Playoff Selection Committee Chair tells why Alabama is ranked No. 4 in first rankings

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee Chairman Mack Rhoades revealed why Alabama was ranked No. 4 in the first rankings of the 2025 season during a teleconference on Tuesday night.

The Crimson Tide is 7-1 after winning seven straight games. Alabama is currently projected to receive a bye in the first round of the playoff. They would play the winner of No. 12 Memphis and No. 5 Georgia in a bowl game if these projections were to hold true.

Alabama is currently the highest-ranked one-loss team. They are also in front of undefeated BYU. Rhoades explained why this is so.

RELATED: Initial takeaways from Alabama No. 4 ranking in first CFP Top 25

“I’m not sure, when you look at resume, anybody had a better stretch of four games,” Rhoades said. “When you think about Alabama, really, really impressive, two of those wins on the road. Going into Athens, one of the hardest, toughest environments to be able to get out of there with a win. There was certainly discussion about the Florida State loss early on, but just felt like that four-game stretch – which by the way, historical in the SEC. Nobody has beaten four straight ranked teams without a bye. Then they also finish that out with a good win against South Carolina. That was the discussion. I think they’re getting elite quarterback play right now from Simpson, so a really, really good football team.”

Alabama will have an opportunity to strengthen its resume during the home stretch of the season.