Alabama football fans are jumping up and down as the Crimson Tide is in the playoff picture.
Alabama landed at No. 11 in Tuesday’s rankings via ESPN ahead of Miami and South Carolina.
CBS Sports analyst details why the CFP Committee wanted Alabama in the 12-team playoff
Kalen DeBoer and the Tide are set up to enter the 12-team playoff on Selection Sunday and face Notre Dame in the first round if Southern Methodist University (SMU) beats Clemson in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game. Warde Manuel, the College Football Playoff Committee Chair, detailed how the Tide got back into the field. He said the committee valued Alabama’s record versus ranked opponents (3-1) and record over opponents with winning records (6-2), both of which were better than Miami’s.
Heather Dinich and Paul Finebaum, ESPN personalities, were on Get Up Wednesday morning detailing why they felt the CFP Committee got it right with the Tide over the Hurricanes in the latest CFP rankings.
Dinich said the committee got it right based on resume and strength of schedule.
.@CFBHeather and @finebaum weigh in on Alabama jumping Miami in the latest College Football Playoff rankings ✍️ pic.twitter.com/a3UELEdtmN
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) December 4, 2024
“What CFP Chair Warde Manuel said last night was he pointed to Alabama’s record against CFP Top 25 teams compared to Miami’s, which is 0-1 now that Syracuse is ranked. He also added their record against teams with winning records, which Alabama is 6-1 against teams with winning records. Miami is 4-2,” Dinich said. “Plus, they [CFP Committee] had questions about Miami’s defense and the fact they lost two of their last three games. So you can certainly see how they got to that conclusion.”
College Football Playoff selection committee Chair explains why Alabama is rank above Miami
Finebaum said the committee got it right because their are a lot of flaws with Miami.
“Ultimately, Alabama’s wins over Missouri and South Carolina on top of the win over Georgia put them in,” he said.
“This committee looked at Oklahoma and Vandy and said ‘everybody lost, especially Miami.’ The way the Miami game ended … Alabama was beating Auburn, a pedestrian team that’s been going nowhere while Mario Cristobal’s team is literary throwing up all over the field up at Syracuse. They had a 21-0 lead, Cristobal decided not to go for a first down on fourth and 10, he kicked a meaningless field goal, he never got the ball back, and ultimately I think that is where it ended for the Hurricanes.”
Alabama’s tough schedule prevailed over losses to Vandy and Oklahoma in the eyes of the CFP Committee.
*Get the BEST Alabama football insider information, message board access, and recruiting coverage today! SIGN UP HERE to unlock our subscriber-only content!*
Stephen M. Smith is the senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
