The Crimson Tide are No. 1 again and looking for their fourth straight trip to the College Football Playoff.

Nick Saban and Alabama continue to dominate the rankings and are looking to be the only team to compete in each of the first four Playoffs. The Tide are loaded with talent yet again and are led by a dynamic QB in Jalen Hurts who has a number of weapons on the offensive side of the ball.

Heather Dinich with ESPN believes Hurts and the offense are reasons to believe Alabama is for real.

The defense, however, is dealing with a number of injuries, and these injuries could prevent Alabama from reaching its ultimate goal of a national title. With a number of players already out, Dinich sees injuries as Alabama’s biggest roadblock this season:

Injuries. The Tide’s defense wasn’t at full strength and allowed Colorado State 391 yards and 10 of 17 on third-down conversions. Alabama has been nursing five injured linebackers, including two season-ending surgeries…The Tide hasn’t pressured opposing quarterbacks to Nick Saban’s liking so far, and ranks fifth in the SEC in defensive efficiency (82.2), 19th in FBS. While Alabama is the clear-cut frontrunner in the SEC, it still has four road games looming. It’s going to have to stay healthy and play better defense to win them all, especially Nov. 11 at Mississippi State.

Alabama begins SEC play this Saturday when the Crimson Tide take on Vanderbilt. Kickoff is set for 3:30 pm EST on CBS.