re: Pretend LSU beats Alabama in 2 weeks..

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I personally think Clemson at this point is right at or near Alabama in terms of "respect" given by the national media/hierarchy

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To show how this is not the case:

Going into the North Carolina game, Clemson was ranked #1 in the AP Poll with 1543 AP Points that week. Following a narrow, 1-point victory, Clemson fell to #2 but their AP Points dropped to 426..... that's a 117 point drop (nearly 2 spots per voter) for a 5-0 defending champ because of a close win that shouldn't have been so close.

How does this compare to some shaky Alabama performances?

In 2017, Alabama played a 7-2 Mississippi State team that went toe-to-toe with Bama for the entire game. This was a State team with zero impressive wins and two completely lopsided defeats against the two decent teams they had played (losses combined for 67 point deficit) . State led 24-17 with 10 minutes to play, and Bama didn't score the go-ahead touchdown until 25 seconds left in the game.

Alabama was #1 in the country in the AP Poll going into that game with 1,520 AP Points.... the next week, they stayed #1 and saw their AP Points RISE to 1,521.

In 2016, Alabama went to Oxford to face Ole Miss... a team that was 1-1 on the season. The Rebels enjoyed a two touchdown lead in the first half. Ultimately Bama held on to win 48-43.

Alabama entered #1 in the AP Poll with 1520 points. The next week they stayed #1 with 1,510 points. Only 10 of 62 voters felt the need to drop them a spot on their ballots.

In 2014, Alabama faced 3-2 Arkansas. The Hogs led 13-7 well into the 4th quarter before Alabama finally scored the go-ahead TD to finally win 14-13.

Alabama entered the week #7 because they were coming off a home loss to Ole Miss..... the next week, despite struggling for the 2nd consecutive week and barely beating a horrendous Arkansas team, Bama stayed put at #7 and increased their AP Points from 1,060 to 1,068. Any other team would have fallen another 3-4 spots in the polls.

My point is not that any of this was not justified. My point is that Alabama has the respect of the voters so much so that if they struggle when they shouldn't, they don't slip on any ballots.

Clemson obviously does not have that respect. They lost 117 points in the AP Poll despite winning. That doesn't happen to Alabama. Ever.