Alabama will spend a second straight Saturday off the field. The SEC announced Tuesday that this week’s game between No. 1 Alabama and LSU will be postponed after the Tigers were unable to meet the SEC’s minimum requirement of 53 healthy players due to COVID-19.
While the game was not canceled, it’s unlikely the two teams will meet this season as LSU already had its Oct. 17 game at Florida postponed to Dec. 12, making it difficult to reschedule the game against Alabama. In all likelihood, this season will mark the first time the Crimson Tide and Tigers don’t play each other since 1963.
So what does that mean for Alabama? Here’s a look at some of the implications moving forward for the Crimson Tide.
Alabama still controls its fate in SEC
With the matchup against LSU likely wiped out, Alabama has three remaining games on its regular-season schedule. The Crimson Tide (6-0) sits atop the SEC West as the conference’s only undefeated team and has already beaten second-place Texas A&M earlier this season. If Alabama wins its next three games — home against Kentucky and Auburn before a road trip to Arkansas — it will punch its ticket to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game.
However, due to an uneven amount of games throughout the conference, complications could arise if the Tide loses one of its remaining matchups. Texas A&M had its game against Tennessee postponed this week due to COVID-19. Although unlike Alabama, the Aggies are able to reschedule the matchup for Dec. 12.
If Alabama was to lose one of its remaining games, and Texas A&M won out, the Aggies’ 9-1 record would be better than the Tide’s 8-1 mark. However, Alabama would hold the head-to-head win. The SEC has yet to announce how it will handle such a tiebreaker. Although, either way, there will likely be an unhappy party.
That being said, Alabama figures to be heavy favorites in each of its three remaining games, likely making this point moot.
National ranking could be affected
If Alabama wins its remaining regular-season games, it would enter the SEC Championship Game with a 9-0 record and would likely face a top 10 opponent in either Florida or Georgia with the potential to enter the College Football Playoff at 10-0.
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