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Alabama coach Nick Saban knows the power of the Crimson Tide calendar has been questioned this season, with Texas No. 20 being the only ranked opponent his team has faced this season, aside from the third. LSU, and the Aggies could fall out of the Top 25 Selection Committee this week after their loss to Auburn.
Saturday's trip to Baton Rouge was the biggest opportunity so far for Alabama – not only to win the SEC West, but to prove that Alabama can also dominate the elite competition .
"That says a lot about their competitive nature, but I think they wanted to make a statement throughout the week about the type of team we really have," Saban told reporters at his post-match press conference. "They have had the opportunity to play against a very good team, the 3rd in the country, the most difficult climate in the country.What better opportunity to make a statement than the situation in which we find ourselves?"
Alabama may have spoken the loudest Saturday, but it was not. Michigan's dazzling victory over Penn State could put the Wolverines in the top four this week. Or maybe this place belongs to Georgia? Here is an overview of the impact of Saturday's results on the college football playoffs, ranked in order of effect on the selection board's standing:
1. Alabama 29, LSU 0
Alabama won the SEC West victory and will face Georgia in the SEC championship game on Dec. 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta – the same site as the win of the SEC. Alabama on Georgia in the title match of last season. The tide should be obvious for the place n ° 1 again Tuesday night. By defeating LSU and winning his ticket to Atlanta, Alabama has given himself a margin of error in his last three games against Mississippi State, The Citadel and Auburn. Even if, by a miracle, one of these teams wins, Alabama would probably finish in the top four if he won the SEC championship. It is also possible that Alabama ranks among the top four without winning the SEC. That will depend on what will happen with Notre Dame and the other Power 5 champions, but if Alabama's only defeat is a close loss to Georgia in the SEC title game, the selection committee would consider at least the Tide among the best four. .
2 Georgia 34, Kentucky 17
Georgia has won SEC East, and it will finish the season with three straight home games against Auburn, UMass and rival Georgia Tech. The ESPN football power rating gives Georgia at least a 86% chance of winning each of those matches. While Georgia would likely finish in the top four of the committee if it holds the table and punctuates its resume with a win over Alabama in the SEC championship, the Bulldogs may not rank among the top four this week. There should be a good debate between Georgia and Michigan for fourth place, behind No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame. The committee will have to decide whether Michigan's unhinged defense and five wins over Power 5 against more than .500 is more impressive than Georgia's consecutive wins over Florida and Kentucky – the first two teams in the committee's eyes the week last. The committee will also need to consider how far the LSU falls. Georgia lost to LSU, but now that the Tigers have two losses, they could fall behind Georgia despite the face-to-face result.
3. Michigan 42, Penn State 7
Michigan can plead on Tuesday to be in the top four as a result of LSU's loss and Wolverines domination of Penn State. Considering that the next two Wolverines opponents are Rutgers and Indiana, two teams with losing records, Michigan is expected to enter the Ohio State match with just one loss and hopes of the playoffs in Columbus. According to the FPI, there are only Michigan games left, the Wolverines are not expected to win (45%). Notre Dame's win over Michigan is expected to keep the Fighting Irish in the top of Tuesday's standings, but the Wolverines have won eight straight games since their loss and looked like the best team the Big Ten has to offer this season.
4 West Virginia 42, Texas 41
The Mountaineers and Longhorns entered the day tied with Oklahoma at the top of the Big 12 standings. West Virginia's chances of reaching the Big 12 title were raised to 61%, while than those in Texas dropped to 21%. Nobody in the Big 12 has appeared to be one of the top four teams, but with only one loss, West Virginia can not be ruled out yet – especially with the home field advantage for the final of the regular season against Oklahoma. Because the mountaineers were able to do something that Oklahoma was not (better than Texas), it is possible that they will leap ahead of the Sooners in this week's standings.
5. Oklahoma 51, Texas Tech 46
Oklahoma had 10 penalties for 113 yards and two turnovers and gave Texas Tech a total of 473 yards. Although this is certainly not the top 4, the Sooners can still rank as a Big 12 champion with an impressive win at Morgantown against a West Virginia ranked team at the end of the regular season. The question this week is who the committee favors: Oklahoma or West Virginia? The good news for the Big 12 is that it still has to consider two teams of a loser.
6. Notre Dame 31, Northwestern 21
Nobody expected this trip on the road would be easy, and it was not, because the match was tied at 7 at the half, but the Irish remain undefeated and should move to the 3rd rank this week after LSU's defeat. Michigan and Notre Dame continue to help each other, and it is still possible that they will all four of the top four if the Irish hold the table and Michigan ends as a champion of the Big Ten to a defeat .
7. Ohio State 36, Nebraska 31
It was another pedestrian performance of the Buckeyes, who had to overcome a deficit at half-time to defeat the besieged Huskers; but as long as the Buckeyes remain a losing team to win the Big Ten, they keep their hopes alive for review by the committee. With this win, the Buckeyes had a 36% chance of reaching the playoffs. If they had lost, they would have dropped to 4%, according to the predictor of the playoffs.
8 Washington State 19, Cal 13
Washington State still clings to hopes of playing in the playoffs, as it remains the only team with a single loss of the Pac-12, but there was only 32 seconds left before the Cougars scored the goal winner Saturday. The state of Washington and Utah were the only teams ranked Pac-12 by the committee last week and committee chairman Rob Mullens said that one of the reasons the Cougars were No. 8 was that the group had been impressed by their victory over Utah. Utah, who lead the South Division, now has three defeats after losing to ASU and should fall in Tuesday's standings. The committee will have to decide whether the struggles of Washington State against an ungraded team, associated with the defeat of Utah, still deserve to be ranked in the top 10 Cougars this week.
9. Clemson 77, Louisville 16
He is last on the list because he did not tell us much about the two teams. Clemson can win the Atlantic Division title with a win over Boston College next week and is expected to hold second place on Tuesday.
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