At 8-0 and 5-0 in conference play, Alabama is the leader in the SEC West. If UA defeats LSU on Saturday, it would clinch the division crown (finishing 6-2 at worst with head-to-head tiebreakers over the only others teams which could also finish 6-2).

But should Nick Saban’s squad want to play in the SEC Championship Game?

Radio host Rich Eisen and FOX Sports analyst Joel Klatt discussed Eisen’s contrarian view (and admitted “hot take”) that Alabama might want to lose the LSU game and bypass the SEC Championship Game similar to last year.

Eisen has a point, and Klatt agrees: with the way Alabama is playing, it’s almost certain that a one-loss UA would make the College Football Playoff (a la last year) without taking on the wear-and-tear (and risk of injury) that comes with facing UGA in the SEC Championship Game.

Intentionally losing the game – which, let’s be clear, Saban would never do in a million years – would spectacularly backfire if Alabama then lost another SEC game to either Mississippi State or Auburn.

The clip, from last week (so ignore the discussed possibility of Florida being in the SEC Championship Game) can be viewed below: