Alabama Falls Too Far in Polls After Loss to LSU: Fan Reaction

The Associated Press and USA Today have released their polls for Week 11, and Alabama has fallen to No. 4 in both polls after its overtime loss to LSU on Nov. 5. I assume the team will meet a similar fate in the BCS poll. And that's a shame.

I'm neither a fan or a detractor of Alabama, but I love college football, and I was one of the masses eagerly anticipating the showdown between the No. 1 Tigers and the No. 2 Crimson Tide. The game didn't disappoint.

Alabama-LSU

Both defenses were amazing, rendering both offenses nearly useless. The difference for the Crimson Tide came down to poor execution on special teams and red-zone offense.

"It's a difficult pill to swallow," said Alabama receiver Marquis Maze after the game . "If everybody executes in the red area, that wasn't even a close game. The defense played outstanding."

I have to agree with Maze.

For the vast majority of the game, it appeared to me that LSU was living on a prayer. On at least three occasions that I can remember, Alabama had receivers open in the end zone or the red zone, and the ball was dropped or batted away at the last second. Especially early in the game, the Tide moved the ball at will, with drives ending in missed field goal after missed field goal. By the second quarter, Alabama could have easily been out to a 16-0 lead, forcing LSU to throw the ball—something they weren't at all effective at doing—to catch up.

Until overtime, it looked like Alabama was in control of the game and just a hair away from blowing it wide open.

So when the No. 2 team in the nation takes the No. 1 team into overtime before falling, that's pretty impressive, as is the fact that they looked like the slightly better team throughout most of the game. I don't think they deserve to fall two spots in the polls.

Stanford and Oklahoma State

While LSU and Alabama were slugging it out in an epic game, Stanford was wrapping up a beating of Pac-12 cellar dweller Oregon State by a score of 38-13, dropping the Beavers to 2-7 on the season. In fact, as I peruse Stanford's schedule, I can't help but notice that the combined record of their opponents thus far this season is 32-50. The Cardinal have beaten exactly three teams with winning records: 7-2 USC, 6-3 Arizona State, and 5-4 UCLA. Their strength of schedule currently ranks 73rd in the nation. Color me less than impressed. And yet, USA Today feels like Stanford is now the second-best team in the nation.

Oklahoma State, meanwhile, was busy coughing up 507 yards of offense to Kansas State, barely surviving a 52-45 contest at home. Despite having the 4th-most difficult schedule (inflated by wins over 8-2 Louisiana-Lafayette of the Sun Belt Conference and 6-3 Tulsa of Conference USA), OSU has only played against a total of two teams that can be considered somewhat real—Kansas State and Texas—and has struggled to beat both. The Cowboys also struggled to beat a Texas A&M team that has since been exposed as the fraud that they are, rather than the No. 8 team that they were when OSU came to town. And yet, the AP feels like they are now the second-best team in the nation.

Alabama had been tearing through SEC competition like tissue paper until its narrow overtime loss to LSU, including crushing Arkansas at home and Florida on the road. The Tide also pounded Penn State at Happy Valley. 'Bama has the 20th-most difficult schedule in the nation, and they've romped through it. After seeing what they can do against LSU, I'm confident that they could beat Oklahoma State and stomp Stanford.

My Top 5

1) LSU

2) Oklahoma State

3) Alabama

4) Stanford

5) Boise State

I'll give OSU the No. 2 spot just because of its undefeated record so far, but I'll be surprised if that zero in the loss column lasts all season. If Oklahoma State loses to Oklahoma on Dec. 3, Alabama should get another crack at LSU for the national championship.

After all, LSU head coach Les Miles says he'd be honored to face that team again.

The author is a lifelong college football fan who roots for a lot of teams, but most ferociously for Texas A&M, Michigan, and Washington State. You can follow him on Twitter at @EricIvie or on Facebook.

Also by this author:

No. 1 vs. No. 2: five biggest blowouts

The Unfortunate Case of Keenum and the Houston Cougars

The Texas A&M season that could have been

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