Alabama Bowl projections after Week 14: Exploring Crimson Tide's postseason eligibility

The No. 13 Alabama Crimson Tide finished their regular season with a 28-14 win over the Auburn Tigers in the Iron Bowl. The win kept the Crimson Tide's (9-3) playoff hopes alive. Additionally, since some top teams, including No. 6 Miami and No. 12 Clemson, lost on the weekend, there is a slight chance they make the playoffs.

However, the final decision on which teams will advance to the playoffs will be made after the conference championship games next week. Regardless, Alabama will play at least one more game. If it does not advance to the playoffs, it will compete in a non-playoff bowl game.

Alabama projections after Week 14: Exploring the Crimson Tide's postseason chances

Before the Crimson Tide's win over Auburn on Saturday, the ESPN college football power index projected that they had a roughly 30% chance to make the playoffs. After the game, that number has not changed as it still projects the Crimson Tide with only a 30.1% chance to make the playoffs.

The final decision on who makes the playoffs rests on the CFP selection committee after the championship games are played. The five highest-ranked conference champions automatically make the playoffs, with the top four earning a bye. The next seven spots are given to the seven highest-ranked non-champions, regardless of conference placement.

So, if the committee moves Alabama up the rankings significantly after its win over Auburn, it will likely make the playoffs. Otherwise, the Crimson Tide will need to hope a few teams that lose in the conference championship games fall down the rankings.

247 Sports projects that Alabama will make the playoffs and win in the first round over Penn State. If that were to happen, the Crimson Tide would play in the Peach Bowl in the second round of the playoffs.

However, if they do not qualify for the playoffs, they are eligible for several bowl games. The Citrus Bowl is a likely option as it gets to pick from the SEC pool of non-playoff teams before any other bowl game with SEC tie-ins.

There are many other bowl games with SEC tie-ins that have a possibility of featuring Alabama, including the Gasparilla Bowl, Birmingham Bowl, Liberty Bowl, Music City Bowl, ReliaQuest Bowl, Texas Bowl, Gator Bowl and Duke's Mayo Bowl.