Jarrett Stidham and Auburn took down Alabama.. AUBURN, AL – NOVEMBER 25: Jarrett Stidham #8 of the Auburn Tigers rushes during the fourth quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Jordan Hare Stadium on November 25, 2017 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

It was so incredibly simple for Alabama to return to the College Football Playoff for a fourth straight season, at least in theory. If the Tide won on the road at Auburn, then it was likely Alabama would be going to the playoff regardless of the outcome of the SEC Championship Game next week against Georgia. But with Auburn handing Alabama a 26-14 defeat in this year’s edition of the Iron Bowl and yanking the SEC West Division crown from under the No. 1 team in the nation, there is now much more uncertainty regarding Alabama’s playoff fate.

Auburn, of course, has a simple path in front of them. Beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game next week, thus going 2-0 against the Bulldogs in the last few weeks of the season, and there stands a very good chance the selection committee will make Auburn the first two-loss conference champion to play in the playoff. A loss to Georgia would in turn send Georgia to their first playoff at 12-1. And both Auburn and Georgia would be worthy of inclusion in any four-team playoff field you can build no matter who you have winning the ACC, Big 12, or Big Ten. The SEC champion, at this juncture, is going to the playoff.

But what happens with Alabama now? The popular opinion spreading around the college football Twittersphere is quick to suggest the Crimson Tide are merely getting an extra week to scout the competition and prepare for another playoff run. Many seem to think a road loss to Auburn will not hurt Alabama’s playoff standing, but now that Alabama has lost a game and will be blocked from winning the SEC, the playoff resume of the Crimson Tide will come under much more scrutiny at a time that does not bode well for them.

As of this very moment, Alabama has two wins against teams currently ranked in the selection committee’s most recent playoff rankings, but this may be the week the committee takes a hard look at the best of those two wins Alabama has hung its hat on. Mississippi State, ranked 14th in the latest rankings, suffered their fourth loss of the season on Thanksgiving night by losing to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. With a record of 1-3 against ranked teams this season, Mississippi State should be taking a nosedive in the rankings this week. They’ll still be ranked given how the committee has operated, but the Bulldogs should drop and make Alabama’s 31-24 victory in Starkville a little less impressive. The only other ranked team Alabama has defeated this season has been LSU, a 14-point victory in early November. That’s not bad, honestly, but it’s not going to make for a rock-solid case for playoff inclusion without some debate.

We can guess the ACC champion will get in, be it Clemson or Miami. Both would be in before Alabama with a better resume.

If Oklahoma wins the Big 12 championship game, the Sooners would be in before Alabama as well with a handful of good quality wins.

If Wisconsin wins the Big Ten championship at 13-0? The Badgers will be incredibly difficult for the selection committee to overlook after having them on the door stop for the past few weeks.

That leaves one spot for the College Football Playoff. And that’s going to the SEC champion, not Alabama.

Alabama may have been given a little breathing room with Miami suffering their first loss of the season on Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh, and even a two-loss Ohio State with a Big Ten championship may not have enough to overcome a home loss to Oklahoma and a blowout loss on the road against Iowa to give Alabama a run. All things considered, Alabama may actually be in a decent position even with this loss, but they are far from automatic to being in the College Football Playoff just yet.

For now, it is all a complete guessing game. Nobody knows how the selection committee is going to operate, not even the members of the committee. One thing we do know is that nobody clinches a playoff spot in this sport, and nobody will ever clinch a spot by taking a loss. Not even Alabama.

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.