Despite a rocky start to the 2023 season, the Alabama Crimson Tide is still very much alive in the hopes of a national championship. The team looked poor in the first few games of the year, but they currently stand at 3-1 with a 1-0 record in the SEC. In other words, Alabama still controls its own destiny in regards to a playoff berth.
This year, people felt like the Rebels had a strong chance to compete in the division, but ultimately the Tide put a stop to that in Week 1 of conference play as they beat Ole Miss 24-10 this past Saturday. Alabama once again seems like the favorite to make the trip to Atlanta and compete for a tenth SEC Championship since Nick Saban took over.
While I still hold a lot of optimism for the Crimson Tide’s season, it’s not shared by everyone in the media. Erick Smith of USA TODAY predicts that Alabama will face Fresno State in the Peach Bowl. While a Peach Bowl certainly isn’t the worst thing in the world, I don’t think many Alabama fans would be too happy to see the Tide squaring off with Fresno State during bowl season when 2023 was filled with aspirations of a national title.
Smith projects that the four teams that will be competing in the playoff will be Georgia, Michigan, Texas and Florida State. It’s interesting to see that the PAC 12, widely regarded as the best conference in the country, does not have any representatives.
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