Heather Dinich believes the College Football Playoff Committee will forgive Alabama for their 40-35 Week 6 loss to Vanderbilt because the Commodores are a better team than what the narrative dictated at the time as a 3-2 outfit.
Dinich lauded Vanderbilt while also taking a shot at Ole Miss in the process.
“At some point, the committee might not consider Alabama’s loss to Vandy as bad as it seemed at the time,” Dinich tweeted on October 16. “This is a different team under Clark Lea that was able to do something Ole Miss could not – beat Kentucky. Vandy is No. 35 in FPI – ahead of Cal, Pitt, Nebraska, Utah.”
Ole Miss may have worse College Football Playoff chances than Alabama and Vanderbilt
The Rebels’ loss to Kentucky might have been the beginning of the end of their College Football Playoff hopes. Ole Miss has since lost to LSU and has Oklahoma, Arkansas, Georgia, and Florida – in Gainesville, with Lane Kiffin-to-Florida rumors running rampant – left on the schedule. Mississippi State can’t even be counted out in a rivalry game, since the Bulldogs stunned the Rebels in Oxford the last time the Egg Bowl was an Ole Miss home game. There’s strong potential for a third, and even fourth, loss in that mix.
As for Alabama, they have three ranked matchups in a row with Tennessee, Missouri, and LSU next. Oklahoma and Auburn could be difficult games to end the season if those teams figure out their QB problems. There’s a chance for the Crimson Tide to run the table if their midseason woes are settled by then.
Vanderbilt has an unlikely path to College Football Playoff contention but with how much they’ve shocked oddsmakers, pundits, and college football fans alike so far, anything feels possible in Nashville in 2024.
