Hmm, what do you think? Should the Alabama Crimson Tide be allowed to hold a spot on the 12-team bracket? Roll back to the Oklahoma game. Kalen DeBoer and Co. go into there with their head held high and 2 massive wins against Mercer and LSU. Nothing can go wrong. But then you watch Jalen Milroe give out multiple turnovers, and Kalen DeBoer and Co. score the lowest points in the last 20 years of Crimson Tide football. Now, if you thought that was bad, roll to the Iron Bowl. Yes, DeBoer and Bama won, but at what cost? They gave out 5 turnovers in that game and if Auburn had used the same Oklahoma strategy, then it was over for the Tide.

But now that they are here, how can they manage to survive and get into the final CFP rankings? Well, over the limp body of the loser of the ACC championship game, and it’s understandable why. For the committee, the conference title games are nothing but an ‘exhibition’. Barstool CFB mentioned on Instagram, “With how it’s going, most conference championships just end up being essentially exhibition games.” See, SMU is in the 8th spot, and Clemson is out of the 12-team bracket. After their loss to Syracuse, the Hurricanes were dropped to the 12th spot, and they will end up being the first team out.

Here is the funny thing: if any one of those 2 teams loses (SMU or Clemson), they will be out of the playoffs. And this is exactly where the entire bias shines. The Mustangs are an 11-1 team, and they have been massive this season.

Clemson, on the other hand, is 9-3, but they still have the ticket for the conference title. When you take this and compare it to Bama’s 9-3 year with a loss to an unranked Vandy and then a below-average Oklahoma team, it makes you wonder what the committee is even on about.

But, as always, there is a catch. They didn’t just put Bama in without any good reason. You might say that SEC teams get a preference over non-power five teams, but there is the thing: you have to look at who they have played against throughout the season.

Crimson Tide SOS

While SMU is Rank 8 on the CFP rankings, their strength of schedule is marked as the 75th in the entire country. Do you have any idea how easy that schedule is? Comparing this with what Alabama had to deal with is like comparing Iron Man to Batman.

Yeah, Bama lost to Vandy, but they WON against Georgia. Not only that, they managed to blow LSU and Mercer out of the water. It is true that DeBoer’s offense sinks and swims with Jalen Milreo, and if OC Nick Sheridan makes a wrong move, everything goes downhill. But why are we not talking about when things go right? Remember that first half against Georgia?

Kirby Smart and his boys got walked all over by the Bama offense and defense. Can SMU and Clemson do the same? There is a high chance that Clemson will have no shot at winning in this ACC title game. Even Josh Pate agreed with it.

However, regardless of what happens, Alabama will probably end up keeping the 11 spot. The worst-case scenario? They will be down on the 12th spot, and the Hurricanes will be rightfully out of the playoff picture.