When the latest batch of the College Football Playoff rankings dropped last night, it wasn’t a big surprise to see the Alabama Crimson Tide remain ranked at No. 8.

In fact, the only real shakeup among the true contenders was seeing the Georgia Bulldogs jump over Ohio State for the top spot in the polls.

For Alabama this week, it’s essentially a tune-up game against UT-Chattanooga. But Georgia has a road matchup in Knoxville which during the preseason was looked at as one of the biggest games of the year in the SEC.

The Vols have not quite held up their end of the bargain, dropping a third game this past weekend in a beatdown to Missouri, which actually rose the Tigers to No. 9 in the poll.

RELATED: Milroe hotstreak burns Kentucky to clinch SEC West

But Kirby Smart will be the first one to tell you that winning on the road in the SEC is not easy, and it would be foolish to think this will be a cakewalk for the Dawgs.

While Alabama may still need some teams ahead of it to lose, a loss for the Dawgs is not necessarily in the best interest of the Crimson Tide.

Alabama has found itself in a spot where it may need the resume builder of taking down an undefeated No. 1 Georgia team in the SEC Championship in order to make its final case at the CFP.

RELATED: Auburn has figured it out on offense with two weeks to play

At this point, barring complete chaos, it’s unlikely that a path exists for both SEC powers to qualify, but both teams having a loss going in could lead to an SEC-free playoff all together, no matter who wins.

If Alabama is in a spot where it needs to jump the likes of Oregon/Washington, Texas, or a second Big-10 team, a win over the undefeated 2x defending national champion Bulldogs would be as good of a win as anyone has had all year in order to make its final case to the committee.