Mark Ingram II: Alabama loss is atrocious
"Is this even real life? What's happening?"
That’s exactly what Mark Ingram II was thinking Saturday night as he watched the unthinkable unfold: his alma mater, the number one team in the country, Alabama, losing to unranked Vanderbilt 40-35. This was a program that had never beaten a top-five team in its history, having failed in all 60 previous attempts.
"Bama's defense is in crisis mode right now; they've given up 67 points in the last six quarters," Ingram said on this week's episode of "The Triple Option," just a week after the Tide secured a season-defining win against second-ranked Georgia.
The loss dropped Alabama from first to seventh in the AP rankings. "You don’t lose to Vanderbilt,"Ingram lamented. "When you wear that script A, you don’t lose to Vanderbilt."
But he also looked to the future, offering some hopeful words for Crimson Tide fans.
"Our offense is still elite, you have one loss, it is a 12-team playoff, it doesn't exclude you from the playoff," he said. Alabama still has ranked games against Tennessee, Missouri, LSU, and Oklahoma to bolster their playoff case.
Alabama wasn’t alone in facing upsets this weekend; fourth-ranked Tennessee, ninth-ranked Missouri, tenth-ranked Michigan, and eleventh-ranked USC also fell, completely shaking up the latest rankings.
USC alum and "Throwbacks" hostMatt Leinart joined the show and was less optimistic about the Trojans’ playoff chances than Ingram was about Alabama after their loss to the Golden Gophers. "Unlike Alabama, there's no more room for error. They already have two losses and still face tough opponents like Penn State, Washington, Notre Dame, and Nebraska," Leinart pointed out. "That path to the playoff is really, really small."
Ahead of the game of the week between number two Ohio State and third ranked Oregon, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard joined Rob, Mark, and Matt on "The Triple Option" to discuss the Buckeyes' quest for another National Championship.
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