Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring Alabama Crimson Tide on SI's beat writers. Multiple times per week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.

Watch the above video as Alabama Crimson Tide on SI football writer and assistant editor Katie Windham shares three reasons to be optimistic and three reasons to be pessimistic about how Alabama will close out the regular season.

The bye week is always a good time for reflection. What has a team done well? What does it need to improve on? What will it look like moving forward?

After eight games, Alabama is 6-2 (4-2 SEC) and still has all its goals in front of it, but in order for the Crimson Tide to ensure itself a spot in the College Football Playoff, it will need to win its remaining four games.

Three reasons for optimism on Alabama going 4-0 in November, making CFP

1. Keelon Russell is a special talent

Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell has shown us flashes of what he can be. He has made some throws that very few college quarterbacks can make. He can also extend plays with his legs

If the Crimson Tide is going to make a deep run into the postseason it will be because Russell is playing at an elite level.

2. The Alabama defense is really good at forcing turnovers

It's not always the case, but most of the time, the team that wins the turnovers margin, wins the game. Alabama is third in the nation with 19 turnovers gained this season.

Part of the philosophy of Kane Wommack's "Swarm D" is getting to the ball and creating takeaways. Alabama has had success with that this season, and if it can win the turnover margin next week at LSU, it puts the Tide in a great position to win the game.

3. The last three games are favorable for Alabama

If, and it's a big if, Alabama can get past LSU next Saturday, the rest of the Crimson Tide's schedule is very manageable. Alabama travels to Vanderbilt (3-5, 0-5 SEC) the following week before hosting FCS opponent Chattanooga and Auburn (4-3, 2-3 SEC) to close out the regular season.

If the Iron Bowl was being held down on the Plains in Auburn, it would be a little different story. The Crimson Tide should be heavily favored in all three of those games; however, in both of Kalen DeBoer's first two seasons, Alabama has lost regular season games it shouldn't have. So these won't be easy, but they should be games the Tide should win, even if it has some players banged up.

Three reasons for pessimism on Alabama going 4-0 in November, missing out on CFP

1. Alabama has struggled to run the ball against good defenses

A one-dimensional offense cannot sustain itself against an SEC schedule. No matter how good Russell can be, if Alabama can't run the ball, it won't matter. Eliminating one half of an offenses' firepower makes it way too easy for the opposing defense.

Alabama currently ranks 12th in the SEC in rushing yards per game during conference play at 123.5 The Crimson Tide doesn't even have to become one of the best teams in the league, but it needs to at least be able to pose a threat in the ground game to take pressure off Russell and open up the playbook more for Ryan Grubb.

2. Lane Kiffin really wants to beat Alabama

Alabama's game at LSU is essentially a playoff elimination game. This is kind of obvious, but there is nothing Lane Kiffin would love more than to ruin the Crimson Tide's chances while picking up the biggest win of his LSU career.

LSU invested a lot of money in Kiffin's first roster, and so far, the Tigers' only SEC wins (Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Auburn) are against teams in the bottom half of the conference standings. Kiffin was flowing with praise for Alabama during Wednesday's SEC coaches teleconference, but it seemed like the former Alabama assistant may have been trying to feed the Tide a little rat poision as Nick Saban used to say.

3. The injuries might become too much

Alabama desperately needed this bye week with multiple starters battling through injuries. Every team is dealing with injuries at this time of the year, but Alabama had more players ruled "out" last Saturday than any other SEC team in action.

If some of the key players can't get or stay healthy, the Crimson Tide will continue to struggle in certain areas.