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Wasson: Hey, look, Alabama is back in Playoff contention again!
By David Wasson
Published:
“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” – Michael Corleone, The Godfather Part III
You just know the entire college football world has been drooling the past couple weeks over the concept of a 12-team College Football Playoff without the Alabama Crimson Tide. Losing to Vanderbilt and Tennessee, it stood to reason, promptly relegated Kalen DeBoer’s team to the Nashville- and Tampa-level bowl purgatory.
The kings of grid were dead, finally, after almost 2 decades. The Death Star had been destroyed by the Rebel Alliance. Time for some fresh blood representing the Southeastern Conference after a king-sized dose of Nick Saban’s patented Joyless Murderball.
But a strange thing happened en route to the holiday season: Just the right teams began losing at just the right times … and voila, Alabama is back, baby!
The first College Football Playoff rankings will be released Tuesday, but because we have friends in the biz (read: lots and lots of common sense), we have a great feeling that the 11th-ranked Tide will be among the lucky 12 named by ESPN’s Rece Davis.
How could this be, you ask with breathless confusion? Gather round, kiddies, and let your humble scribe explain it to you with just 3 simple sentences …
The committee loves the script A
Saban must’ve had compromising photos or something, because very few things in life have been more certain than Alabama’s name being called for the former 4-team field. The Tide delivered in kind, too, winning 9 of their 14 games in the tournament to go with 3 championships. It was practically an annuity from the CFP committee to Alabama, getting the Tide in the field in all but 2 years (2019 and 2022).
Strength of schedule is still a thing
Alabama’s strength of schedule is also ranked 11th in the country, already going 3-1 in high-profile games against No. 2 Georgia (a team the Tide beat 41-34 in an instant classic on Sept. 29), Wisconsin, No. 11 Tennessee and No. 21 Missouri. Factor in upcoming tussles with No. 16 LSU, Oklahoma and Auburn (yeah, we know those last ones aren’t all that, but still …) and the Tide’s slate is strong. Even the nonconference agenda (Western Kentucky, South Florida and Mercer) isn’t awful – and the final analysis shows that Alabama didn’t duck anyone when putting this schedule together.
Repeat after me: Losing early matters
Almost as important as to whom you lose (anyone wanting to play Vanderbilt right now, raise your hand … that’s what we thought) is when you lose. And Alabama, once again, lost early – inadvertently positioning itself in a spot that when Week 10 losses started rolling down the hill the Tide were ready to ascend. It certainly also helps who loses, too, as Clemson and Pitt falling probably means the ACC will be a 1-bid conference. So, too, is the likely fate of the Big 12 after Iowa State and Kansas State also tumbled.
Of course, no one really knows how the committee selects these teams in the first place. This is how rankings process is described on the CFP’s website: “The selection committee chooses the 12 teams for the Playoff based on strength of schedule, head-to-head results against common opponents, championships won and other factors.”
Ah yes, “other factors.” That is where Alabama seems to live and breathe. When there is a lack of transparency, whether you’re Florida State last season or some TBA hopefuls this season, you better believe the cloak-and-dagger routine these folks hide behind to decide who is in and who is out will once again come back and bite.
Not that it looks like it will matter to Alabama, provided the Tide survive a trip to Death Valley on Saturday night. That never is a picnic, and you better believe the well-lubricated Tigers faithful will reach full Billy Cannon reverb and pitch the second the home squad does anything right.
Now listen, if Saturday night goes the opposite way and LSU wins, this entire column gets thrown out the window and we start talking about how the Tigers will be the SEC’s 4th team into the Playoff. See how that works?
For now, though, Alabama fans can stop looking up vacation packages to Dollywood and downtown Shreveport and start thinking about a first-round trip to Happy Valley or Austin. Because even though Alabama didn’t even play last weekend, power to the Death Star has been restored just in time for a huge stretch run.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
