Alabama made a statement in Death Valley on Saturday, scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half to roll back to Tuscaloosa with a 31-13 victory. Even with a win, a lot of questions still arise with a crazy ending to arguably the biggest week of College Football.
With the first College Football Playoff rankings released on Tuesday, fans were shocked to see Alabama ranked at No. 5. The CFB community was angry to see a two-loss team ranked so high. But those people might need to reconsider their feelings, because Alabama walked away with such a dominant performance that it made viewers wonder if the Crimson Tide truly deserved their ranking, and if they should be ranked even higher.
Coming in as an underdog, the Tide punched first from a 1-yard touchdown run by the returning Ryan Coleman-Williams. That was the only touchdown scored in the first half, with the Tide defense coming up clutch to force a Sam Leavitt interception with under 30 seconds left in the first half.
The second half, although, was much more intense, starting with LSU punching first this time, scoring 10 points in their first two drives. Lane Kiffin captured his first lead of the game in the third quarter, but it only lasted 2:08 as Keelon Russell drove down the field to find Josh Ford wide open in the endzone for a 7-yard connection.
From that point on, Alabama didn't look back. Kane Wommack and his defense put on a clinic in the final 15 minutes, forcing three turnovers on downs, giving the offense great field position to tack on another two touchdowns to their lead.
Defensive end Yhonzae Pierre quoted his group earlier in the week, saying, "We got some dawgs." They proved exactly that, as the defensive unit recorded four sacks and five tackles for loss, with Pierre grabbing one of each. Furthermore, they held the Tigers to 77 rushing yards and 2.3 yards per carry.
Alabama accomplished what they needed to do, but six top-15 teams lost on Saturday after a full slate of top-25 matchups. Addressing the playoff implications this game has is confusing, to say the least, as Alabama has thrown another curveball into the voters' rankings.
Miami took their first loss of the year, and Indiana having a bye week makes the committee's job much more difficult on where to rank Alabama. Some people might think they should jump Indiana, and others are going to question where they rank Miami on Tuesday. No. 2 ranked Georgia and No. 3 ranked Utah both took wins this week, which will more than likely place them above Miami. The question is, who will be ranked from No. 3 to No. 5?
The reason this question matters so much is that the top four ranked teams will get a first-round bye in the playoffs, allowing an extra week of rest and preparation for the team.
Strength of schedule is something that always plays a big role, which gives Alabama an advantage considering they play in the most prestigious and competitive conference. However, the two losses Alabama holds are a major disadvantage that other top teams don't have.
In conclusion, predicting Tuesday's second playoff rankings is difficult, but one thing is certain: the Alabama Crimson Tide walked out of Baton Rouge with a dominant road win, massively boosting their playoff chances.