ESPN's College Playoff Rankings crew believes Jalen Milroe makes Alabama 'scary' team at No. 8

For the third consecutive week, Alabama is No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings. Despite having a couple of good wins against LSU and then Kentucky on the road, the Crimson Tide have not been able to work themselves up the poll. Even so, you could argue nobody in the country is playing as well as Nick Saban‘s team at the moment.

Jalen Milroe has played a major role in the success, really leading the Alabama offense ever since he got benched in Week 3. Tommy Rees has designed the scheme around him, getting Milroe involved in some designed quarterback runs and letting him launch the ball downfield.

Because of that, ESPN’s Joey Galloway believes Alabama is a “scary” team despite their lower ranking. Opportunity will come further down the schedule but not too many people would like to line up against Alabama at the moment.

“Outside of their tough loss to Texas early in the season — think about where Milroe is now compared to early in the season,” Galloway said. “He’s playing as well as any player in the country. Alabama, as a team, is absolutely scary sitting at No. 8 with the way they’re playing.”

No matter how well Alabama plays on Saturday against Chatanooga, no credit will be heading their way. The Iron Bowl against Auburn should be a nice test at Jordan-Hare Stadium. It’s a venue Saban has struggled at in the past.

Recent resume is where Milroe has stood out, though. Wins against LSU and Tennessee have been great for the program, getting revenge on the two losses kept them out of last year’s College Football Playoff. Milroe played well enough against two currently ranked SEC rivals to receive this type of praise from Galloway.

However, the SEC Championship against Georgia is really where a statement can be made. Nobody has beaten Kirby Smart since the 2021 bout between Alabama and Georgia in Atlanta. A national championship three-peat is alive and well at the moment, if not likely.

If history tells us anything, the SEC Champions are getting into the College Football Playoff. Especially if they only have one loss. At the current moment, Alabama is behind Oregon and Texas. The Longhorns are maybe even blocking them at the moment due to head-to-head.

Milroe and his play may give the CFP committee something to think about down the line. He might have Alabama playing too well to keep them out.