CFP chair explains how selection committee evaluated Alabama
By Luke Greco
Published:
The College Football Playoff committee released its initial rankings on Tuesday, and Alabama was slotted in at No. 4, the highest ranking of any 1-loss team in the country.
CFP committee chair Mack Rhoades, who is also the Baylor Athletic Director, had this to say when he was asked about Alabama’s No. 4 ranking/
“I’m not sure, when you look at résumé, anybody had a better stretch of 4 games,” Rhoades said. “When you think about Alabama, really, really impressive, two of those wins on the road.”
The 4-game stretch that Rhoades is referring to is when Alabama went 4-0 against Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri, and Tennessee, all in a row. The games on the road came against Georgia and Mizzou. Without a bye anywhere during the stretch, Alabama became the first team in SEC history to win 4 straight against ranked competition.
“There was certainly discussion about the Florida State loss early on, but just felt like that 4-game stretch–which by the way, historical in the SEC,” Rhoades said. “Nobody has beaten four straight ranked teams without a bye. Then they also finish that out with a good win against South Carolina.”
Rhoades continued and commented specifically on the win versus Georgia.
“Going into Athens, one of the hardest, toughest environments to be able to get out of there with a win,” Rhoades said.
Rhoades went on to comment on quarterback Ty Simpson and how well he is playing. Simpson currently has over 2,100 yards through the air, 20 touchdowns, and just 1 interception.
“That was the discussion,” Rhoades said. “I think they’re getting elite quarterback play right now from Simpson, so a really, really good football team.”
