If Alabama is indeed the No. 2 team in the country, then it’s time to cancel the season, save all the trouble and give the national championship trophy to Georgia. Just be done with it.

Just when we all thought that Bama was ready to achieve greatness, the Crimson Tide barely achieved mediocrity against LSU for a 20-14 win over the Tigers. If Bama would have been a mature team that was intent on winning a championship, the LSU game would have been a blowout. That’s what the all-time great teams under Nick Saban did on their way to a national championship. The 2021 version of Alabama football doesn’t seem destined to follow that path.

A 1-score win over LSU would have been nothing to be ashamed of a couple of years ago when the Tigers went 15-0 and won a national championship. Now, beating LSU is nothing to brag about. The Tigers still have talented players, but many of those players are injured on the bench alongside lame-duck head coach Ed Orgeron. LSU is not a team that Alabama should have let hang around. Bama was coming off 2 lopsided SEC wins, yet stumbled against LSU. That’s not a good sign that Bama’s players are trying to be elite — or can be elite — like Georgia.

With all of those offensive weapons, Alabama only converted 4-of-13 3rd-down conversions and fell short on their 1 attempt on 4th down. Why were those conversion rates so low? LSU controlled the line of scrimmage when they were on defense. Alabama ran for 6 – yes, 6 – yards on the ground. LSU also was able to pressure Bryce Young, which resulted in a strip-sack that LSU recovered. Alabama was called for 9 penalties. It was an overall embarrassing performance.

If Alabama had rolled into the LSU game with an undefeated record, then Saturday’s contest would be easier to understand. One could argue that the Crimson Tide wasn’t motivated and overlooked an opponent if its record was unblemished. That happens. However, Alabama’s players already had their wake-up call when they lost to Texas A&M last month. Did they hit the snooze button? Were they sleepwalking through the LSU game?

Don’t think for a moment that Bama head coach Nick Saban is happy with this win. After the loss to the Aggies, Saban was supposed to have the “teachable moments” he loves because his players give him their full attention after a sub-par performance. It’s hard to imagine that was the case as Alabama prepared for LSU, a bitter rival regardless of records or injury lists.

It will be interesting to see if the College Football Committee still ranks Alabama as the No. 2 team in the nation. I wouldn’t. Michigan State would have surely jumped over the Tide in the rankings, but the Spartans lost 40-29 to Purdue.

Cincinnati is the highest-ranked, undefeated team other than Georgia remaining in the country. The No. 6 Bearcats are 9-0 after a close win over Tulane 28-20. I certainly don’t think Cincinnati is better than Alabama, but it should be a consideration for the College Football Playoff committee after the Crimson Tide floundered on Saturday.

Who else could jump Bama? There are a whole host of teams with 1 loss that could make an argument. There’s no reason to believe that Alabama is markedly better than Oregon, Michigan or even Michigan State. How about Oklahoma? They’re still undefeated and playing well. Yes, I know they don’t have the most difficult schedule but don’t they deserve to make a jump this week, even though they were idle?

There’s really no good argument for who should be No. 2 on Tuesday night when the rankings are announced. Alabama just looks lumped among a handful of teams that could end up playing Georgia for the national title. The whole situation is bizarre. Georgia looks like the hands-down, best team in the nation thanks to a deep, attacking and dominant defense. The strange thing is they don’t have what one would consider an elite quarterback. Despite how many times Georgia coach Kirby Smart has said he’s confident in his quarterback situation, there’s still reason to question what the Bulldogs are lining up behind center. Georgia’s Achilles’ heel is playing the most prominent position in sports.

Could Alabama beat Georgia with an advantage at quarterback if the game were held immediately? I doubt it. LSU has the talent to show flashes of being a great defense. Georgia has one of the best defenses in recent memory and definitely the best defense in the country. The Bulldogs don’t flash greatness. They are great.

Alabama struggled mightily against LSU’s defense. Unless there are some “teachable moments” that soak in really quick, Bama doesn’t want any part of Georgia. If the Tide don’t get much better quickly, they might not even get the chance to play the Bulldogs.