TLDR: Despite the love and devotion ‘Bama fans like myself have for the team, we’ve got to face facts: despite our talents, we ain’t playoff material this year. If Alabama wanted to waltz into the College Football Playoffs, we should’ve won those crucial games. Our losses, especially the one against Oklahoma, stung harder than my grandma’s venomous words, bless her soul. Sittin’ on an 8-3 record after facin’ one tough schedule ain’t enough to cover up those mishaps. As we hang on to a shred of playoff hope, we can’t ignore the brutal reality that we need help, and lots of it, from other match-ups goin’ our way. Relyin’ on others to stub their toes is nothin’ more than hopin’ while whistlin’ Dixie. Georgia might stumble, or South Carolina could do us a favor against Clemson. But achieving success through other teams’ failures ain’t the Alabama way, and that ain’t the kind of season any true Tide fan will fondly recall. Coach Kalen DeBoer’s first year ain’t been a barn burner, but hey, there’s always next year.

Alright folks, let me set y’all straight right from the get-go. While Alabama is no doubt a powerhouse, they ain’t got much business in this year’s college football playoffs. We didn’t seize the day when it counted, plain and simple. Our champion dreams are hanging by a whisker, and they only persist ‘cause of the strange concoction of the football world this year.

We can talk about favors and strategies till the cows come home, but at the end of the day, it’s our own failures that closed the playoff doors. Alabama’s loses, like the one against Oklahoma, were as painful as gettin’ hit with a wet cornbread right in the kisser. That’s not to say we didn’t have some bright moments, though. Wins against teams like Georgia and LSU were sweeter than grandma’s pecan pie. But those wins aren’t enough to mask the blemishes by them unforgivable losses.

If I had a nickel for every time a season-ending dash bore such irony, I’d be richer than a possum in a pumpkin patch. I mean, C’mon now, relying on rival outcomes is like trying to clip a chicken’s wings while it’s still struttin’ ‘round outside. However, there’s still a glimmer of that southern optimism—maybe South Carolina can knock some sense into Clemson, or perhaps Georgia forgets how to bulldog. But crossin’ fingers for others to lose is as comically unreliable as a rubber firecracker.

Alabama ain’t out of the race just yet and, bless their hearts, they stand a long shot in a hurricane’s breeze callin’ itself the Iron Bowl. However, unless some cosmic alignment of the team compasses happens on the gridiron, our successes ain’t speakin’ playoff talk. It’s a peculiar twist of fate that teams with hiccups still kick foot through the doors of playoff hopes.

This season, the crackle of the pigskin ain’t givin’ us the same thrill. As much as I respect the efforts, y’all know as well as I do, that relying on miracles ain’t the Tide’s tradition. Coach Kalen DeBoer ain’t got any walk of shame yet; his baptism into ‘Bama’s fire might not have turned into a summer blaze, but this loss could be a winter’s tale for the learnin’.

Now for me and my fellow GOP (Grizzled Old Pigs), we sit tight and marvel at the seasons’ lessons. Roll Tide, we shall, even if we’re rollin’ on the memories of yesterday’s victories. But you can bet your pawpaws, this wasn’t our year to be kings.