Power ranking the SEC after Week 5 - 3: Alabama
It's amazing what a win over Georgia will do to erase the sour memories of a season-opening loss like the one the Tide took. That's just a distant memory in the mind of Tide fans, now: all they need to focus on is what appears to be a wide-open conference ahead of them.
The Tide finally get a week off before they head up to Columbia, Missouri for a tricky game against Drinkwitz's squad. They'll have to stay frosty in that game, as it's a much bigger one for the Tigers than it is for them, and the head man up there is liable to throw the kitchen sink at them.
After that, they get to host the Volunteers, who have not exactly looked like world-beaters on the road, despite a gutsy win over Mississippi State today. If Alabama emerges from that stretch of games without a loss, then they could sail right into the playoff— that is, if they can navigate the Iron Bowl.
Of course, that's all easier said than done. No one anticipated the Tide falling to Vanderbilt the week after they played Georgia last year, but look what happened! There's still a lot of football left to be played, but this team looks much more like the championship contender many projected in the preseason than they did in week 1.