For anybody who follows college football, you know that there are only two kinds of fans: those who yell “Roll Tide” after every play during a University of Alabama Crimson Tide football game, and those who live to see Alabama lose.
Over the last 10 years, Crimson Tide’s Head Coach Nick Saban has brought a lot of success to one of NCAA Football’s proudest programs, much to the dismay of the Crimson Tide’s detractors. However, the years of success and favorability from the College Football Playoff Selection Committee came to an end this season, mainly due to Saban’s handling of the team’s schedule.
With the new format, the Crimson Tide doesn’t benefit from the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) process. Before, the Crimson Tide was essentially picked every year as one of the final teams. In the new format, where a committee selects the four best teams, the schedule and quality of wins matters more than ever before.
The committee must now consider the importance of home wins, and must decide on the quality of the wins, whether the wins were against ranked teams, for example. The Crimson Tide used to get clout based on the quality of their intra-conference opponents. This is no longer the case. The Southeastern Conference (SEC) doesn’t boast as highly ranked teams as it once did.
Of the Crimson Tide’s 11 wins, only three have been against ranked teams. Those three teams were Fresno State, ranked at 25, Mississippi State at 24, and LSU, ranked at 17. Not exactly the most elite teams.
Even when the Crimson Tide played in a quality game against the Florida State Seminoles, ranked number three in preseason polls, it was in a neutral location. Now, the Seminoles have finished the season unranked, the decision to play them does not look good.
To fill out the Tide’s schedule, Saban had to choose four outside conference teams to play. One of those outside conference games was against Florida State, who was, at the time, an opponent that would have looked good for the committee.
The decision to play the game in a neutral location displays the timid nature of Saban. He prepared this schedule. The other three games outside of the SEC were against unranked teams Mercer University, Colorado State, and the 25-ranked Fresno State.
Even later in the season, when Alabama played ranked teams, they struggled. In their game against Mississippi State, the Crimson Tide trailed heading into the fourth quarter, and won the game with a late touchdown. The Tide had a chance to make a statement in that game, but they didn’t. That’s the issue with limiting the schedule to filler games when plating in a weak conference.
The Crimson Tide was even given the opportunity to prove themselves one last time in their end-of-season Iron Bowl game against the Auburn University Tigers. This time, they not only failed to prove themselves, but they also lost to a superior Auburn team, effectively ending their hopes of winning another National Championship.
It’s time for the selection committee to finally punish the Crimson Tide for their losses and lack of quality wins, the same way that they punish other teams for the very same. For years, the Tide has received, and rightfully earned, the benefit of the doubt based on quality coaching and personnel. However, after the deterioration of SEC competition, it has become more difficult for the selection committee to qualify the wins that Alabama boasts on their schedule.
The Crimson Tide still has a path to the Final Four. If Wisconsin loses to Ohio State, they will have a good chance of making it in, but it’s unlike Saban to rely on a loss of another team.
Now that the Crimson Tide isn’t playing tough games, Saban, as head coach, must take it upon himself to put his team up against quality opponents. This means going on the road. Until he does that, the selection committee will continue to treat Alabama with the same criticisms, despite the ways Alabama has benefited from their process for the last 10 years.