Not even a month ago, Alabama football was spiraling. Or so it seemed. Three weeks, two losses, both in the state of Tennessee. Forget record; the Crimson Tide was playing an undisciplined, overall uninspiring brand of football. The College Football Playoff was fading from view. Forget the SEC Championship Game.

Fast forward to today, past wins over Missouri, LSU and Mercer, and coach Kalen DeBoer’s team is on track to not only make the CFP but also earn a spot in Atlanta to play for a conference championship.

Seriously.

As hard as that is to believe, the new SEC tiebreakers make it possible. It seems the main path is this: Alabama beats Oklahoma and Auburn, and Missouri wins at least one game. Those things happen, and the Crimson Tide make it to Atlanta with a 6-2 conference record, ahead of Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Texas/Texas A&M (depending on who wins that game) based on conference opponent winning percentage, per this SEC tiebreaker calculator.

The next question is, should Alabama fans be glad that an SEC title game berth looks likely?

Is that a good thing?

In this era of the 12-team College Football Playoff, we don’t know just yet. If Alabama were to make the conference championship and lose, it would gain a third loss. Would the CFP committee punish the Crimson Tide for playing an extra game and losing it?

For those answering “yes,” the easy reason would be to point to a season ago, even if it was under a different playoff format. Georgia went into the SEC Championship Game without a loss. Then Alabama and Nick Saban beat Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs again in Atlanta, and Georgia missed the playoff.

The same could happen this season. You’d think (hope?) the SEC runner up would not miss the expanded playoff, but it’s too hard to predict how the committee will think and operate. So that’s the risk you run by making the conference title game right now and losing it.

There’s another way to look at it, though.

If Alabama makes the SEC Championship Game, as it looks likely, it has a chance to secure a first-round bye. By doing so, it also would not have to play a true road game in the first round of the playoff. Right now, it will be a challenge for Alabama to land a first-round home playoff game at Bryant-Denny Stadium based on how the CFP rankings have gone. Impossible? No. But it appears more unlikely than not at this juncture.

So it’s best to operate under the idea that Alabama either plays a first-round CFP game on the road or wins the conference and secures a first-round bye, not playing until the quarterfinals.

Oh and it’s worth mentioning that winning the SEC would be a mighty fine feather in the cap, securing the 31st conference championship in program history. Especially when it’s a 16-team league now that many argue is the best conference in the country.

Scared money doesn’t make money. Alabama coaches and players would likely welcome the chance to go win an SEC title and secure a first-round bye. Sure, the Crimson Tide could lose, but it also has plenty to gain. Plus, Texas and Texas A&M, the two most likely opponents, have shown vulnerabilities.

Yet, despite all of that, we can’t say with certainty right now that Alabama should want to make the SEC Championship Game with the risk of losing it. There just isn’t enough evidence in this new 12-team playoff format to speak in any kind of conclusive way.

Confused how to feel about it as an Alabama fan? Understandable. There is good news, though.

No matter how you feel about the Crimson Tide being primed to make the conference title game, or even how Alabama players and coaches feel, it doesn’t really matter.

The Crimson Tide must win its next two games against Oklahoma and Auburn to stay alive for the College Football Playoff. Lose one, and Alabama’s all but eliminated from the CFP race. Win both, as it must, and Alabama likely makes it to Atlanta.

So, it’s shaping up to present two options, feelings, thoughts and worries aside:

1. Miss the College Football Playoff (with another loss)
2. Play in the SEC Championship Game (risk missing the playoff with a loss or win the conference and secure a first-round bye)

Alabama would almost certainly take the second option.