Alabama Football: Why Crimson Tide Can Still Make SEC Title Game

When the final whistle sounded against LSU, the entire Alabama fan base let out a collective sigh as if to say, "There goes the season." Hope, however, was renewed when Alabama dropped just one spot in the BCS standings.

Many believe that the Tide could play their way into a rematch—with a little help. What about Alabama's hopes for winning the SEC West, though? Although small, the Tide’s chances to reach Atlanta are still alive.

So let’s walk through exactly what needs to happen for Alabama to play in the SEC championship. 

Alabama Runs the Table

After their loss to LSU, Alabama has lost its room for error. In order to have any chance, the Tide must win the remainder of their games.

Mississippi State on the road shouldn’t be a major issue, nor should Georgia Southern at home. That leaves the always-tricky Iron Bowl in the final game of the season.

Alabama looks to have the clear edge, but the game is at Auburn. Even if Alabama can survive this game, they’ll still need a little help. 

LSU Loss to Arkansas

The Arkansas Razorbacks still have just one conference loss on the season—to Alabama. Therefore, if Arkansas were to run the table, including a win against LSU, there would be a three-way tie atop the SEC West.

What then?

Tiebreaker

The first tiebreaker is, of course, head-to-head competition. In this case, though, each of the three teams will have beaten each other. That means the tiebreaker goes to the BCS ranking.

However, if the top two teams are within five spots of each other—which they would be—it goes to head-to-head. In other words, whoever won the game between the top two ranked teams would go to Atlanta. 

So unless LSU is ranked behind both Alabama and Arkansas, the Tigers or Hogs would get the nod. 

Best Position

Who might be in the best position were this to happen?

LSU is currently the highest-ranked team, giving them a cushion. Alabama has the highest-quality loss and has a lead on Arkansas in the polls.

In order for LSU to drop behind an Arkansas team that currently ranks eighth, what would have to happen?

Simply, Arkansas would have to beat LSU so convincingly that the pollsters couldn’t justify ranking the Tigers ahead of the Hogs. 

Other Factors

Even if Arkansas were to jump ahead of LSU, Alabama could be the lowest-ranked team of the three.

So what does Alabama need to do?

Win, obviously. But they also need to win convincingly—and their opponents need to do the same. Alabama should become big-time Penn St. fans. The Nittany Lions haven’t lost since playing Alabama, so that win looks better each week.

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Alabama also needs to be pulling for Auburn this weekend. LSU has played Auburn as well, so a highly-ranked Tigers team won’t give Alabama an edge in strength of schedule.

The Tide could benefit in the human polls, though, by beating a well-regarded team in their final game. 

SEC Title

If all this were to fall perfectly into place, the Tide would have a chance.

A strong finish by Alabama and its opponents, along with a convincing Arkansas win over LSU, could be just enough for both the Razorbacks and Tide to jump the Tigers.

Who has the head-to-head advantage between the Tide and Hogs?

Alabama.

Admittedly, this entire scenario is a stretch. A national championship rematch against LSU is probably more likely. If the Tide do have a path to the SEC title, though, this is it.

So, in addition to cheering for Oklahoma and Oregon, the Tide should root for Arkansas, Penn St. and Auburn.

Hope isn’t great for Tide fans, but it isn’t completely gone, either.