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Greg Byrne says Alabama will re-assess nonconference scheduling in wake of CFP snub
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Greg Byrne, Alabama’s athletic director, posted a lengthy reaction on X after the Crimson Tide learned they would not be in the College Football Playoff.
“Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the 12 best teams in the country,” Byrne wrote. “We had an extremely challenging schedule and recognize there were two games in particular that we did not perform as well as we should have.”
The Tide ended the regular season with a 9-3 record, with losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Oklahoma. Byrne, though, mentioned that the program would evaluate its future non-conference schedules to better position itself for a Playoff berth. Alabama played Western Kentucky, South Florida, Wisconsin, and FCS Mercer out-of-conference.
“We have said that we would need to see how strength of schedule would be evaluated by the CFP,” Byrne said. “With this outcome, we will need to assess how many P4 non-conference games make sense in the future to put us in the best position to participate in the CFP. That is not good for college football.”
Despite the Tide’s playoff exclusion, Byrne expressed hope that the Tide would “finish (the) season strong.” They will face Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl in a rematch of the 2023 CFP Rose Bowl semifinal.
“We have a great group of young men who have led us with Coach (Kalen) DeBoer through the last year and we look forward to our opportunity,” he finished.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
