Alabama Football News

Playoff committee chair tells why Alabama did not drop in rankings after losing SEC Championship

by
Justin Smith
December 7, 2025

Alabama football is now in the College Football Playoff as the No. 9 seed after not falling in the final rankings after losing to Georgia in the SEC Championship.

Many thought the Crimson Tide’s playoff hopes were in jeopardy after losing to the Bulldogs 28-7. What came as what most would consider a surprise, the Tide stay put after the disappointing loss.

The College Football Playoff Committee Chairman Hunter Yurachek revealed what went into this decision.

“We evaluated all of those conference championship games and felt like in the end, regardless of Alabama’s performance yesterday, their body of work in those first 12 games where they had probably the best win arguably this season, winning at No. 3 Georgia, having a win against Vanderbilt, win against Tennessee as well,” Yurachek said. “Their strength of schedule was the highest in the top 11, and we felt like in spite of their performance yesterday in the conference championship, they deserved to stay in that No. 9 spot.”

Alabama will travel to take on No. 8 Oklahoma in a rematch on Dec. 19. Kickoff for the game is set for 7 p.m. CST. The winner will play Indiana in the Rose Bowl.

Justin Smith( Managing Editor, Director of Recruiting )

Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.