What Alabama needs to make the College Football Playoff after second loss

Going into the locker room at halftime of the Georgia game, many had to be thinking that the Alabama Crimson Tide were the best team in college football, destined for the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and perhaps another national championship for their trophy case. In the 14 quarters since then, however, that narrative has shifted quite dramatically, most recently with their second loss in three games on Saturday as they fell in Knoxville to Tennessee.

Alabama allowed Georgia to comeback and, even if Kalen DeBoer's team won, it was not a pretty second half. They then were upset by Vanderbilt as the Commodores just plain beat them on the field before Bama nearly lost to South Carolina last week and then fell again to the Vols.

Not only is it now clear that Alabama isn't the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, this team is now in legitimate jeopardy of being left out of the 12-team field. At the same time, though, the optimistic lens would say that the Crimson Tide aren't eliminated from the Playoff just yet either. But they have a quite clear task at hand in order to get into the field and have a shot a national title.

Alabama's path to the College Football Playoff after losing to Tennessee

Before we talk about Alabama's path, it's most important we start with their remaining schedule, which is obviously the biggest factor in the Crimson Tide finding their way back into CFP contention.

• Oct 26 (Week 9) - vs. 19 Missouri
• Nov. 9 (Week 11) - at 8 LSU
• Nov. 16 (Week 12) - vs. Mercer
• Nov. 23 (Week 13) - at Oklahoma
• Nov. 30 (Week 14) - vs. Auburn

The biggest thing still working in the Crimson Tide's favor through the back half of hte season is this tough schedule. Yes, they're a two-loss team who now is only a longshot to make the SEC Championship Game and earn an automatic qualifier spot in the CFP. However, if they could go into the College Football Playoff Selection Sunday with a 10-2 record having notched wins over Georgia, Missouri and LSU, that would be hard for the committee to overlook.

Having said that, the schedule potentially being of help to Alabama is the truest sense of a Catch-22. Yes, winning the remaining games on their schedule would certainly keep them in Playoff consideration. Accomplishing that feat, however, is much easier said than done given the shortcomings that the Crimson Tide have shown of late.

All in all, the good news is that Alabama is far from eliminated from the College Football Playoff. That's more than some teams could say. But Jalen Milroe needs to find his footing again while the defenseneeds to continue to be shored up. If Bama doesn't do that, then DeBoer's first season might end in bitter disappointment, namely being left out in the cold from the 12-team Playoff field.