Auburn vs. Alabama: How Tigers' Loss Will Impact Playoff Rankings
Alabama appears to be in complete control of its playoff destiny after rolling to a 55-44 come-from-behind win over rival Auburn in the 2014 Iron Bowl.
The Crimson Tide avenged their stunning Iron Bowl loss from 2013. Wide receiver Amari Cooper was at his best on Saturday, racking up 13 catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns.
Quarterback Blake Sims went from pariah to savior in the middle of the game. After throwing his third interception early in the third quarter, Sims was nearly perfect and finished with a gritty 312 passing yards and five total touchdowns.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Coach Nick Saban was pleased with the victory, via John Zenor of The Associated Press:
Alabama will face Missouri in the SEC title game, a rugged squad with a tough defense and a shaky quarterback in Maty Mauk.
The sophomore signal-caller has thrown for more than 200 passing yards in just five games this year. He went through an atrocious midseason slump, with the nadir coming in a zero-touchdown, four-interception game against the Georgia Bulldogs.
Mauk has since recovered, but the Crimson Tide should be able to stifle him in the title game and secure a spot in the College Football Playoff.
Alabama's win—combined with another wobbly Florida State win and a superlative performance from Marcus Mariota and Oregon in the Civil War against Oregon State—puts considerable pressure on a number of teams vying for a fourth and final playoff spot.
Here is a look at the CFP top 10 heading into Week 14.
| 1 | Alabama | SEC |
| 2 | Oregon | Pac-12 |
| 3 | Florida State | ACC |
| 4 | Mississippi State | SEC |
| 5 | TCU | Big-12 |
| 6 | Ohio State | Big Ten |
| 7 | Baylor | Big-12 |
| 8 | UCLA | Pac-12 |
| 9 | Georgia | SEC |
| 10 | Michigan State | Big Ten |
Mississippi State has likely bowed out of the CFP hunt after a disappointing 31-17 loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl on Saturday. Of course, Bulldogs coach Dan Mullen didn't think his team had very good chances even if they beat the Rebels.
"I didn't think we were getting in the playoff anyway," he said, via CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd.
Baylor is still in the hunt after edging out Texas Tech 48-46 on Saturday. It will be interesting to see if the playoff committee puts any value on the Bears owning the Big 12 tiebreaker over TCU, which appears to have the best shot at taking the final playoff spot.
Heading into Week 14, FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver gave the Horned Frogs a 53.2 percent chance of making the playoff. The Ohio State Buckeyes were right behind them with a 42.2 percent chance. However, Urban Meyer's squad took a big hit in its win over Michigan on Saturday, as star quarterback J.T. Barrett went down with an ankle injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season, per MLive.com's Brendan F. Quinn:
Sophomore quarterback Cardale Jones and his 19 career pass attempts will have to lead the Buckeyes to a convincing win over Melvin Gordon and a resolute Wisconsin squad in the Big Ten championship in order for this team to keep its playoff hopes alive.
TCU rolled over Texas by a score of 48-10 on Thursday, which should boost its playoff stock in light of Baylor's shaky Saturday. However, USA Today's George Schroeder does see both teams getting into the playoff:
This of course would take a Buckeyes dud in the Big Ten championship game and a loss from one of Alabama, Oregon and Florida State in their respective conference title tilts. Both Baylor and TCU should handle their Dec. 6 contests against Kansas State and Iowa State, respectively.
Of course, the team that appears likeliest to choke is also the only undefeated team left in the Power Five conferences: the Seminoles. Jameis Winston and company are a strange brand of invincible, playing down to their competition week in and week out and yet always coming up with a victory. In Week 14, it was Florida that missed out on a chance to play spoiler in a 24-19 Gators loss.
| 1 | Alabama |
| 2 | Oregon |
| 3 | Florida State |
| 4 | TCU |
Survive and advance," Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said, via Ralph D. Russo of The Associated Press. "That's what we did."
It's possible Georgia Tech could score an upset in the ACC Championship, but its old-school triple-wing attack could get shut down by a stout Florida State run defense.
Should Mizzou pull off the unthinkable and upset the Crimson Tide and the other top competitors win their final games, it could prevent any SEC team from making the playoff.
This was perhaps an inconceivable scenario coming into the year with so much talent pooled in the SEC West, but sometimes the best just eat their own. If that goes down, look for Ohio State to get the edge over whichever Big 12 team is ostensibly eliminated by that point.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
