The Alabama Crimson Tide were the first team out of the College Football Playoff, despite having the ninth-ranked strength of record and 16th-ranked strength of schedule, a big improvement over the last team in the field, SMU.
Alabama did not play in the SEC Championship Game, and as a result missed out on one final chance to make their case to the committee. SMU, meanwhile, lost the Clemson by a field goal following an inspiring comeback.
There is an argument to be made for both teams, but Alabama lost three games in conference and it came back to haunt them. While the ACC cannot stack up against the SEC most years, it's been a down year for the south overall. Just look at the records of the teams which made the playoff – none have less than two losses.
Alabama fans are furious they didn't make the playoff: Best memes
SMU's strength of schedule can't compare to Alabama's, but they took care of business in-conference and nearly ran the table in the ACC. The Mustangs deserve to be here, and went 5-2 against teams over .500 this season.
Nonetheless, Alabama fans were not happy after missing out on the CFP. Frankly, Tide fans are never normal, especially in 2024. Something is always amiss.
Bama fans after the #CFBPlayoffs commitee did the right thing and selected SMU. pic.twitter.com/I7Ep3sGBSf
— primalkey (@primalkey) December 8, 2024
The amount of mental gymnastics being done to pre-defend Alabama's selection is insane.
— 💫🅰️♈️🆔 (@ADavidHaleJoint) December 8, 2024
SMU is absolutely being punished for playing. They were 8. The committee already ranked that. This isn't about now re-evaluating whether SMU's schedule warranted them being ahead of Bama.
I would argue the other side: The only reason to include Bama in the conversation is pro-Bama bias. They really did lose 24-3 to the worst Oklahoma team of the century. That is a thing we saw happen a few weeks ago. https://t.co/xvlgarDlWF
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) December 8, 2024
Playoff committee about to alter the landscape of CFB forever
— Peter Burns (@PeterBurnsESPN) December 8, 2024
Put Bama in over SMU they will diminish the value of a championship game.
Put SMU who went 0-2 vs ranked teams & a weak strength of schedule over a Bama that went 3-1 vs ranked teams & changes will be DRASTIC in 2026
Alabama played 0 non-conference road games between 2012 and 2021, during which time they won 4 National Championships, so this is a practice Bama has found a lot of success with. https://t.co/sWRTe5silL
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) December 8, 2024
I can’t imagine a scenario that would set off Greg Sankey more than this one. Not just Bama, but South Carolina sitting home while an ACC team it beat on the road and finished higher than is automatic.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) December 8, 2024
Should be a fun offseason .
Is the current playoff perfect? Not a chance, but it is far better than its predecessor. FanSided's John Buhler made a great case of the precedent that would've been set had Alabama made the playoff over SMU, and it's not a sports world I want to live in.
"Now we are facing an eerily similar discussion. By potentially giving the last spot in to a three-loss Alabama team who suffered three defeats in conference play to Oklahoma, Tennessee and Vanderbilt, the Selection Committee would be completely devaluing playing for a conference championship. In short, SMU would be punished for playing in theirs, just like Georgia was last season," Buhler wrote.
Alabama lost to Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Tennessee this season. The Vols loss is understandable, but Oklahoma's team was one of the worst for the Sooners in recent memory. The only reason SMU vs Alabama was a conversation is media bias, which should never enter the conversation.