Where Alabama stands in the CFP rankings heading into the Iron Bowl
Alabama moved up one spot to No. 7 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday night. The Crimson Tide’s small climb came as Tennessee dropped six spots to No. 10 following its blowout loss to South Carolina over the weekend.
The top four of the rankings remained unchanged as Georgia took the top spot followed by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 TCU. LSU and Southern California are the next two teams on the outside of the playoff picture ahead of Alabama.
The ranking should see a bit of a shakeup in the coming weeks as Ohio State hosts Michigan on Saturday while Georgia and LSU are set to meet up in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 3.
Alabama still holds the slightest of playoff hopes but would need a lot to happen to make it into the top four.
The Crimson Tide is hoping for a blowout in the game between Ohio State and Michigan so that the loser plummets down the rankings. From there, Alabama needs Georgia to beat LSU in the SEC Championship Game. A TCU loss isn’t likely as the Horned Frogs play Big 12 bottom dweller Iowa State this week before heading into a favorable matchup against either No. 12 Kansas State or No. 23 Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game. However, upsets in either of those games would obviously help Alabama.
Depending on how many of the above scenarios happen, Alabama will also need Southern California to lose another game. The Trojans host No. 15 Notre Dame this weekend before playing for a conference title in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 2.
Even with all that, the Crimson Tide might need Clemson to drop a game since the Tigers will have the opportunity to play for their conference title. Clemson hosts South Carolina this week before taking on No. 17 North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 3.
Alabama will wrap up its regular season with the Iron Bowl as it hosts Auburn at 2:30 p.m. CT inside Bryant-Denny Stadium. The game will be televised on CBS.
College Football Playoff rankings
1. Georgia (11-0)
2. Ohio State (11-0)
3. Michigan (11-0)
4. TCU (11-0)
5. LSU (9-2)
6. Southern California (10-1)
7. Alabama (9-2)
8. Clemson (10-1)
9. Oregon (9-2)
10. Tennessee (9-2)
11. Penn State (9-2)
12. Kansas State (8-3)
13. Washington (9-2)
14. Utah (8-3)
15. Notre Dame (8-3)
16. Florida State (8-3)
17. North Carolina (9-2)
18. UCLA (8-3)
19. Tulane (9-2)
20. Ole Miss (8-3)
21. Oregon State (8-3)
22. Central Florida (8-3)
23. Texas (7-4)
24. Cincinnati (9-2)
25. Louisville (7-4)