NBC Sports lead college football reporter Nicole Auerbach reposted the Alabama AD’s response on X.
“Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the twelve best teams in the country. We had an extremely challenging schedule and recognize there were two games in particular that we did not perform as well as we should have. We have said that we would need to see how strength of schedule would be evaluated by the CFP. With this outcome, we will need to assess how many P4 nonconference games make sense in the future to put us in the best position to participate in the CFP.”
Byrne went on to say that the move was bad for college football and that he was proud of the program’s season. The Crimson Tide will now face the Michigan Wolverines in the ReliaQuest Bowl on December 31st. There’s still a lot at stake in this game. The last time Alabama football did not win ten games was during Nick Saban’s first year in 2007. While not making the College Football Playoff is disappointing, following that news with a loss to Michigan would be a dismal way to end Kalen DeBoer’s first year in Tuscaloosa.
Still, Greg Byrne’s disappointment is very understandable in this situation. Almost every metric favors Alabama football’s resume over SMU’s. The Crimson Tide are ahead of the Mustangs in metrics like strength of schedule (18 to 57), strength of record (11 to 15), football power index (4 to 13), and the old BCS system (11 to 12).
SMU has played two games against top-25 opponents, both times losing. The Crimson Tide are 3-1 against ranked opponents and have signature wins against No. 2 Georgia, No. 15 South Carolina, and No. 19 Missouri. If both programs were to play on a natural field, the No. 11 Crimson Tide would undoubtedly be favored.
Unfortunately, as it was revealed, Alabama football took its destiny out of its own hands earlier this season. If SMU had won against Clemson on Saturday, the Crimson Tide would be in. But the Mustangs did not take care of business against the Tigers. Therefore, two teams ranked behind No. 11 Alabama, No. 12 Arizona State and No. 16 Clemson, got bids instead. It’s an unfortunate reality for the Crimson Tide in this new era with the emphasis on conference championships.
Overall, Kalen DeBoer’s team will look at shocking losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma as foils to its national title plans. Perhaps a very light nonconference schedule will prevent those lapses from happening in the future. The best team Alabama football played this year out of conference was Wisconsin on the road. A matchup that looked formidable going into the season.
Nevertheless, Greg Byrne’s statement sent a message to the committee that prioritized conference championship games over strength of strength. It’ll be interesting to see if any changes occur in year two of this new twelve-team playoff.
