Texas and Alabama face playoff pressure after historic Week 7 upsets

Texas and Alabama each have two losses after college football upsets on Saturday, October 17, tightened their playoff paths. Five of the AP poll’s top seven teams lost that day for the first time since the poll began in 1936, according to ESPN Research. The results have increased pressure on both teams in the second half of the season.

Texas lost at home in Austin to unranked Florida, while No. 6 Alabama fell to No. 14 Tennessee, where fans stormed the field, ESPN reported. ESPN described both teams as being on the brink of playoff elimination. CBS Sports called Texas’ path murky after the Florida defeat, although its updated bracket still projected Alabama into the first round.

Why the SEC playoff picture changed

The upsets extended beyond Texas and Alabama. Top-ranked Georgia lost to Auburn, CBS Sports reported. ESPN said Georgia and Texas became the first No. 1-ranked teams to lose on the final play in consecutive weeks. Week 7 included two top-10 matchups and four other games between ranked teams, according to ESPN.

How much can two losses hurt Texas and Alabama?

The current 12-team playoff gives contenders more room to recover than the former four-team format, ESPN noted, but Saturday’s results still reshape the race. Recent seasons show that records alone do not settle a team’s chances: Alabama reached the playoff last year with three losses, while Texas was left out at 9-3. That precedent helps explain why both teams remain in contention despite ESPN’s assessment of their increased risk.

CBS Sports projected five SEC teams in its updated playoff bracket and identified Alabama’s game at LSU as a possible contest for one of the final places. Its projected final records include several three-loss SEC teams. The bracket and records are CBS Sports’ forecasts of how the season could finish, rather than current standings or selections by the playoff committee.