The playoff ranking saga has turned out nothing short of a melodrama this season. There has always been some backlash on how the CFP and the AP Poll judgment lack ethics and clarity. After Alabama received a No. 12 spot on last week’s CFP chart, the outrage reached an all-time high. Teams like Miami, Ole Miss, and SMU raised their voice against the brand bias and demanded an answer as to why they were left behind the Tide despite having fewer losses under the belt. Little did they know that the reality would shift in no time. As the championship weekend went down, the final CFP rankings unfolded, not giving Kalen DeBoer a reason to chill, and here’s why.

SMU, despite losing to the Tigers, got the playoff berth on the strength of schedule ground. To explain the scenario better, ESPN’s Dan Orlovosky added to Warde Manuel’s politically correct justification for taking SMU over Alabama.

‘‘If SMU plays and they have that massive comeback and they lose and you put Alabama or a Carolina or an Ole Miss in what you’re, again, going to have is a team next year is going to play in a conference Championship game in the night before everybody’s going to get sick and they’re not going to play in the game and then they’re going to go well, we were in before and we couldn’t play so you got to keep us in so they had to do that,” said the ESPN mogul, reflecting the committee’s non-punishing intention behind the pick.

Dan also believes there was a depth in committee chair Warde Manuel’s bitter ultimatum to the non-championship contenders, noting they don’t get a chance to improve their ranking in the coming weeks. The rule is pre-decided. For Alabama, it was a close (fixed) No 11, but for SMU, it was an open No 13 (subject to rise or decline). The mastermind behind the new Top 12 is something unreal but intriguing.

In an official declaration of their surprise move with the SMU, Warde Manuel noted they watched the Clemson win, but at what cost? The Mustangs gave away the game by a second field goal, but they did a good job throughout the showdown. If the Tigers deserved an automatic bye, the committee failed SMU and also made their case for a playoff chance. As far as Alabama is concerned, Manuel felt that SMU stands higher owing to the body of the work, as they only had losses against the ranked teams.

So, was Alabama just a scapegoat of a pre-cautionary decision of the committee or do they have legit reasons to regret in a pretty average ending?

Alabama AD cast doubt on the non-conference philosophy after a disappointing playoff picture

Well, if the ESPN’s reason is to be believed, it is 50-50. Alabama players will have to watch the rest of the conference from home this year. They are done for the season. However, the evaluation and reevaluation behind the trademark outcome are still heavily in discussion. Bama athletic director Greg Byrne gave a thoughtful response against the CFP snub.

When asked about the tragic rank, Byrne quoted it as disappointing. It really is, I mean, for every Bama fan out there, the emotion remains the same. But the AD retrospected the reality and pointed out the team’s under-the-radar performance in two games against Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.

However, despite being critical of his team, Byrne felt there was something vague in the nonconference scheduling. He said he would have a thorough understanding of how the strength of schedule assessments done by the committee.

The debate remains unsettled, but Rhett Lashlee has no reason to lash out anymore.