Beating Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon would do nothing to bolster Alabama’s College Football Playoff hopes.
But a loss to the struggling FCS program almost certainly would extinguish them.
The No. 10 Crimson Tide will take a break from the rigors of Southeastern Conference play when they face the Panthers at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Alabama (8-2) had its eight-game winning streak halted when it fell 23-21 at home to then-No. 11 Oklahoma last weekend. That setback dropped the Crimson Tide six spots in the CFP rankings.
After the Eastern Illinois contest, Alabama will close the regular season at Iron Bowl rival Auburn.
Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson said he would prefer everyone to stop talking about the playoffs.
“I feel like that’s our problem,” Simpson told reporters. “People are fixated on the bigger picture, right? Like we got to freaking win next week. Nothing’s guaranteed in this league.”
The Crimson Tide (6-1 SEC) are tied with Ole Miss for third place in the conference race. Texas A&M (7-0) and Georgia (7-1) are in the top two spots.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer expects his team to rebound from the disappointing setback to Oklahoma, which is one of the SEC teams competing for a CFP at-large berth. The loss also snapped the Crimson Tide’s national-best 17-game home winning streak.
“We have to use this week to continue to get better, and that is the priority,” DeBoer said. “That’s where our head needs to be. In order for us to continue to have the outcomes we want, we gotta make it as simple as possible and focus on what we can control. And that’s our mindset, our attitude.”
Simpson passed for 326 yards and one touchdown against the Sooners but also threw an interception that was returned for a score. It was just his second pick of the season. He also fumbled for the fifth straight game.
“The message all week that Ty knows and is frustrated about is getting the ball out of his hand,” Alabama offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb said of the ball-protection issues.
Eastern Illinois (3-8) has lost six straight games, including 42-12 at Lindenwood last weekend. The Panthers were outgained 489-263.
Eastern Illinois coach Chris Wilkerson knows it’s a tall order to ask his squad to go toe-to-toe with Alabama.
“The University of Alabama is the gold standard of college football,” Wilkerson said Tuesday. “Look at everything they do — national championships, coaches, coaching legends. Everything they do is elite. … All we can do is continue to prepare ourselves and make sure we play with good effort and try to prepare and represent our institution in a first-class manner.”
Eastern Illinois hasn’t won since beating Tennessee State 31-7 on Oct. 4. The Panthers have lost by double digits four times during the six-game skid.
The school known for producing NFL quarterbacks Tony Romo and Jimmy Garoppolo as well as longtime NFL coach Sean Payton lost 46-0 at South Carolina in 2021 in its last game against an SEC program.
The Panthers have some defensive players enjoying standout seasons. Linebackers Tylan Foster and Ja’Wuan Nickson are tied for the team lead of 89 tackles while cornerback Moses Alexander has a team-best three interceptions.
Nickson is a Tuscaloosa native. Wilkerson said he will play with a cast for the second straight week to protect a thumb injury.
“For him, I know it’s something that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to just be on that field as someone who grew up in the Tuscaloosa area,” Wilkerson said of Nickson. “I’m excited for him and for all the guys to have this experience.”
