The weekend after Thanksgiving, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, costing them a shot to play in the SEC Championship Game and ending their regular season.

That meant the Tide had to sweat out the College Football Playoff selection show. Of course, we all know what happened next — they made it in as the No. 4 seed and went on to win the title.

However, at SEC meetings in Destin, Florida, on Tuesday, coach Nick Saban told ESPN host Paul Finebaum that the selection system isn’t perfect. He said his biggest problem with the current format is that a loss early in the season doesn’t affect a team as much as a loss late:

Obviously, the Tide lost in the final week of the season and still made it to the Playoff. However, if they had lost to Florida State in Week 1 and then beaten Auburn, it’s possible there wouldn’t have been so much discussion about whether or not Alabama should have been in the final four.

What’s done is done, though, and until things change, teams will have to do their best to avoid losses in November if they want to feel good about their CFP chances.