On Sunday, the college football playoff committee revealed the final 12 teams that would be playing for a championship over the coming months, and to the surprise of some, the Alabama football program was able to backdoor its way into the mix. This occurred despite the Crimson Tide laying an egg on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game against the Georgia Bulldogs, which some felt might drop Alabama out of the mix altogether.
After the rankings were announced on ESPN, committee spokesman Hunter Yurachek spoke on what went into that decision.
“Regardless of Alabama's performance yesterday, their body of work over 12 games … with a strength of schedule that was highest in the top 11 … we felt they were deserving to stay in the 9 spot,” said Yurachek, per Chase Goodbread of The Tuscaloosa News on X, formerly Twitter.
Overall, Alabama still has one of the best overall resumes in the country this season despite their SEC Championship Game loss, having beaten Georgia earlier on the road in Athens, and also picking up wins over Tennessee, Vanderbilt, and other solid teams throughout the season.
Unfortunately, quarterback Ty Simpson has seen his play fall off a cliff over the last month or so after beginning the season as a Heisman hopeful in many people's eyes, and he will have to regroup quickly if the Crimson Tide want a chance to make any noise on their playoff run.
Alabama's spot in the rankings mean they will have a tough road matchup against Oklahoma in the first round of the playoffs, a team that already beat them once this year in Tuscaloosa. The winner of that game will play against Indiana in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day.
Alabama and Oklahoma are set to kick things off on December 19 at 8:00 pm ET in Oklahoma.
