Confidence tanks after close loss to LSU — Tigers remain at No. 1 in FanPulse Top 25

Quick: What’s the worst game Alabama has played this year? In terms of grading out, it may have been against LSU. But, you’d have as strong of a case for the first half of the Third Saturday game against the Vols.

Assessing fan confidence, it seems the majority of you felt better after Saturday’s five-point loss than you did after Alabama’s 35-13 win over another of its chief rivals. To be sure, the ole’ confidence meter cratered. But, Saturday wasn’t the low point of the season, according to most. And, by most, I mean “there are some highly depressing charts that would beg to differ.”

Here is this week’s FanPulse Top 25. Heed well the Top 25 here. Alabama dropped a grand total of two spots in this poll — from 2nd to 4th. And, as Josh covered extensively on Sunday, the Tide are in great shape with both human voters (4th in both the AP & Coaches polls) and the advanced stats (2nd in SP+ and 3rd in FPI).

Tonight is the second week of the committee’s rankings, so we’ll see what the CFP thinks of a 5-point home loss to the No. 1 team in the country with a one-legged quarterback and literally every break and terrible ounce of officiating going in favor of the visitors.

Alabama doesn’t need to be at the top today, nor in a month. All the Tide needs is an opening to show that it can reach that summit in 60 days.