Sorry, Alabama, but you don't deserve to get into College Football Playoff
I’ve watched every snap of every Alabama game this year. I’m convinced that coach Nick Saban and Co. are one of the best four teams in America.
The Crimson Tide are third in the SEC in total offense, as well as second in scoring offense. On the other side of the ball, it’s just another year in Tuscaloosa. They’re second nationally in total D and first in scoring D.
‘Bama wrapped up the regular season 11-1, although it ended with a 26-14 clunker at Auburn in the Iron Bowl seven days ago. The Tide fell from No. 1 to No. 5 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, so getting upset by the Tigers — they were playing as well as any program in the country at the time — wasn’t an eliminator.
However, with Championship Week now in the rearview mirror, Alabama doesn’t deserve to be part of the Final Four.
No. 1 Clemson beat No. 7 Miami in the ACC Championship Game, so the defending national champion has punched its ticket. Even if the Tigers lost at unranked Syracuse in Week 7, they have plenty of quality wins on their résumé.
Auburn was No. 2 — one of its two losses came at Clemson, however — but fell in its rematch with No. 6 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. Just three weeks ago, the Tigers neutered the Bulldogs on The Plains. The script was flipped at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, though. Now the conference champ, Georgia earned its invite.
Speaking of rematches, No. 3 Oklahoma had no trouble with No. 11 TCU a second time in the Big 12 Championship Game and deserves to go.
What complicates matters is No. 8 Ohio State topping No. 4 Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game. The Badgers were the lone undefeated club from a Power 5 league coming into the day, but the Buckeyes had two defeats that are difficult to ignore.
Ohio State was tamed by aforementioned Oklahoma in Week 2 — at home, mind you — and cost itself an opportunity for an impressive out-of-conference win. The Buckeyes picked up the pieces and won their next six, but then came a blowout defeat at Iowa in Week 10. Keep in mind that the Hawkeyes then lost their next two to Wisconsin and Purdue.
Both Ls were bad, especially giving up 55 points to an Iowa squad nowhere near the Top 25, but Ohio State has something that the Crimson Tide don’t.
Simply speaking, ‘Bama is a victim of its own schedule. It’s not necessarily their fault, but the Tide haven’t beaten anyone who matters. Every team they’ve defeated has at least three losses, and none will play in a big-time bowl game.
We didn’t think that would be the deal three months ago, of course. Alabama kicked off with traditional power Florida State at a neutral site — the Seminoles were preseason No. 3, remember — and emerged victorious in fine fashion. Nobody could’ve anticipated FSU crumbling to 6-6 and coach Jimbo Fisher bolting for Texas A&M.
The Crimson Tide’s three other out-of-conference Ws came over Fresno State, Colorado State and Mercer. Yawn, yawn and yawn.

Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports
Their seven victories in league play are nothing to write home about, either. Yes, LSU is a solid 9-3. Sure, Mississippi State is a respectable 8-4. Even Texas A&M is a decent 7-5, although coach Kevin Sumlin was fired nonetheless.
But 59-0 over Vanderbilt means next to nothing, just like 66-3 over Ole Miss the following week and 41-9 over Arkansas two weeks after that. Needless to say, ‘Bama wasn’t helped on The Third Saturday in October — its annual crossover battle with Tennessee. The Volunteers went winless in the SEC for the first time ever.
If the Tide are going to sneak into the playoff, they have to overwhelm the selection committee with an “eye test” argument.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts may be a flawed passer, but he’s still a devastating runner with enough arm talent to make the occasional play over the top. Additionally, it’s never a wise choice to question Saban’s defense.
If Alabama were to meet Ohio State in a national seminfinal, I’d pick the Crimson Tide to win the game and win it comfortably — I’m not here to carry water for the Buckeyes, believe me. While ‘Bama only fell to red-hot Auburn in a heated rivalry, Ohio State wet the bed at home to Oklahoma and then laid an egg at Iowa.
But you have to earn it. The Tide haven’t earned it, period. No major wins. No division title. No conference title.
The Buckeyes still managed to take the Big Ten East, which contains the likes of Michigan, Michigan State and defending champ Penn State. They still captured the league. They just outlasted unblemished Wisconsin.
