Fans of Alabama football became very excited after watching the latest edition of College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday via ESPN.
Alabama rose to No. 7, emerging from being at No. 11 and No. 10 in the first two installments.
Alabama football moves up in updated College Football Playoff rank
If the season ended today, some projections have the Crimson Tide facing Notre Dame in the first round of the 12-team playoff. Historians of college football would lose their minds for this matchup, but a team captain for the Tide has his focus on something else for now. Alabama needs to win-out the remainder of its regular season schedule, but Tyler Booker says the Tide wants to play for a Southeastern Conference Championship.
Alabama remains alive for that opportunity.
“There’s no if, ands, or buts about it…Alabama wants to be in the SEC Championship [Game] and when we get there we want to win it,” Booker said Monday on The Next Round.
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Booker, a junior offensive lineman, said the Tide is measured by championships. The team captain and projected first-round pick for next year’s NFL Draft does not want his team shying away from a SEC title opportunity.
“In our indoor facility, there are a bunch of numbers on both sides of the wall,” Booker said. “One set of numbers are for national championships and the other set for SEC Championships. We definitely want to play in the SEC Championship.”
Booker told the panel of the Next Round that the SEC Championship Game is very important for Alabama. Many feel the Tide should not aim to play in Atlanta (Ga.) because a loss could knock it out of CFP contention, but Booker is not playing with fear.
He is pushing to have Alabama in the conference championship game.
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Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
