No. 8 Alabama pulled off a thrilling upset of No. 1 Georgia on Saturday in the SEC championship, taking down the Bulldogs 27–24.
The Crimson Tide made a strong case to reach the College Football Playoff, but the decision will ultimately be up to the selection committee, and with just four spots up for grabs, it's possible that Alabama finds itself on the outside looking in despite taking down the top team in the country.
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne did his part to work the refs a bit after the win, arguing that leaving the Tide out of the Playoff might result in teams putting together weaker schedules in the future.
"If we would have played a Group of Five game instead of Texas, there'd be no debate right now," Byrne told Nick Kelly of The Tuscaloosa News.
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Byrne is referring to Alabama's only loss of the season, which came at home against Texas in an out-of-conference game in just the second week of the season. Had the Crimson Tide elected to fill out their schedule with a cupcake team they could run over, they’d likely be undefeated right now and a shoe-in for the Playoff, according to Byrne’s argument. And if scheduling tough opponents results in more risk than reward, why bother?
It's not the first time that the issue of out of conference scheduling has been raised, but Byrne’s argument is not bulletproof. First, while it’s true that there is a shortage of spots in this year’s four-team Playoff, the bracket expands to 12 teams next season, at which point the problem likely solves itself, as teams competing for the last spots in the field will all have at least one loss in all likelihood.
Further, while Byrne’s case that Alabama is being penalized for their loss is true, he’s ignoring the fact that should the Crimson Tide be left out of the Playoff, it will be because Texas gets a spot, and would be rewarded for scheduling a tough out-of-conference game and winning it.
As things stand, the selection committee members have their work cut out for them. Only four teams can make the Playoff, and there’s a chance that there are simply more than four teams deserving of playing for the title this year.
The 12-team Playoff cannot come soon enough.
