Mississippi State vs. Alabama: How Crimson Tide's Win Reshapes Playoff Picture

Like so many expected, No. 1 Mississippi State's unbeaten season came to a screeching halt Saturday in Tuscaloosa as No. 5 Alabama ground out a 25-20 win over the Bulldogs.

With a chance to make a statement against the nation's top-ranked team on their home soil, the Crimson Tide pounced early. Alabama led from its early safety all the way to the final whistle, leaving little question that the Tide are still on top of the SEC.

After falling behind 19-0, however, Mississippi State mounted a champions' response and pulled as close as 19-13 early in the fourth quarter. But when T.J. Yeldon scampered for a touchdown to make it 25-13 with eight minutes to go, the Bulldogs could only muster a last-minute touchdown to cut the deficit before a failed onside kick ended the game.

Any game between two Top Five foes is going to shake up the College Football Playoff rankings drastically. And despite both of these teams still having enough games left to either play themselves in our out, Saturday's game carries far-reaching implications.

Here's how it should impact the CFP rankings entering Week 13: 

Rank	Team
1	Florida State
2	Alabama
3	Oregon
4	TCU

Some early-season struggles and the loss at Ole Miss will prevent Alabama from jumping all the way to No. 1, but quite frankly, it doesn't need to. 

Now, the Tide are in control of the SEC West. A win over Auburn in the Iron Bowl will clinch that, and whichever SEC East team they pummel in the title game will only help their stock among the committee.

ESPN's Paul Finebaum believes the win should catapult the Tide to No. 1 in the land:

Nick Saban has his signature win of the season that will give Alabama the nod in the CFP hunt, but the loss shouldn't do anything to crush Mississippi State. Dan Mullen and Co. will remain around the Top Five, and a win over Ole Miss would most likely push them into the Top Four regardless of Alabama's performances.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

And while losing undeniably feels distasteful for Mississippi State, keeping it at a five-point defeat and battling back into the game should give the Bulldogs a bit of leeway in the rankings. Just as well, winning out—which would include a victory over Ole Miss—could catapult Mississippi State over the likes of TCU even if the Horned Frogs don't lose.

Either way, the debate of whether Mississippi State belongs with one loss will take place plenty down the stretch, as Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted:

General SEC fans should be elated after the outcome. It means that should both Alabama and Mississippi State win out, the two will be almost guaranteed to both make the CFP. Even conference championships from teams like TCU or Arizona State might not be enough to overlook a one-loss Bulldogs team. 

The most intriguing aspect of this final score, however, is how unimportant it could end up in a few weeks. 

If Alabama loses to Auburn and Mississippi State beats Ole Miss in the final week of the season, the Bulldogs will make the SEC title game and remain very much in the CFP with one loss on the year. Should that happen, it will be like Saturday's game never took place.

But after Alabama showed what it did through 60 minutes of play against the nation's top-ranked team, that would be considered a massive shock.