Alabama is going down the final stretch of an incredibly impressive regular season as one of a handful of remaining undefeated teams.
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But with matchups against a surging LSU and a revamped Auburn in the coming weeks, Clay Travis discussed two scenarios where he could see the Crimson Tide missing out on the playoffs entirely, via Outkick the Coverage:
"What would happen if the Tide lost to LSU or Auburn, and either of those teams went on to run the table and finish 11-2 with an SEC title?
I think an 11-2 LSU or an 11-2 Auburn would get in the playoff over an 11-1 Alabama team. But if Washington lost its division then an 11-1 Alabama would probably have the best resume of any one-loss, at large team in the country. So the Tide could still get in the playoff at 11-1."
After beating Utah, Washington got past arguably the most difficult team left on its schedule, so a loss at this stage is unlikely. College football is unpredictable ("I know right?" - Boise State), but it's difficult to see Washington losing the rest of the way.
On the other hand, it's insane to think a team as dominant as Alabama has been could miss out on the playoffs entirely with just one slipup. Neither LSU or Auburn's losses look bad at this stage, with LSU falling to Wisconsin and Auburn, and Auburn dropping games to Clemson and Texas A&M.
If Alabama takes care of business, we've got nothing to worry about. If they lose to Auburn and Texas A&M wins out, we'd have a three-way tie between those three teams and Alabama would still (likely) have the inside track thanks a to a tiebreaker that goes all the way to strength of SEC East opponents' records.