The Badgers and Nittany Lions are worthy of consideration for a New Year’s Six bowl, and Ohio State beat both. Is anybody really impressed by Alabama defeating LSU — the Bayou Bengals lost to Troy on homecoming, don’t forget — for the seventh time in a row? Now I think the eye test should be considered, but it’s a tiebreaker at best.
Fortunately for both the Crimson Tide and Buckeyes, Pac-12 winner USC has a weak CV and isn’t really in the conversation.
Clemson is in. Georgia is in. Oklahoma is in. This comes down to ‘Bama vs. Ohio State for the fourth and final spot in the field. As far as I’m concerned, the debate has to go deeper than the Tide having one loss to two for the Buckeyes.
You also can’t ignore that Alabama spent Championship Week watching on the couch, just like the rest of us. Additionally, the last time the selection committee saw the Crimson Tide — that fateful day at Jordan-Hare Stadium — they were at their worst. Ohio State, meanwhile, made the most of its extra data point.
I’m not here to make a case for the Buckeyes, per se. It’s just too easy to make a case against ‘Bama.
Because getting pushed around at home by OK and getting the every living crap beat out of you by Iowa is… what, exactly?
An admittedly curcuitous route to a Big Ten championship.
Circuitous. Get an iPhone it spells for you.
Since the beginning of the CFP, we’ve always said a conference could get two in if 3 P5 champs had two or more losses. Well, here we are. Plus, the bottom of OSU’s schedule is really, really bad. Does only the top half of the schedule, and only the top half of the losses, matter? Or does all of it matter?
Alabama will argue whatever is convenient this year. Ohio State will argue whatever is convenient this year. Reverse their CVs next year, and they’ll both reverse their arguments. There’s no perfect answer because it’s an imperfect system. ‘Bama fans think ‘Bama should go because they’re ‘Bama fans, and that’s about it.
Johnny, Bama is in. Get over it. Have another whiskey. They are also the odds on favorite to win the whole thing. Sorry your blog won’t change either of those facts.
Neither are facts, but that hasn’t stopped you before.
JohnBoy, guess who’s coming to diner?
I. Don’t. Care. Never have. Never will. I just comment on the games as I see fit. All this does is get me closer to an all-expenses-paid trip to Atlanta for five days.
He says these things to ge reactions.
I agree with you! Attention seeker
Let’s flip this around a bit. Let’s say Alabama lost by 15 points in the season opener to Florida State (who goes on to have the kind of season everyone expected, since they don’t lose their QB in the final moments), then by 31 points to Texas A&M, but beat Auburn and Georgia. Are we having this discussion if Ohio State is again a non-conference champion sitting on the outside? No. Ohio State is in, just like last year. The precedent was set last year. Alabama has won 36 of their last 38 games and played in the playoff finals two years in a row. They don’t deserve to be excluded this year simply because they lost a tough road game to the nation’s hottest team. As Gary Danielson said today, no team in America would have gone into Jordan Hare and beaten Auburn. Certainly not deeply flawed Ohio State.
^he gets it
1. You said we were gonna get beat by FSU. That didn’t happen.
2. You say we are one of the four best which is what the playoffs are supposed to be.
3. If we don’t make it in then I’m okay with it. We should’ve beat auburn if we wanted to make sure we got in.
4. Ohsu doesn’t deserve it when they got destroyed by a 7-5 Iowa.
What happens, happens.
This is undoubtedly the toughest decision the committee has yet to make
The answer is UCF. Easy call at this point. Give them a shot.
You seemed to have a little too much beer after the W today
Nice work calling out the idiot fan even if he is routing for your own school. In no world is UCF one of the top 4 teams in the country. We’ll see you in Atlanta and deliver you your first loss in the new Benz!!
Ohio State does have better credentials than Alabama. They have the advantage in quality wins, and they have a conference championship. I’ve heard repeatedly that the committee doesn’t look at the quality of losses on a schedule, they only look at the quality of wins. Besides, Alabama lost to a 10-3 Auburn team that will now get kicked out of the top 10. Wisconsin probably will be ranked higher than Auburn.
So they don’t look at losses but you mention our loss to a 10-3 auburn… Not ohsu’s 31 point loss to a 7-5 Iowa..
Tis funny.
