What latest College Football Playoff rankings mean for Alabama football

Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News
·3 min read
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Sep 3, 2022; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama head coach Nick Saban leads the Alabama Crimson Tide out of the tunnel at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Alabama defeated Utah State 55-0. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-USA TODAY Sports

Alabama football moved to No. 6 in the College Football Playoff rankings released Tuesday, one spot better than last week for the Crimson Tide (10-2).

Tuesday marked the penultimate rankings before Sunday's final unveiling determines which teams make the four-team field to compete for a national championship. Georgia, Michigan, TCU and USC hold the top four spots heading into conference-championship weekend. Ohio State is No. 5.

The Bulldogs (12-0) will face LSU (9-3) on Saturday (3 p.m. CT, CBS) in the SEC Championship Game. Michigan (12-0) will compete with Purdue (8-4) on Saturday (7 p.m., Fox) for the Big Ten Championship Game. TCU (12-0) will play Kansas State (9-3) in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday (11 a.m., ABC). USC (11-1) will face Utah (9-3) in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday (7 p.m., Fox).

The one-loss Buckeyes being ahead of two-loss Alabama does not bode well for the Crimson Tide making the playoff, considering neither Ohio State nor Alabama will play again before the final selection.

Even if there is a slipup by USC in the Pac-12 championship, Ohio State is in line to be the next team in.

CFP chair Boo Corrigan was asked several times Tuesday night about the potential for Alabama and Ohio State, or any team that is done playing, to move around in the final rankings.

ESPN's Reece Davis asked him:

"Their body of work is done," Davis said. "Nothing could really change for those teams that have already played in terms of how they stack up with one another, correct?"

"Right," Corrigan said. "Correct."

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"Coming out of this week as we look at Ohio State and the wins they have over (No. 21) Notre Dame and (No. 8) Penn State," Corrigan later said. "You look at Alabama and their big wins are over (No. 20) Texas and (No. 24) Mississippi State. They have a couple games where they also played two close losses. Again, in the minds of the committee, we came back to Ohio State at five and Alabama at six."

Then Carrigan had a different answer on the conference call with reporters afterward.

A reporter asked if Corrigan did in fact say Ohio State and Alabama would not change spots and would stay where they are.

"No I did not," Corrigan said.

Despite the mixed answers from Corrigan, it's hard to see the committee moving Alabama ahead of Ohio State next week considering neither will play.

Even if Purdue beat Michigan, the value of Ohio State's wins over Penn State and Notre Dame should not change by the selection show.

Georgia, Michigan and TCU are virtual locks to make the CFP. The Horned Frogs face No. 10 Kansas State in the conference title game, after already beating the Wildcats in the regular season, and they also won at No. 20 Texas as well.

The Sugar Bowl looks like the probable destination for the Crimson Tide, as the highest-ranked SEC team not in the playoff. No. 14 LSU could jump Alabama for the Sugar Bowl berth with a win in the SEC title game. No. 7 Tennessee is one spot behind Alabama in the rankings, despite holding the head-to-head victory.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama football: What latest CFP rankings mean for Nick Saban's team