Since the College Football Playoff rankings for Week 14 were released, the Alabama Crimson Tide has become a hot topic of discussion. The committee has placed Kalen DeBoer’s squad at No. 11, which has raised significant questions about favoritism in the selection process. But why has the Tide not qualified on their own merits? The answer is their poor performance in week 13 against Oklahoma. Now that they are eyeing entering the playoffs, DeBoer has a confession to make.

The Tide had an easy pathway to enter the playoffs; they only had to defeat Oklahoma, in spite of winning by a huge margin. Tide’s offense displayed a miserable performance and lost by 24-3. After losing to Oklahoma in week 13, they had no other option but to win against their rivals, Auburn, to keep their playoff hopes alive. Guess what? Milroe took the responsibility and led the team to an impressive 28-14 victory. But is that enough? Of course not!

On The Paul Finebaum Show, DeBoer made some serious confessions after their recent struggle, which can trigger Milroe. He highlighted that Milroe is an elite player, but as they move ahead, he has great responsibilities on his shoulders.

“He got an offensive line in front of him that’s extremely physical. And our ability to run the ball. I think it is well documented. And he’s a big part of that. He’s a guy that can hit the home run, as you know. At any time, just any time, the ball is in his hands. I know the opponent is nervous about it.”

Well, that is true, but what if Milroe does not perform? Remember, against Oklahoma, Milroe did not step up, and Tide’s offense collapsed. No other player stood out and scored. They recorded zero touchdowns.

Further highlighting Milroe’s capabilities, DeBoer added why Milroe is a key player and their offence is incomplete without him. “What that play could end up being. And so then the passing game. He’s in the high 60s with completion percentage. Guys, this last week again, I made some plays around him, and all of a sudden you end with a completion percentage of 75%. He’s got that arm talent. He’s got that. Ability. We certainly put a lot on his shoulders.”

Do you remember the trash talk the Auburn player did for Milroe? Well, that wasn’t the first time Milroe was questioned this year. But the guy stood firm and did not let the noise affect him much. Last week, he threw for 256 yards, rushed for 104 yards, scored three crucial touchdowns and made it clear that he was here to win. However, as DeBoer mentioned, he has some big responsibilities on his shoulders. Moving forward, let’s take a look at Alabama’s playoff scenarios.

Alabama’s road to the college football playoffs

See, Alabama had a good start to the season with back-to-back four wins. But a loss to Vanderbilt 40-35 raised some concerns. Then, in the second half of the season, they lost to Tennessee 17-24 and OKL 3-24, which again put DeBoer in a tough spot. But now the thing is, despite a 9-3 record, they are in a favorable position to qualify for the inaugural 12-team college football playoff.

But is their position guaranteed? No! Although the committee has ranked them before Miami and Ole Miss, despite their 10-2 and 9-3 records, they might enter the playoff as the No. 12 seed. If they do so, it will set up a first-round road matchup that will be played either on December 20 or December 21.

Many are wondering why Alabama is ranked above Miami. The college football playoff committee chairman cleared the air and stated, “It came down to a difference in their body of work as we evaluated Alabama and Miami, not just wins, not just losses, but the totality of the season and how those teams performed.” 

Now that Alabama and Miami both cannot play the championship game, Tide has little room for change in the rankings, and that is why Tide is ahead of Miami in the CFP. Now given a chance, will Milroe turn the tables in their favor?

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