By Jordan SiglerShareNewsweek is a Trust Project memberThe No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide enter the SEC championship on the bubble to make the College Football Playoff after going 10-2 in the regular season.
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The Crimson Tide earned impressive wins over four ranked teams: Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri. However, Alabama suffered one of the worst losses of any team on the bubble with a 31-17 defeat to Florida State in Week 1. The loss to the Noles didn't look bad in September, but FSU finished the season 5-7.
Alabama will be a lock to make the CFP and could earn a home game in the first round, with a win over No. 4 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
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However, the Crimson Tide could miss the CFP if things go poorly for the Tide in Atlanta.
Jay Busbee of Yahoo Sports thinks the CFP selection committee could knock Alabama out of the final bracket if Georgia wins by more than a touchdown on Saturday.
"In all likelihood, Alabama probably has about a touchdown’s worth of margin of error," Busbee wrote. "A close loss to a Georgia team the Tide beat earlier this season probably wouldn’t be enough to drop Alabama from the CFP bracket. But how about if the Dawgs blow out the Tide?
"Then it becomes a whole lot easier for the CFP to justify dumping Alabama by pointing to that haunting Florida State loss."
Busbee noted that No. 11 BYU is in a similar position when it plays No. 5 Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday. The 11-1 Cougars would be out with a loss to the Red Raiders.
If BYU wins, it's likely the Big 12 will have two teams make the final bracket with TTU and the Cougars. If that happens, Alabama would likely be knocked out with a loss to Georgia.
It'll be a high-stakes affair for second-year head coach Kalen DeBoer in his first SEC championship.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
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