While the CFB Playoff commitee may be viewed by many as an entirely flawed system for deciding who makes the postseason, for me it throws up one of my favourite storylines for a season – when one team’s early season result against another entwines their fate for the reason of that year.

The unexpectedly close game between the Longhorns and Crimon Tide has meant that we can now be on ‘Texbama’ watch, tracking both teams’ results when judging where each should sit in the weekly poll.

It will likely take the rest of the season for us to judge whether the 21-point spread was a vast underappreciate for the Longhorns this year, an overestimation of the Crimson Tide, or some combination of the two. Without any further context, a one-point victory in a game that pronbably should have ended in defeat should be a big black mark – that is why the rest of the season will become even more important.

If we see the Longhorns maintain their impressive start to the season, then Alabama’s one point victory might even be elevated to a positive influence on their ranking rather than dragging it down. Alternatively, if Texas pulls their usual “We’re back…” encore of following it up with a set of monumental disappointments then Bama may feel the repercussions of this weekend’s result long after the fact.

If we are seeking precedent for the importance of such joint fates, we need only look to last year, when Cincinnati’s early-season victory at Notre Dame then meant Bearcats became Fightin’ Irish fans through the year. While Ridder and co. felt the pressure each week of knowing a single loss would likely torpedo their playoff chances, they were also left to scoreboard watch knowing that they were relying on Notre Dame spending the rest of the season making that 1st October result more impressive by the time the final rankings were due.

Of course there is another side to this equation as well – Texas have been irrelevant to playof conversations for so long that Saturday’s game will generally be thought of in terms of what is means for Bama’s season. But Texas have looked GOOD so far. See my prior comment for the prior form of Texas for dropping the ball at choice moments, but if they do maintain their early-season form, then they too are inextricably linked to their opponent from this weekend. A one-point defeat to a ‘juggernaut’ Alabma team would be a big plus mark in any playoff resume. Judging from the performance yesterday, it is feasible that this year wil see a down year from both the Bama WR and OL rooms, but dont’ beton it (never bet against Bama).

So between now and December, don’t be surprised if you see some horned elephants, or trunks appearing alongside a set of horns – it may just be that Alabama or Texas’ most important results won’t be their ow come that final