The Alabama Crimson Tide have a tough road ahead of them if they hope to reach the 12-team College Football Playoff.
Entering November, Alabama’s only realistic shot at getting a playoff bid in the first year of the 12-team model is as an at-large team. That’s what happens when you drop two games in conference play, as Jalen Milroe and the Tide did to Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
Alabama’s November stretch includes road trips to Baton Rouge to face the LSU Tigers and to Norman to play the Oklahoma Sooners, plus home games against a quality FCS opponent in Mercer (the Bears are No. 8 in the FCS Championship Committee’s Top 10 rankings) and the annual Iron Bowl showdown with the Auburn Tigers.
Earlier this week, sports journalist Stan Becton named every playoff hopeful’s “top fear” heading into the final month of the regular season. For Alabama, Becton highlighted the Crimson Tide’s Nov. 9 road trip to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.
Writing for NCAA.com, Becton said:
“Fear: Death Valley
Alabama’s toughest game remaining on its schedule is a road trip to LSU, where the Crimson Tide will play in one of the toughest environments in college football — a night game in Death Valley. Alabama lost at LSU in 2022 during the last game it played there. This time, the Tide enter with two losses, meaning another loss could eliminate them from playoff contention.”
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There’s no denying that LSU is the toughest opponent left on Alabama’s schedule (at least on paper), or that a night game in Tiger Stadium is the toughest environment in college football. There’s also no denying that Alabama has been a different team at home than on the road, something that dates back to at least 2022 if not sooner.
But the Crimson Tide have long defied the fates that befall almost every other team who visits Tiger Stadium. Until a 32-31 overtime loss to Jayden Daniels and the Tigers two years ago, Alabama had suffered only nine defeats all-time in Baton Rouge. The 2022 game was the Tide’s first loss in Tiger Stadium in 12 years.
As fans know, after 1969 until the year 2000, Alabama didn’t lose a single road game at LSU. While November won’t be easy, the Tide have certainly defied the odds before — especially in Baton Rouge.
Kickoff for Alabama-LSU was announced earlier this week. The Tide and Tigers will get underway at 6:30 p.m (CT) on Nov. 9 in Week 11. The game will be televised on ABC.
