Former Alabama RB says Tide at No. 5 in CFP ranking is a ‘spectacle’

Former Alabama football running back and CBS College Football Analyst Damien Harris expressed his thoughts on Alabama being ranked No. 5 in the first 2026 College Football Playoff Ranking.

He described it as a ‘spectacle.’

“I am shocked by this,” Harris said on CBS Sports. “Nobody expected this. Nobody. Tennessee, who is ranked number 13 in the country, embarrassed this football team by two scores at home, and Alabama is ranked, what, seven places higher than them? How do we fathom this? We are learning the committee’s thought process. We’re not necessarily learning about who are the best teams. We watch these teams. We watch Tennessee Beat Alabama sure-handedly. We’re seeing what flavors of ice cream the committee likes, and they like whatever they serving in Tuscaloosa. Wow. Because to have them as a top 5 team truly is a spectacle.”

The College Football Playoff Committee Chairman Hunter Yurachek described why Alabama is ranked No. 5 during the ranking reveal show.

“I think you look first at Alabama went on the road and beat the team that we have ranked six this week in Kentucky,” Yurachek said. “They also beat South Carolina, who’s ranked in the top 25, and then, I think, many forget that they went on the road and beat Mississippi State when Mississippi State was undefeated and at full strength, and we really valued that as a strong win for Alabama back there in the early part of the season, when Mississippi, again, they had that quarterback, Kamario Taylor, that was very, very good, and Mississippi State was on a roll at that time. And so, with those, we see those as three quality wins. 
Yes, they had a loss to Tennessee. Tennessee doesn’t have the same level of quality wins. They do have the win against Alabama, but you have to go a little bit deeper to see Tennessee with another quality win on their schedule.”