Consistency
He didn’t say they don’t look at losses. He said they don’t look at the quality of losses.
samantics don’t count in determining the best 4 teams. We know one thing for sure, Auburn will not be in the playoffs.
It really doesn’t matter if osu had beat the New England Patriots this season. Their 2 loses are so embarassing, the buckies have proven they can loose anytime, so thoroughly, for any number of unacceptable reasons. That’s never a champion quality. Osu only wins if Urban is having a manic day. Problem is, when he’s depressed, his teams tank. (Rewatch the Iowa game. He was so neurotransmitter depleater, he looked stoned)
OSU is going to the Rose Bowl to play Stanford. Good for them.
Uh, the Rose is a CFPO semi-final this year . . .
Shhhhh. Don’t call him out on stupidity. I’ve been reading posts all morning from him. It’s the moser entertaining than watching a Georgia beat Auburn…..well, almost.
Imagine that. The tough guy that gets on here and calls other people idiots and trashes their opinions doesn’t even know what bowls are hosting playoff games. smh
He is just a typical fan.
The weight of that very bad loss is your opinion. However, the committee has shown in the past that they weigh Conference Championships and Quality Wins above “bad losses”. (Last year, without a BIG championship, OSU got in with their great road win at Okl.) Alabama doesn’t have that strong win this year that OSU had last year.
No AL school should be in the playoff. Bama lost to AU last weekend. Didn’t make the Championship. AUburn just got spanked. Let me rephrase that. GA JUST BEAT THE TIGER CRAP OUT OF THEM! Yep. No AL school should be in the playoff.
Dilly dilly.
Shouldn’t you be worried about getting tickets to the big Outback bowl, or whatever cesspit LSU is headed to this season?
Dilly dilly!
Alabama getting in would be the same as Ohio State getting in last year. It was wrong then, and it would be wrong now. As much as I’d like to see Bama in the playoff, I think a conference champ is more deserving.
I agree sec snob. 100 percent they had no business in the bcs title game in 2011 but it’s all rigged.
But of course Ohio State got the benefit last year, and they’ll get it again this year. Because the committee LOVES Ohio State
You are delusional. Nice win last week, but it doesn’t mean a three loss Auburn team is one of the best 4 teams in the nation. You are a liar if you say that Bama is not one of the best 4 teams in the country. Is your ignorant orange and blue blood going to make you lie?
So you have gone from begging to bullying. Too funny.
I love how mad these bama fans are, you better hope georgia and bama don’t play each other. The way georgia played after the 1st quarter of yesterday’s game, they would spank that bama a**.
Ohio State had a great out of conference road win last year at Okl which is what got them in above conference champ PSU. ALA doesn’t have that this year.
My vote is Clemson Oklahoma Georgia and Ohio State. Two sec schools get in they will be a 8 team playoff.
Good thing for the nation that your vote does not count.
And yours does?
I think all the conference champs should be in Clemson Ohio State Georgia and Oklahoma….
I think your correct but I would love to see georgia put the beat down on bama!
Since when did this become about the more deserving team rather than the better team? Last year, it was about Ohio State not deserving it. Alabama is the better team. Who cares about deserving it? With a pick system like this, you pick the better team. That is Alabama.
Doesn’t matter to me its about the conference champion Clemson Oklahoma Ohio State and Georgia plain and simple. keep the tide out….
Spot on. It’s about the 4 BEST tms. Deserve has nothing to do with it. Four “Best” tms are 1 Clemson, 2 UGA, 3 Bama, and 4 OU.
I think its disrespecting all the other teams that had to play in the conference championship to prolly even be in it like lsu did 2011 but the tide prolly will be in the playoff. My way they wouldn’t be do away with the conference championship games then.
You think UCF should be able to win a national title? Nice win last week, but Bama is taking home number 17 and you can’t stop it. You are lying to your self if you really believe Ohio State is better than Bama.
#17 you are lying to yourself if you think bama is winning anything of significance this year.
Clemson, Oklahoma, Georgia, Alabama.
Except maybe flip Oklahoma and Georgia, and maybe Ohio State instead of Alabama. But the above is my prediction.
Clemson Georgia Oklahoma and Ohio State my top 4..
