Alabama hoping to make a playoff-worthy statement in SEC title game

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Alabama checked in at No. 8 in the penultimate College Football Playoff Top 25 on Tuesday night, marking the fifth straight week the Crimson Tide hasn’t moved.

That’s because there hasn’t been much movement ahead of Alabama (11-1, 8-0 SEC), other than Ohio State dropping four spots to No. 6 after its 30-24 loss to Michigan. Entering the SEC Championship Game against No. 1 Georgia, the Tide is the fourth-highest team with one loss behind No. 5 Oregon, OSU and No. 7 Texas, meaning it could use some help.

But Alabama’s players have grown used to being overlooked this year, or what could even be perceived as disrespect, since losing at home to the Longhorns in Week 2. That’s why the Tide is focused more on what it can control, and that’s beating the Bulldogs in Atlanta.

“We kind of knew that this game would kind of be a deciding game for us,” said defensive back Malachi Moore. “But I don’t think that needs to be our focus this week. I think our focus this week need to be to go out there and execute and have championship-level preparation and make sure everybody knows how big this game is, how important it is to all of our fans. 

“Yeah, we just have to go out there and execute and play together and play for 60 minutes.”

Since losing to Texas on Sept. 9, Alabama has won its last 10 games and currently has a 3-1 record against teams featured in this week’s CFP Top 25 – No. 11 Ole Miss, No. 13 LSU and No. 21 Tennessee. The Tide has steadily improved as the season has progressed, especially on the offensive side with starting quarterback Jalen Milroe playing well down the stretch. 

The loss to the Longhorns isn’t going away, although it has proven to be a quality loss. But Alabama hopes its improvement is seen by the CFP selection committee and continues as it prepares for its biggest challenge of the season in this week’s SEC Championship Game.

“We’re not a finished product, and I think that’s a scary thing,” Milroe said. “When we’re all clicking, as a whole football team, it’s a scary sight. We constantly need to improve. Offensively, there are some things we need to clean up. But the biggest thing with progression, it takes acknowledging where you need to improve at, and we’ve done a good job of that in the locker room. 

“We’re constantly building and acknowledging that there needs to be a lot of effort toward a common goal and that we constantly need to improve.”

The top four teams – Georgia, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Washington and No. 4 Florida State – are still undefeated, though FSU is now without its starting quarterback due to injury. Washington and Oregon will play for the Pac-12 championship, eliminating a team in front of UA, but a Louisville win over Florida State or Oklahoma State over Texas would help, too.

The Crimson Tide has a prime opportunity in front of it, however, to claim the top victory on any resume in the country by defeating Georgia (12-0, 8-0) on Saturday, Dec. 2 (3 p.m., CBS). CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan wouldn’t project what a win over the Bulldogs would do for UA’s chances of making the four-team field, but it would be a difficult feat to ignore.

“We really don’t try to pay attention to that,” said offensive lineman Tyler Booker. “We try to control what we can control, and what we can control as far as the poll and the committee goes is going out and dominating this weekend and really forcing their hand.”

The SEC champion has been in every College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014, while two SEC teams have been included twice in 2017 and 2022. In both instances, it was Alabama and Georgia, who advanced to the title game and split the championship meetings.

The Crimson Tide currently has a 28 percent chance of making the College Football Playoff, per ESPN. But in order to keep those hopes alive, Alabama players know what must be done.

“Ever since Week 2, we realized we still have our goals and dreams ahead of us as long as we control what we can control,” said defensive lineman Justin Eboigbe. “We feel like this is a prime position that we are in. To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best. They’re the best right now, and in order to be what we want to be, we’ve got to go through them.”

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