work the other way around in past SEC Championships for the loser – like in 2018 when Bama beat Georgia, and 2012 when Bama beat Georgia. Also, don’t look past the regular season finale at Auburn.
Will Alabama get into the College Football Playoff? For anyone else, no, but let’s just call it a 50/50 shot against Georgia in the SEC title game. Nick Saban has won several national titles after losing a regular season game along the way. One loss doesn’t shake this program.
Ranking the teams alive for the College Football Playoff
UTSA | San Diego State | Coastal Carolina
SMU | Texas A&M | Auburn | Ole Miss
Notre Dame | Kentucky | Cincinnati
Baylor | Pitt | NC State | Wake Forest
Ohio State | Oregon | Penn State | Iowa
Michigan State | Oklahoma St | Michigan
Alabama | Oklahoma | Georgia
Bowl Projections | CFN Rankings