Alabama Climbs to No. 3 in College Football Playoff Rankings

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Last week, the Alabama Crimson Tide and college football fans across the country were shocked when the Crimson Tide debuted at No. 5 in the initial College Football Playoff Rankings. Many doubted the Crimson Tide's ranking, but CFP Chair (and Arkansas AD) Hunter Yurachek explained why the Tide was ranked so highly in the initial rankings.

"I think you look first at Alabama went on the road and beat the team that we have ranked sixth this week in Kentucky," Yurachek said. "They also beat South Carolina, who's ranked in our top 25. And I think many forget that they went on the road and beat Mississippi State when Mississippi State was undefeated and at full strength. We really valued that as a strong win for Alabama back there in the early part of the season when Mississippi [State], again, they had that quarterback, Kamario Taylor, that was very, very good, and Mississippi State was on a roll at that time."

Alabama followed up the doubt and hate from last Tuesday with a 31-13 win over the committee's 14th-ranked team, the LSU Tigers. With the committee crediting Alabama with a ranked win over a then-healthy Mississippi State, Alabama now boasts ranked wins over Kentucky, South Carolina, and Mississippi State, adding LSU to the ledger this past weekend. Alabama's two losses came to ranked opponents: No. 1 Georgia and No. 8 Tennessee.

The Crimson Tide rose two spots in the rankings after a strong showing against the LSU Tigers. Here is the full top 25 from the CFP committee:

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF RANKINGS

1. Georgia
2. Utah
3. Alabama
4. UCLA
5. Notre Dame
6. Texas
7. Miami
8. Tennessee
9. Indiana
10. BYU
11. Kentucky
12. Texas Tech
13. Wake Forest
14. Houston
15. Iowa
16. Oregon
17. South Carolina
18. USC
19. Ole Miss
20. Ohio State
21. LSU
22. Missouri
23. Arizona
24. Boise State
25. Oklahoma State

If the season ended today, Alabama would have a bye in the first round of the College Football Playoffs. The first time we'd see the Crimson Tide is in the quarterfinals.

Alabama would be projected to play the winner of No. 11 Kentucky and No. 6 Texas.

No. 3 Alabama will travel to Nashville, Tennessee, this Saturday, November 14, to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Kickoff is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. CT on the SEC Network.

For more free coverage of Alabama football, download the Tide 100.9 app.

Get our free mobile app

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.