For Alabama, the College Football Playoff door appears firmly shut, and Nick Saban agrees that's how it should be. Now serving as an analyst, Saban shared his thoughts on the situation during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show.
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While there's often debate over the SEC's strength and how much weight it should carry in playoff discussions, Saban made it clear that a three-loss Alabama team simply hasn't earned the right to be in the mix this year.
"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."
Alabama, now 9-3, looked like a playoff contender earlier in the season after a statement win over then No. 2 Georgia in September. But things unraveled quickly. A shocking loss to Vanderbilt, followed by a close defeat to Tennessee, set the stage for Saturday's blowout at the hands of Oklahoma, effectively sealing their postseason fate.
For a program accustomed to playoff appearances, it's an uncharacteristic stumble.
"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
Saban also noted that Georgia, despite potentially finishing with three losses if they fall in the SEC Championship, would still have a stronger case for playoff inclusion than Alabama or other two-loss SEC teams.
"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 explained.
For Alabama, the takeaway is simple: this season didn't meet the standard. And even Saban, the architect of that standard, sees no reason to argue otherwise.