It doesn’t really matter what anyone here thinks. The committee will make there own choice to who’s going to be in. Nobody here knows who’s going to be in Alabama or Ohio State. The only thing we do know for sure is it want be Auburn. LOL
Nope sure won’t but we did beat bama 26-14 and won the West…
Also rules don’t apply to bama They get what they want always.
^^
The best football program in the Nation gets what they earn. Disagree who’s best? Know of anyone else that has won 36 of their last 38 games? Didn’t think so.
Yes we do liar. We all know Bama is going to win another championship. you are just in denial.
Nice win Tommy Boy, You can come check out the Bama trophy case on January 9th 2018 and then let me know how good that 26 – 14 win feels with your Outback Bowl trophy compared to their 17th natty! We are all laughing at you. This morning at around 11:30 AM CST your world will come crashing down when Bama makes the playoffs.
Not sure how the last 38 matter. Only this season counts and guess what buddy….your team didn’t beat any quality opponent.
Who cares about someone’s last 38 games? Ohio State decisively beat AL last time they met as well. Does that factor in?
Called it
John Crist = troll with a media badge. Only thing is he got your money via all the clicks.
The committee only dropped bama to 5 after their ONLY loss. This was on purpose to get them in in the end. For real think about it, are you really going to exclude the best division in football for a single loss to a top team? No way. Auburn > Iowa. B1G < SEC. Good luck Georgia & Alabama
He is not a troll, just a blogger. Same as Miss Nancy that post diaper changing tips.
Well here is the problem. Everyone that is hating on Alabama keeps with the argument that oh they didn’t win a conference championship, Ohio state did they are in and claim that a conference title should be a requirement. Ok, why is no one talking Trojans football getting in? I personally think they are more deserving than Ohio st. I will tell you why, most non Alabama fans(whether they hate bama or just don’t care either way) want to see a different team in and know USC is not deserving but somehow twist logic and claim a conference championship makes Ohio st’s two bad losses disappear. You can talk about the committee does not look at quality losses all you want, but when evaluating a teams potential they will look and see that Ohio state got trucked at home and at an unranked Iowa and see that bama lost to one of the hottest teams in the country. They have to look at quality of losses because they are trying to pit the best 4 teams against each other to make the best 3 games they can. It’s got nothing to do with conference championships. 4 BEST teams. I thought last year Penn St was better than Ohio state. Not because they were conference champs but because they beat Ohio state
And they didn’t because of that horrible loss they had a Michigan. It may not be about losses but they do judge on EYE tests. If a piece of dookey gets slung on your eyeball, it’s just what you see dookey, a la Ohio state getting pounded not once but twice this year
Central Florida is more worthy than either Bama or OSU.
Years ago I predicted that the conference championships would become a hindrance to a playoff system and that is exactly what is happening.
The conference championships have now become landmines to teams who’ve already proven their worth during the course of a season. The game last night between Wisconsin and OSU didn’t prove who was the best team in the conference anymore than the game between OSU and Iowa did. What it did prove before it even started, was that Wisconsin had nothing to gain and everything to lose, while Ohio State was just the opposite…why was Wisconsin REWARDED for an undefeated season by having to walk a minefield and get blown out of the playoffs?
These conference championships are not “championships” at all, they are simply an extra conference game for two teams that is wrapped in hype and glitter and which provide the lesser accomplished teams a backdoor to get into the playoffs.
…so a two loss team with one loss by 30+ points which won its division and title game should go to the playoffs over a team with one loss to a top ten team and conference rival on the road even though the one loss team wins the eye test? Is this the argument?
Yes, that’s their argument and it’s about as absurd as anything can be. When you have two losses and one of those losses is in NOVEMBER to an UNRANKED team…you should be nowhere in the discussion about a potential playoff spot.
Its politics at this point and the selection committee will not shut out the Big 10. They don’t want two SEC teams and sure dont want us do dominate the final game again.
The NCAA president is an Ohio State alum too
I seem to remember Clemson prevailing last year? Who “dominated” the final game? It was tight.
I agree with you though…based on regional tv ratings, do you think ESPN wants 4 Southern teams in the playoff (AU, CLEM, AL, Okl)? They’ll need an Upper Midwest or West Coast team.
I think he means having two SEC teams would dominate or steal the show. Not dominate another team. Similar to what your saying about the South.
