How does Alabama make the playoffs?

Before I get started; if you're here to post, "We don't" or "If we did make it, we'd just get embarrassed" then move along, this post isn't for you. Also, nobody likes you.

Alright, now lets be brutally honest: It's a long shot. Bama is on the outside looking in, and they have no one to blame but themselves. But whatever, they're my team, no matter what and I'm always going to pull for them to win it all, whether the rest of the country thinks they deserve it or not. So, IF Alabama beats Auburn, what else needs to happen to get them in?

The first domino just dropped as I typed this: Tulane losing to Memphis stops any idea of them making it by winning the AAC. Before the loss, Tulane had a 31% chance according to ESPN's playoff predictor, compared to Bama's 30%. No more worries on that front now.

Second, a Clemson loss eliminates one more team ahead of us. Yep, I worry about South Carolina jumping us with a big win, but we own the head-to-head with the Gamecocks, so I'll take my chances.

Third, a Notre Dame loss to USC. Notre Dame ain't played nobody Pawwwwl! And they lost to Northern Illinois! With another loss, they drop significantly, likely out of the Playoff picture.

Fourth, Texas beats A&M. Lets go ahead and set the SEC Championship game with the two SEC teams that are most likely going to make it anyway. There is some argument that if Texas were to lose, they would be behind us, but I can't put much stock in that.

Fifth, the Big 12 shakes out so that only the conference champ can make it. However that works, whether Arizona beats ASU, Iowa State loses to KSU, Houston beats BYU, and/or Oklahoma State beats Colorado, any combination of those upsets works in our favor.

Sixth, either Miami or SMU drops a game. Or they both lose, really, I don't care, but loss by either would likely narrow the field of possible Playoff teams out of the ACC to 1 or 2 at most.

Finally, Boise State losing to Oregon State tomorrow would be nice, just to insure that they don't make the Playoffs with a loss in the Mountain West title game. There are some other games that could shake out in our favor, but aren't strictly necessary or are highly unlikely, such as Indiana losing to Purdue, Vandy upsetting Tennessee, or Ole Miss losing to MSU.

Not all of the above absolutely must happen to get Bama in, but it would certainly be nice to see most of it fall into place. Aaaand if you think it's pathetic to sit around and piece together a possible Alabama playoff appearance, I'd like to remind you that Iowa State still holds a special place in my heart for their contribution to Alabama's 2011 BCS title and I will always be grateful to Arkansas for their amazing win over Ole Miss in 2015, which put Bama back in the SEC title game. Needing a little help isn't unprecedented for the Tide, so while I am disappointed to need it, we've been here before...