Alabama’s loss on Saturday in Knoxville dealt a major blow to the team’s playoff chances in head coach Kalen DeBoer’s first season as head coach. This comes after the team knocked off Georgia and was ranked No. 1 only three weeks ago.
Since defeating the Bulldogs, the narrative around this Alabama team has shifted dramatically to the point where its playoff life is now in jeopardy before November even starts.
The Crimson Tide isn’t quite eliminated from playoff contention yet. With an expanded 12-team playoff model, a two-loss team is more likely to find its way into the field than the previous four-team model.
Winning the remainder of the games on its schedule is realistically the only way the Crimson Tide can make the playoff. There is no room for error. If Alabama drops one more game, the selection committee will likely move on from considering the Crimson Tide because there are too many other teams with one or two losses.
Regarding the schedule, here is what the remainder of Alabama’s schedule looks like:
Oct. 26 — vs. Missouri
Nov. 9 — at LSU
Nov. 16 — vs. Mercer
Nov. 23 — at Oklahoma
Nov. 30 — vs. Auburn
While not a cakewalk, games against Missouri, Oklahoma and Auburn should all be manageable because those teams have all looked beatable this season. The talent on Alabama’s roster will likely make the Crimson Tide the favorite to win each meeting.
This means that the season could come down to Nov. 9 versus LSU in Baton Rouge. This game is now shaping up to be massive for both teams as they look to position themselves in the playoff field.
A 10-2 Alabama team that has wins over Georgia, LSU and Missouri would have a pretty good chance of being selected to the playoff field when it is set.
Breaking down playoff scenarios this early in the season is brand new to Alabama fans. DeBoer seemingly recognized this before addressing the fans during the postgame press conference after Saturday’s loss.
“We have to get back after it and get to work. We have to first of all do some soul searching and look inward. I know there’s enough guys that still believe and that still want to do what we want to do,” he said. “There’s a lot of season left for not just us, but everyone. It’s going to go fast, but we want to take advantage of it.”
As the Crimson Tide resets and does its “soul searching,” its task ahead is clear: win out. One more loss will almost certainly eliminate Alabama from playoff consideration in its head coach’s first season with the team.
