The college football regular season is officially wrapping up, and we are getting our eyes hooked on the favorites. The latest CFP ranking came off as a huge boost on how the conference’s future can look like for the top-tier teams. But did you even count the Tide in the playoff contention equation? Well, if you’re a crazy Bama fan, you might have seen it coming, but otherwise, Kalen DeBoer just had an unforeseen entry into the No. 11 ahead of Miami, Ole Miss, and South Carolina. But the question is how. What fit the Crimson Tide into a prime position despite clutching three heavy losses in the season?

Alabama had a clear history of having the benefit of the doubt every time. This season, even if it is difficult to justify their ranking, Warde Manuel, the committee chairman, came up with an answer.

“One is at 11, one is at 12. But what it really came down to is Alabama is 3-1 against current top-25 teams and Miami is 0-1. Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500, and Miami is 4-2. Both have had some losses that weren’t what they wanted out of those games, but in the last three games, Miami has lost twice. So for us, in evaluating their body of work, we felt that Alabama got the edge over Miami.”

There are more reasons to snub the Canes. As ESPN host Heather Dinich pointed out, ”When you compare their resume and also back to that eye-testing loss in November is not good in that selection committee meeting room. They lost two of their last three games, obviously, but there are questions about Miami’s defense as well. Even though they love Cam Ward, they love the offense, they didn’t pass the two tests that are very critical at the end of November.”

So, the Miami fans, it’s time to wake up and smell the coffee. For Bama fans, the argument gave some food for thought, but the confusion and disbelief persist beyond this logic. Many still see it as a clear brand bias in Alabama’s favor. Especially if you go back to Lane Kiffin’s CFP prediction, Bama getting an edge over the other three losses teams seems inevitable.

Lane Kiffin’s favoritism prediction came out right

College football reality is more layered and complicated than you think. Previously, there had been a lot of backlash regarding Indiana’s AP Poll snub despite being undefeated. Joel Klatt never minced his words when putting the committee under gunpoint several times, addressing the top 12 intricacies and a faulty ranking system. A few weeks back, Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin made a lengthy social media post explaining why the Rebels are more deserving than Alabama to get a playoff spot. He had a clear path to put his demand out. Kiffin noted Ole Miss had 9 wins, toppling their opponents 390-94 (+296), while Alabama had the same number of wins with a lower 371-119 (+252).

He also pointed out how their last three losses fare against each other by points and how they both beat Georgia and South Carolina with uneven trails. In both scenarios, the stat put Alabama in a lower grade than the Rebels. But Kiffin, as a true visionary, knew what was coming. The coach wrote, ”Clearly Ole Miss should be in the playoff over Alabama, but Bama is the bigger brand and more than likely will get in over Ole Miss.”

He proved to be spot-on after the latest CFP chart put Ole Miss at No. 13, two spots behind the Tide. While the committee had an answer for Miami fans, they remained logicless in pacifying the Rebels, though.