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Playoff committee chairman says Alabama never considered for No. 1 seed
By John Brasier
Published:
Alabama may be the favorite in Las Vegas to win the national championship. But College Football Playoff committee chairman Jeff Long said the Crimson Tide wasn’t close to No. 1 in the eyes of his committee.
When the committee released the four playoff teams and their seedings Sunday, Clemson (13-0) was No. 1 and Alabama (12-1) was No. 2.
As a result Clemson will play Oklahoma (11-1) in the Orange Bowl. Alabama will play Michigan State (12-1) in the Cotton Bowl. Both games will be played on New Year’s Eve.
“Clearly, Clemson was No. 1. There was really very little discussion,” Long said of the committee’s final rankings during ESPN’s telecast of the unveiling of the final four.
Long denied that the committee dropped Oklahoma to No. 4 behind Michigan State to avoid an Alabama-Oklahoma matchup in the semifinals.
Alabama is an early 9-point favorite over Michigan State. Oklahoma is a 2 1/2-point pick over Clemson.
“We didn’t look at seeding,” said Long. “We’re there to rank those four best teams, and I believe the committee has done that.”
Former SEC Defensive Player of the Year David Pollack said Alabama should be happy with the seedings. The former Georgia lineman said Clemson and Oklahoma present problems with mobile quarterbacks. Michigan State’s Connor Cook is a tradition drop-back quarterback.
“That’s a good matchup for Alabama,” Pollack said.
Michigan State is 6-1 in its last seven games against top 5 teams, so the Spartans have played well in marquee matchups.
“Michigan State ain’t scared. I can promise you that,” Pollack said.
“I think Michigan State will like the (underdog) role,” agreed SEC Network broadcaster Paul Finebaum.
