Alabama is officially on the outside of the College Football Playoff picture after their blowout loss to Oklahoma, and Nick Saban believes that is where his former team belongs.
Saban shared some of his thoughts on the College Football Playoff during Wednesday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show.” While some have wondered if a three-loss SEC team should receive consideration for one of the 12 playoff spots due to the level of competition within the conference, Saban does not think the 9-3 Crimson Tide are deserving.
“It’s hard to reward a team with three losses, especially the kind of losses that Ole Miss had and like Alabama’s had, to pretty average teams,” Saban said. “You’ve got some other teams that maybe they didn’t play the same competition, but they didn’t lose games to average teams, either. So, I think that matters.”
Saban said he feels Georgia would be the only three-loss team deserving of playoff consideration if they were to lose in the SEC Championship.
“They would end up with three losses, but I don’t think a team that didn’t play in the championship game that has two losses should get in, especially if (Georgia) played a good game and it wasn’t a blowout,” Saban added.
"It's gonna be hard to reward a team with three losses..
Especially the kind of losses that Ole Miss and Alabama have had..
The only team that could have an argument to get in with three losses is Georgia if they lose in the SEC Championship" ~ Coach Saban #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/vfeXfhgg2h
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) November 27, 2024
Alabama beat then No. 2 Georgia back in September. It looked at that point like the Tide were destined for another playoff appearance. They followed up that game with a stunning loss to Vanderbilt and also lost to Tennessee before being dominated by Oklahoma on Saturday night.
With the five highest-ranked conference champions earning automatic bids, there is really no room for Alabama this year. Of course, it is fair to wonder if Saban would openly agree with that if he were still the head coach in Tuscaloosa.
