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Saturday's performance in the SEC Championship Game for No. 9 Alabama -- a 28-7 loss to No. 3 Georgia -- was one to forget on the eve of the final College Football Playoff rankings reveal. However, the Crimson Tide's previously-established résumé throughout the season speaks for itself and the selection committee's respect for the SEC as the nation's most-competitive league -- with potentially five selections -- has to enter the conversation on Selection Sunday.

Alabama did itself no favors with its failure to show in Atlanta against Georgia, but the Crimson Tide have already done something this season no other team had accomplished in recent years -- they beat the Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium, snapping the nation's longest home-winning streak.

Remember when regular-season wins mattered in the playoff discussion? Be careful being a victim of the moment. Now, for Alabama to get the "last team in" designation, Kalen DeBoer's squad will have to beat history and become the first three-loss, at-large selection in playoff history.

The loss at Florida State stands out for the Crimson Tide, but Alabama's only setback against SEC competition came in early November against Oklahoma. The Crimson Tide gave it away with three turnovers after outgaining the Sooners by 194 yards and dominating time of possession.

The selection committee's decision to bump Alabama to No. 9 ahead of Notre Dame earlier this week was a positive development and, according to chair Hunter Yurachek, stemmed from the Crimson Tide leading by 17 points in the first half at Auburn before prevailing with precise execution late.

It also acted as a buffer of sorts in case flatlining in the SEC Championship Game came to fruition. 

It did.

There's going to be concern around Alabama given the loss to Georgia that could put the committee in a difficult spot late Saturday and into Sunday morning when final rankings are made. The metrics heading into the SEC Championship Game, however, should offer the Crimson Tide faithful a sigh of relief.

Alabama by the numbers

Strength of schedule

Efficiency among top 25 teams

Strength of record

Game control

Top 25 wins

Wins over bowl teams

11th

84.3 (10th)

8th

7th

2

5

Do you see any bad numbers that stick out? By comparison, the only programs ahead of Alabama in every category -- outside of strength of schedule -- are Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana, the latter two are unbeaten ahead of a showdown in the Big Ten Championship.

Before Saturday's loss to Georgia, Alabama ranked No. 1 in game control among SEC teams in playoff contention, No. 1 in strength of schedule and No. 2 in overall efficiency (Vanderbilt leads at 85.8). There's a lot to like about the Crimson Tide. The only real drawback is the "bad" loss to Florida State -- something the committee referenced in early November but hasn't emphasized since.

The committee has also mentioned Alabama's lack of a rushing attack, which became noticeable during the second half of the season as the Crimson Tide struggled to control the line of scrimmage. Ironically, Alabama made it a point to establish the run in the Iron Bowl, finishing with 158 yards on 38 attempts. It wasn't eye-popping, but it was considerably better than the team's season average entering the game (13th in the SEC).

Alabama snapped Georgia's nation-leading 33-game home winning streak in September, handed Missouri its first loss of the season with a healthy Beau Pribula and is one of the few teams in the country to quiet Heisman frontrunner Diego Pavia and Vanderbilt, holding the Commodores to just 14 points in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 4.

The committee grades teams from start to finish, with data points stacking as the weeks pass. Outside of the loss to Oklahoma, no SEC team has been more consistent since Week 2 than Alabama.

A loss to Kirby Smart in the SEC Championship Game should not going to keep Alabama out, but the Crimson Tide missed a grand opportunity at moving up in the rankings and potentially hosting -- or skipping the first round altogether.