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The Tuscaloosa News
How many times has Alabama missed College Football Playoff? Crimson Tide's CFP history
- Story byThe Tuscaloosa News
- How many times has Alabama missed College Football Playoff? Crimson Tide's CFP history
The College Football Playoff field will have a different feel for Alabama football fans.
For just the third time ever since the CFP started in 2014, the Crimson Tide will be on the outside looking in. Alabama , which lost three games under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer following the retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban , was the first team left out of the bracket on Sunday's rankings reveal show.
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Alabama, ranked No. 11 in the final College Football Playoff top 25, was the first team out of the 12-team CFP bracket.
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With the field expanding to 12 teams this season, Georgia — which Alabama beat in Week 5 — is in as the No. 2 seed and earned a first-round bye. Clemson, which defeated SMU in the ACC championship game, earned a spot as the first-ever three-loss team on the field.
The Tigers, who handed the Mustangs their second loss of the season, essentially eliminated the Crimson Tide , stealing a playoff spot and bumping SMU down to the No. 11 seed. The Mustangs in turn bumped out the Crimson Tide .
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It'll be back to the drawing board for DeBoer and his staff. Here's what you need to know about the previous times Alabama has missed the college football playoff:
Has Alabama missed the College Football Playoff?
Yes, besides the 2024 season, Alabama also missed the CFP field during the 2019 and 2022 seasons. The Crimson Tide snuck in as the fourth team in the field twice, in 2017 and 2023. The Crimson Tide won national championships under the four-team playoff format in 2015, 2017 and 2020.
In 2019, Alabama lost a pair of close contests to top-15 SEC foes. The Crimson Tide lost 46-41 to LSU at home despite a 416-yard passing effort from Tua Tagovailoa on Nov. 9, 2019. The Crimson Tide later lost to Auburn 48-45 to end the season.
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During the 2022 season, Alabama lost to Tennessee 52-49 on a last-second field goal to end the Crimson Tide's winning streak over the Vols. A couple of weeks later, LSU beat Alabama 32-31 in overtime in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to eventually claim the SEC West title and keep Alabama out of the conference championship game and CFP field.
Alabama CFP history
Here's a look at Alabama's College Football Playoff history:
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2014:Made CFP as No. 1 seed (lost Sugar Bowl semifinal)
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2015:Made CFP as No. 2 seed (won CFP championship)
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2016:Made CFP as No. 1 seed (lost CFP championship)
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2017:Made CFP as No. 4 seed (won CFP championship)
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2018:Made CFP as No. 1 seed (lost CFP championship)
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2019:Missed CFP with losses to LSU and Auburn
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2020:Made CFP as No. 1 seed (won CFP championship)
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2021:Made CFP as No. 1 seed (lost CFP championship)
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2022:Missed CFP with losses to Tennessee and LSU
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2023:Made CFP as No. 4 seed (lost Rose Bowl semifinal)
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2024:Missed CFP with losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama CFP history: How many times has Crimson Tide been left out?
