Fans go bonkers over Alabama's initial CFP ranking
Despite having two losses on the season, Alabama football came in at No. 11 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday night. Kalen DeBoer and the Crimson Tide are notably ranked above a couple of one-loss teams such as SMU and Boise State and are the highest ranked team with two losses heading into Week 11.
As a result of the generous poll, many fans around the country were outraged at how high Alabama is ranked. Those fans made themselves known on social media shortly after the reveal .
"So, SMU's only loss is #9 in CFP rankings, but they're on the outside looking in," one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "But one of Alabama's 2 losses isn't ranked in CFP rankings, but they're 2 spots ahead of SMU? Lol what. They should make the CFP prerequisites public bc I don't get it." Another added, "If you watched an Alabama game and blurred out the uniform they would barely be ranked. The SEC bias is off the charts this year."
Alabama's home win over No. 3 Georgia back in September is currently a life raft for a resume that is a little bit lacking other than that. Since then, Alabama has a loss against currently-unranked Vanderbilt and another loss against No. 7 Tennessee. However, these rankings indicate that a 10-2 Alabama team would comfortably make the playoff field, even if it fails to reach the SEC title game.
Alabama-LSU is a CFP elimination game on Saturday night
On Saturday night, two bitter SEC rivals will play a pseudo-playoff game. No. 11 Alabama will travel to Baton Rouge to take on No. 15 LSU in Death Valley, renewing a heated rivalry that will have increased stakes in the 2024 edition.
Both teams are right around the current cut line to get into the College Football Playoff and will come into the game with two losses, meaning that the loser is most likely out of the SEC title and the playoff picture. Both teams came into the season with CFP aspirations, so a loss in this one will be a crushing disappointment for whoever winds up on the losing end.
Both teams are coming in off of a bye week, but the vibes around both of them are very different. Alabama is coming off of a massive high after they destroyed Missouri (No. 24 in the current rankings) 34-0 in Tuscaloosa in a dominant performance that helped them steady the ship after a pair of October losses.
On the other hand, LSU is coming off of a disappointing loss against Texas A&M where quarterback Garrett Nussmeier threw three interceptions in the second half. Brian Kelly and company will be hungry to get back on track against their bitter rivals on their home field.
Crucially, LSU comes into this game with just one loss in SEC play after losing a non-conference tilt against USC to open its season. This means that, if the Tigers win out, they will have a chance to play for the conference title and an automatic playoff bid in Atlanta.
