There's Actually Only One Way Alabama Misses the CFP if They Lose to LSU and Then Win Out
By Michael Luciano
The initial College Football Playoff rankings took a little bit of the shine off of Saturday's massive Alabama-LSU matchup, as the teams were ranked behind Ohio State at second and third, respectively, in the first rankings this season.
Ohio State shows up at No. 1 in the first set of College Football Playoff rankings of the season. Penn State, who visit Columbus in 18 days, is 4th.
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 6, 2019
1. Ohio State
2. LSU
3. Alabama
4. Penn State
5. Clemson
6. Georgia
7. Oregon
8. Utah pic.twitter.com/POc4581kcn
Given how stacked both Alabama and LSU are, it's expected that the loser of this game will still be in prime position for a playoff spot, even though they won't have the chance to even compete for a conference championship.
However, if Alabama loses (entirely possible given Tua Tagovailoa's ankle not being 100 percent), they could still miss out on the playoff if Georgia wins out and beats LSU in the SEC Championship Game.
If Georgia were to overcome their loss to Ryan Hilinski and South Carolina, continue to dominate the SEC East, and beat LSU in Atlanta, they would have one loss and a championship in the best conference in college football. A one-loss Alabama or LSU team with no conference title isn't getting in over that, nor is either the Big 12 or Pac-12 winner.
Will the loser of the LSU vs Alabama game still make the College Football Playoff?
— Odds Shark (@OddsShark) November 5, 2019
Yes -300
No +200
Odds via BetOnline
Smart and Georgia would be an underdog no matter who they play, and the Bulldogs did implode during last season's SEC title game, but they still have a clear playoff path.