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The Tuscaloosa News
Will Alabama football be in CFP? The case for the Crimson Tide making playoff bracket
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- Will Alabama football be in CFP? The case for the Crimson Tide making playoff bracket
Alabama football does not have another chance to add to its resume before knowing its College Football Playoff fate.
Because of losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma , the Crimson Tide has the SEC championship weekend off. But because of the anarchy of college football, Alabama remains in the running for one of 12 spots that would compete for a national championship.
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With the final CFP bracket being released Sunday, here's a look at why the Crimson Tide will get one of those 12 slots.
Alabama football CFP predictions
In the penultimate CFP rankings before the final bracket is revealed Sunday, Alabama landed at No. 11. In this set of rankings, Alabama would be an 11-seed playing No. 6 Notre Dame for a quarterfinal date with SMU.
Alabama, a three-loss team, finished ahead of two-loss Miami and three-loss SEC teams South Carolina and Ole Miss . According to the CFP selection committee chair Warde Manuel, since none of those teams will play in a conference championship game, that order is "set."
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Before Tuesday's CFP rankings, multiple outlets including ESPN, Sporting News and 247Sports had the Crimson Tide in the CFP as either a No. 12 or No. 11 seed.
Why Alabama football will make College Football Playoff
Much of Alabama's argument stems from its strength of schedule.
It's the first thing Kalen DeBoer turned to when asked what his pitch the the CFP selection committee would be after the Crimson Tide's 28-14 win against Auburn , citing at-that-time ranked wins against Georgia, Missouri and LSU , and a South Carolina win that continued to look better and better with each passing week.
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It was what offensive lineman Tyler Booker cited when asked about Alabama's CFP chances after the Auburn win.
"If you turn on the film and feel Alabama is not one of the best 12 teams in the country, I don't know what you would define as the 12 best teams in the country," Booker said on "The Next Round." "The schedule that we played, the talent that we have on the team, I definitely think we are one of the 12 best teams in the country. Our record may not be the prettiest, but when Alabama comes to play, we are definitely one of the 12 best teams in the country."
Per ESPN, Alabama has the 10th-best strength of record in the sport. All nine teams in front of the Crimson Tide are likely CFP bound including SMU, which would secure a bid after an ACC championship win.
Alabama also has three wins against teams currently ranked against CFP Top 25 teams and six wins against bowl eligible opponents.
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It's what Manuel cited when asked what separates Alabama at No. 11 and in the CFP bracket and Miami at No. 12 and outside the bracket.
"What it really came down to is Alabama is 3-1 against current Top 25 teams and Miami is 0-1," Manuel said on ESPN. "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, evaluating their body of work, we felt Alabama got the edge over Miami."
Alabama has consistently ranked as the top three-loss team in the field. And that's because of its record alone, one that should be able to sneak the Crimson Tide into the CFP even with upsets during conference championship weekend.
When do CFP rankings come out?
The final CFP rankings will be released at 11 a.m. CT Sunday after the slate of conference championship games.
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How to watch CFP bracket reveal
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TV channel:ESPN
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Stream: Fubo (free trial)
The CFP bracket will be revealed between 11 a.m.-3 p.m. CT on ESPN.
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e Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@gannett.com or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Will Alabama football be in CFP? Why Crimson Tide will make playoff
