Beating Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon would do nothing to bolster Alabama's College Football Playoff hopes.

But a loss to the struggling FCS program almost certainly would extinguish them.

The No. 10 Crimson Tide will take a break from the rigors of Southeastern Conference play when they face the Panthers at Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Alabama (8-2) had its eight-game winning streak halted when it fell 23-21 at home to then-No. 11 Oklahoma last weekend. That setback dropped the Crimson Tide six spots in the CFP rankings.

After the Eastern Illinois contest, Alabama will close the regular season at Iron Bowl rival Auburn.

Crimson Tide quarterback Ty Simpson said he would prefer everyone to stop talking about the playoffs.

"I feel like that's our problem," Simpson told reporters. "People

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