Nick Saban calls for strength of schedule to factor more into Playoff selection
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Nick Saban was undoubtedly disappointed to see Alabama miss the College Football Playoff in 2024. The Crimson Tide went 9-3 in the regular season but were left out of the 12-team field thanks to losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Oklahoma.
That said, the Tide defeated a trio of top 25 teams in Georgia, Missouri, and LSU. Even taking into account their three losses, Saban felt that perhaps the Tide, who were ranked No. 13 in the Playoff rankings, deserved a second look.
“It gets to be a little bit of a disadvantage, because you get penalized for losses more in college football than you (are rewarded) for strength of schedule,” Saban said on Tuesday, according to AL.com’s Matt Stahl. “(That) was unfortunate for Alabama last year in terms of getting in the playoffs. But hopefully we’ll get that fixed and work together to try to do it in the future, so that strength of schedule becomes an important part of how you get selected to get in the playoffs.
Discussion about the inevitable expansion of the Playoff from 12 to 16 teams continues to wear on, whether it’s a 5+11 model or a model putting the 16 best teams into the field regardless of conference.
The Tide’s 2025 schedule includes a road game against Georgia, No. 4 in the coaches’ poll, and a home contest against Tennessee, ranked No. 18.
Oklahoma, the Tide’s opponent on Nov. 15, is receiving votes in the poll, as is Vanderbilt (Oct. 4).
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.