If we’re going by who has the best record, (like they did for wisconsin) Alabama should be in. It’s amazing how a team can have 1 loss against a top 5 team and get kicked out of the playoff conversation. The BCS would have Clemson #1, Georgia #2, And Bama #3
I doubt that. The computers won’t give Bama much love.
In my view, if you have 2 losses and one of them is being blown-out by an UNRANKED team in NOVEMBER…don’t make me laugh with the claim that you deserve a spot in the Final Four. Don’t make me laugh.
I am not saying that Alabama is a dominant team and I am not sure that would win anything in a playoff. But I am saying that the format calls for FOUR teams and Alabama is the most deserving of all the teams left.
I was hoping it’d somehow be clear cut that Alabama deserves it. After thinking about it, I don’t think either Alabama or Ohio State deserve it. I’d probably give the edge to Ohio State because they are conference winners. How about just throwing UCF in there since at least they are undefeated and conference winners? ;) Sure they don’t deserve it either but at least they won their conference and are the only undefeated team. I’d rather see them there than Ohio State.
The record of everyteams ohio state beat (in order) 5-7 8-2(army) 5-7 4-8 4-8 4-8 10-2 9-3 2-10 8-4 11-1. 6 teams they beat have losing records. Im not impressed
2 wins vs ranked opponent in the regular season
I suppose if you did this exercise with AL you would make sure to include Mercer and Fresno St, right?
Of course. Fresno state is a top 25 team. Making my argument more valid
Mr. Crist, no need to keep writing after your first paragraph and complicate the simple. You said you thought that Alabama was one of the best four teams in the country. The goal of the selection committee is to put the best four teams in.
If OSU jumps Bama for the 4th spot what kind of a message will the committee be sending to the SEC and the rest of CFB? That you can scheudle average teams and get blown out and it doesnt matter? It has to matter. Close your eyes and imagine if Bama lost to A&M by 31. And then lost by 21 to LSU but then some how squeaks out a win in the SEC championship. Bama in no way would be even close to being considered for the playoff. Im ok with Bama not making it but you cant put OSU in there then.
If bama does get in, they should rank Georgia and Alabama 2 and 3. Or 1 and 4 just so they have to play each other in the semi final and we can go ahead and get them outta there. Go dawgs! SEC Champs!!
It doesn’t really matter which team goes. Both will be put out in the first round.
The separation factor when comparing Alabama and Ohio State is the Iowa game. In comparing the best four, if a team has two losses then one of them should not be by such a wide margin. Georgia’s loss to Auburn was by a big margin, but they won the rest of them.
You don’t use a Conference Championships as a “separation factor”? Or how about top 10 wins?
In my opinion, it is not as big of a factor as getting beat by 31 points to a team that was 7-5. I think the decision is obvious.
I’m not sure who gets in. I hate Bama but believe even mediocre SEC competition gives them at least as good of a resume. Wisconsin was the most overranked team all year but what to do as they stayed undefeated to the very end.
I do know one thing for sure…
FSU absolutely sucks.
This is all just bs. I don’t think Bama should be in but this OSU justification is bs. Why not USC? They can say they lost on the road against two 9-3 teams. They play 9 conference games and Notre Dame? Until we get a true playoff that is decided on the field like every other sport it’s a joke.
Because USC got crushed my Washington State and Notre Dame
In the end, the Crimson Tide got in. That doesn’t mean they deserve it, though. Again, it’s an imperfect system. Only three teams truly earned their way in this year: Georgia, Clemson and Oklahoma. All I hope for now is that there isn’t some silly overreaction and we expand to eight teams, which would’ve made Championship Week borderline meaningless.
Why should either get in. CFP was a real selection committee not just a front for the entity formerly known as the BCS, they ignore both of them and put UCF in. Why are we even talking about OSU getting in even being a possibility. Sad that it is, but shouldn’t be. Bama had their shot and blew it. UCF.
This just makes it clear that in the future, undefeated teams would be better off losing their last game to avoid their conference championship because it is an easier road to the playoff than having to play and win an additional game. Bama probably knew this would be the case and threw that game on purpose. Now, they have an advantage over Clemson cause they’ll be more rested.
Dumbest comment of the year goes to…
Great comedy article!!!