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College Football Playoff Projections 2018: Official ranks loom after Week 9

By John Mitchell

NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers greet after the AllState Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 1, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA - JANUARY 01: Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers greet after the AllState Sugar Bowl at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 1, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

1. Alabama (8-0)

Alabama got a bye week before their biggest test of the season as they head to Baton Rouge and  look to defeat LSU for the eighth consecutive time, and clinch the SEC West in the process.

To this point, no one has even been able to feign competitiveness with the Crimson Tide, as the latest version of Nick Saban’s death machine has run through opponents with nary a whimper, with an average margin-of-victory of 38 points-per-game. Their 22-point win over Texas A&M remains the most competitive game they have played so far this season.

They will be in for a battle in Death Valley next weekend as Ed Orgeron and company have had this game circled on the calendar all offseason. It will be a tough environment and the toughest defense sophomore quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has gone up against in his young career.

Tua has been unfazable so far, however, throwing 25 touchdowns to 0 interceptions, while being on pace to take down several NCAA records. Tua hasn’t looked back since his heroic performance in the CFP National Championship win against Georgia last year, and he’ll have an opportunity to potentially seal the Heisman Trophy on the first weekend of November if he can put together a strong performance against the Bayou Bengals.

Full Top 25 Projections for Week 10. dark. Next

This is Alabama’s final road game of the season, as they play host to Mississippi State and Auburn sandwiched around FCS Citadel over the final three weeks of the regular season. The Tide could still be in for a battle against Georgia in the SEC Championship, though, so several tough games remain for the Tide as they look to repeat as National Champions, and make the playoff for the fifth year in a row.

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