ATLANTA — Dallas Turner felt Alabama made its playoff statement on the field Saturday night. The No. 8 Crimson Tide upset top-ranked Georgia 27-24 in the SEC Championship Game, snapping the two-time defending champions’ 29-game winning streak in the process.
In the eyes of the Tide’s star edge rusher, that says more than andy potential pitch could. Perhaps, but Jalen Milroe wasn’t going to take any chances.
“Yeah, I got something to say,” Milroe said moving closer to the microphone. “Georgia was No. 1, right? You beat the No. 1 team, what do you consider us? At the end of the day, that's out of our reach, but the biggest thing we've got to do is trust the process, keep getting better. But we beat the best team in the nation considerably, so, what do y'all consider us?"
That’s the question the college football world will be asking over the next few hours.
Alabama now has an SEC title and the best win in college football. In a normal year, the Crimson Tide would be a shoo-in for the College Football Playoff. This season, its solid resume might not be enough.
Alabama is virtually guaranteed to move up at least three spots. The Tide’s win over Georgia should bump it over the Bulldogs. Alabama also won’t have any trouble moving past No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Oregon, as the Buckeyes were idle this weekend while the Ducks picked up their second loss to No. 3 Washington in Friday’s Pac-12 championship game.
That still leaves one more team to pass before Alabama moves into the top four.
One of those playoff spots will be taken by Washington, who is now an undefeated Pac-12 champion. No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 Florida State also finished as undefeated conference champs by winning the Big Ten and ACC respectively Saturday night.
Alabama didn’t receive any help earlier Saturday either as No. 7 Texas manhandled No. 18 Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship Game. The Longhorns don’t have a victory quite as shiny as Alabama’s over Georgia. However, they do own a head-to-head win over the Crimson Tide inside Bryant-Denny Stadium.
That creates a messy situation for the committee to sort out by 11 a.m. CT on Sunday when the College Football Playoff selection show is set to air on ESPN.
“I think they need some more time to think,” Alabama linebacker Trezmen Marshall said of the playoff committee. “If they don’t put us in there, they definitely need some more time to think.”
Then again, Alabama players aren't looking forward to the next few nerve-wracking hours as they await their playoff fate. With that said, there are a few things that are putting the Crimson Tide at ease.
For starters, the SEC champion hasn’t missed out on any of the other nine playoffs. It also had a team win the national championship in six of those nine seasons, including each of the past four.
Alabama currently has four ranked wins, including three in the top-15 — No. 13 LSU, No. 11 Ole Miss and No. 1 Georgia. The Crimson Tide has also made it through the fifth-strongest schedule. By comparison, Washington leads the rest of the remaining playoff contenders with the No. 11 strength of schedule followed by Texas (No. 14), Georgia (No. 35), Michigan (No. 40) and Florida State (No. 58).
“What else do you want from us?” Alabama offensive lineman Tyler Booker questioned. “What is this, 11 games straight? We’ve got one of the toughest schedules in the country. We beat the No. 1 team. I feel like that should be more than enough to put us in.”
Booker also believes the committee including Alabama would be good for business.
“You want the best games, you want the best viewership, you know our Alabama fans are going to show up,” Booker said. “You know SEC fans are going to show up. We’ve got one of the biggest brands in the country. As far as a football standpoint, yes. But marketing as well. How could you leave the SEC champion out?”
Still, unlike Saturday’s SEC Championship Game, Alabama’s destiny isn’t in its control.
As for Sunday’s selection show, that can’t come soon enough. Marshall said he doesn’t know if he’ll be able to stomach watching it. Other Alabama players plan to tune in to hear the news as soon as possible.
Either way, anything less than one fo the top four spots is going to sting.
“Honestly, man, I’m going to be hurt if I don’t make the playoff,” Marshall said. “I might cry. Like I said, I might not even watch it. But if I find out we’re not in the playoffs, I’m probably going to cry. I don’t even know what to say.”
Until then, all Alabama can do is wait and plead its case.
“Put us in the playoff,” Alabama running back Roydell Williams responded when asked about his final message to the committee. “Please.”
