Here Alabama finds itself, locked down in 5th place as of this week after Georgia leapt the Tide last week. The Tide was efficient, dominant in its road win Saturday, keeping pace with (and looking better) than the Tigers did against the Mississippi squads.
But, the giant elephant in the room is the effect that losing a transcendent talent has on the committee’s rankings. If former ‘Bama great and ESPN apparatchik Barrett Jones is to be believed, the Committee does not take injuries into account (Josh covered that story today). Now, if the Tide starts drowning in flopsweat down the stretch and looks awful (or even drops one), then the Committee can be justified in acting.