The Crimson Tide’s win Saturday boosted the team’s playoff chances.
Since the Crimson Tide’s gut-check loss to Tennessee on Oct. 19, Alabama has looked good, winning back-to-back games and outscoring its opponents 76-13.
The Crimson Tide is peaking at the right time, and so are its playoff chances. According to the New York Times, Alabama has a 75% chance to make the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Before fans can look into the SEC championship and CFP scenarios, they should remember that Alabama must win its remaining three games to contend. Fortunately, these are all games in which the Crimson Tide should be favored:
Nov. 16 — vs. Mercer
Nov. 23 — at Oklahoma
Nov. 30 — vs. Auburn
While this is no cakewalk, playing an FCS outfit and a pair of teams near the bottom of the SEC standings makes things easier when it comes to finishing the season without losing.
Alabama’s win and Georgia’s loss to Ole Miss have also improved the Crimson Tide’s odds of going to Atlanta to play for the SEC championship. The fact that all of the teams ahead of Alabama in the SEC standings still have games to play against each other gives the Crimson Tide a chance to propel itself up into the top two by the time the regular season ends.
At the end of Saturday’s game, ESPN gave Alabama the second-best chance of making the SEC championship game at 47%, behind Texas. This poses an interesting hypothetical, though, as the Crimson Tide would be in a situation where a loss could hurt its chances of making the playoffs, but a win could give it a bye to the second round.
As for the College Football Playoff, the path is much more direct; if Alabama wins out, the team will likely find itself in the field of 12.
Alabama will take the field on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. CT in Bryant-Denny Stadium against Mercer. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.
