Alabama, the team that was considered the best in all of college football for the majority of the regular season, has now lost a game. The newbie of the SEC, Texas A&M, found a way to knock off the Crimson Tide in a competitive matchup that ended with a score of 29-24.
It is the first loss for head coach Nick Saban in a little over a year.
There will be no undefeated season for this club, but this is a program that always has its mind on national championships. And while it may be hard to understand at this point, it would be foolish to count this team out of the national championship conversation even with one loss.
Here is why Alabama still has a good chance to make the big game and make everybody happy again in Tuscaloosa.
There are now three undefeated teams left in Notre Dame, Oregon and Kansas State. While many don't agree that a one-loss program should jump an undefeated team, that's life in the BCS and could happen regardless of what Notre Dame does.
The Irish do have four wins over ranked opponents, but every one of those teams has looked shaky throughout the year, really hurting the team in the polls. Notre Dame has also struggled to beat subpar opponents such as Purdue, BYU and Pittsburgh. There is a reason the Leprechauns haven't made much progress in the BCS rankings and were the lowest of the previous four undefeated teams at the top of the rankings.
Even if the Irish do finish the season undefeated, it is hard to see this team finishing in the Top Two of the BCS. We also can't overlook a USC club that plays Notre Dame at the end of the season, as the Trojans have a realistic shot to pull off a victory, eliminating this team from the conversation altogether.
If you add an SEC championship to Alabama's resume, Nick Saban and company will easily jump this program with the Irish not having a conference championship game to participate in.
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