Prior to the LSU-Alabama showdown, there were analysts calling the game a must-win for Alabama in order for the Crimson Tide to make the College Football Playoff.

A few FOX Sports analysts don’t seem to share that opinion. On Tuesday, Alabama was included in the top four for three out of six analysts from FOX.

Every single FOX analyst had LSU in the playoff, and one who didn’t have Alabama had Georgia. That means two-thirds of the analysts polled from FOX had two SEC teams in their 2019 playoff bracket.

In the playoff era, which began in 2014, one conference has earned two spots just once but it was the SEC in 2017. That year, Alabama and Georgia met in the National Championship Game, and so far, this year is unfolding similarly to that season.

Alabama beat LSU that year, but the Crimson Tide didn’t win the SEC West because of a loss to Auburn on the final weekend of the regular season. But despite not playing in the SEC Championship, Alabama snuck in as the No. 4 seed because of its strength of schedule and reputation. There also weren’t any other obvious choices other than perhaps Ohio State.

Unless something unforeseen happens this fall, LSU will win the SEC West, denying one-loss Alabama of a trip to the SEC Championship. There’s a long way to go, but it appears Alabama’s loss to LSU hasn’t completely killed its playoff hopes or the conference’s at getting two teams.

Check out all the playoff predictions from FOX below:

https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1194355133141766145