SEC Power Rankings: Alabama Pulls Away (For Now) After Big Win Over the Aggies
By Ben Nielsen
Sep 14, 2013; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A
It’s not over. Not yet, anyway.
But a huge domino fell last Saturday when Alabama defeated Texas A&M to take the top spot in the SEC West. The loss puts the Crimson Tide in the driver’s seat for both a trip to the SEC title game and the BCS title game, and puts even more pressure on LSU to win out if they want to leap Alabama.
Texas A&M now has to root for a complicated list of things to happen. First, the Aggies need to beat LSU. Then, LSU has to beat Alabama. Next, the Aggies need to have Alabama either lose another game or have LSU, Alabama, and themselves finish 11-1.
If Alabama loses to LSU and falls to another opponent, the Texas A&M wins the SEC West. If LSU beats Alabama and all three schools finish in a three-way tie, then the Aggies need to root for the BCS standing to have them ranked over Alabama and LSU as the BCS standings are the final tie-breaking mechanism.
See how big that win was for Alabama now? Texas A&M’s scenario is not a pleasing one. But it is possible, so it’ll be interesting to see how A&M, LSU, and Alabama all respond.
Oh, and Auburn won its first SEC game since 2011. Yay!