It may not be enough, but No. 8 Alabama’s win in the SEC title game has left the College Football Playoff committee with some tough decisions.
The Crimson Tide upset No. 1 Georgia, which had won 29 straight, including back-to-back national titles, in the SEC championship Saturday, creating madness for the College Football Committee.
The SEC champion has made the CFP every season since the four-team format began, but this time, it remains a question mark.
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Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates after defeating the Georgia Bulldogs 27-24 in the SEC championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta Dec. 2, 2023. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
No. 7 Texas won the Big 12 Saturday, and if No. 4 FSU wins Saturday, it will be 13-0 and a power five champion. Georgia is 29-1 in its last 30 games, so the Bulldogs are not exactly out of the conversation.
Bama head coach Nick Saban was blunt after his team’s victory Saturday.
“We won the SEC. We beat the No. 1 team in the country. … So, if we needed to do something to pass the eye test, I guess that probably contributed to it significantly,” Saban said after the game.
Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide during pregame warmups prior to facing the LSU Tigers at Bryant-Denny Stadium Nov. 4, 2023, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
What does hurt Alabama is its loss to the Longhorns earlier in the season. But Saban says Saturday’s victory should still propel them.
“We’re not the same team that we were when we played Texas. We’re not the same team we were when we played South Florida,” Saban said. “So, I don’t think we should be considered as that team right now.
“I think people should look at the whole body of work in terms of what the team was able to accomplish and what they were able to do, and I think this team is one of the four best teams and one of the teams that’s deserving to be in the playoff.”
ALABAMA UPSETS TOP-RANKED GEORGIA IN SEC CHAMPIONSHIP, CREATING MORE PLAYOFF SELECTION UNCERTAINTY
Georgia’s Kirby Smart also said his Bulldogs belonged in the CFP, saying his team was still one of the four best in the nation.
“[Committee executive director] Bill Hancock said It’s not the most deserving. It’s the best four teams,” Smart said after the loss.
Head coach Nick Saban of the Alabama Crimson Tide shakes hands with Head coach Kirby Smart of the Georgia Bulldogs after defeating Georgia 27-24 in the SEC championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium Dec. 2, 2023, in Atlanta. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
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It would be unprecedented if the SEC champion did not make the playoff.
If Bama doesn’t make it, it would be the first time it missed back-to-back playoffs.
