Why Alabama Fans Shouldn't Panic About Loss to Ole Miss
This was coming. It was a matter of when, not if.
Alabama was never going to survive its SEC West slate unscathed with the strength of the division combined with several glaring question marks that still remain five games into the season.
Alabama’s 23-17 loss to Ole Miss was stunning for so many reasons—the secondary getting torched again, a turnover at the worst possible time, an inability to move the ball consistently on offense. But it was also somewhat inevitable in this already crazy year for college football.
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It definitely shouldn’t be any reason for panic, though, for Alabama fans. Not yet, at least. The Crimson Tide are still very much alive in the division, conference and national title races with a lot of football left to play.
The timing of this loss works in Alabama’s favor. It’s always better to lose early, and this definitely qualifies as such.
This is the Crimson Tide’s earliest loss since the 2007 season, when it fell to Georgia and Florida State in back-to-back weeks to end September. That was Nick Saban’s first season in Tuscaloosa—very much a rebuilding year.
Alabama’s last two national championship seasons both had losses, but those two were much harder to come back from and shouldn't really be considered sustainable strategies for future success. Alabama lost in early November in 2011 (LSU) and 2012 (Texas A&M) and needed the right dominoes to fall into place in a very short window of time to get back into the title picture.
That should be less of a problem this year.
Already, there is chaos around. The Crimson Tide were not the only top team to fall this week. Oregon, Oklahoma and Texas A&M join Alabama in the top tier of college football squads that went down over the weekend. The number of schools in that group could rise still before the weekend is over.
Alabama probably doesn't even have to win its division to make the Top Four. It certainly wouldn't be the first time that's happened.
It’s unclear how the playoff selection committee will rank teams compared to the old BCS rankings, but if the criteria are similar, Alabama definitely has a chance even if it doesn't go to Atlanta. The last three seasons, an SEC division runner-up was ranked in the Top Four after conference championship weekend, aided by teams losing ahead of it.
| at Arkansas | at No. 6 Texas A&M |
| vs. No. 6 Texas A&M | vs. Tennessee |
| at Tennessee | at No. 15 LSU |
| at No. 15 LSU | vs. No. 5 Auburn |
| vs. No. 12 Mississippi State | vs. Presbyterian |
| vs. Western Carolina | at Arkansas |
| vs. No. 5 Auburn | vs. No. 12 Mississippi State |
However, Alabama should focus within its own division as it could definitely still earn a trip to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game, which should be a de facto playoff play-in.
First, the Crimson Tide need the Rebels to lose two league games for Alabama to pass them. That’s very possible with Ole Miss’ schedule and given the strength of teams that this division has.
Then, Alabama needs to win out to have a chance. That’s easier said than done.
Next week, Alabama travels to Arkansas before hosting Texas A&M, a team seemingly built to expose the Crimson Tide’s defensive weaknesses. Then there’s a road trip to LSU and a home game against Auburn to close out the season.
So while this Alabama loss certainly hurts and shows that the Crimson Tide still have a long way to go if they want to compete for a championship, hope is not lost.
Marc Torrence is the Alabama lead writer for Bleacher Report.
Follow on Twitter @marctorrence.
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