ESPN’s “College GameDay” featured a lively debate segment on the résumés of two CFP hopefuls entering play Saturday: the Alabama Crimson Tide and the SMU Mustangs.
Alabama (9-3 overall, 5-3 SEC), ranked No. 11 in the recent CFP rankings, would be the last team to reach the 12-team College Football Playoff field based on the selection committee’s latest bracket barring any significant movement Saturday.
Where it gets tricky is what will happen to the Crimson Tide’s CFP hopes if the ACC-leading Mustangs (11-1, No. 8 CFP) lose in an upset to Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers in their conference championship matchup at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
An SMU loss to Clemson would boil the final playoff spot down to a debate between a three-loss Alabama team vs. a two-loss SMU team. One reached its conference title game; the other didn’t.
CFP chairman Warde Manuel briefly joined GameDay host Rece Davis and reiterated what he said Tuesday night: that teams who weren’t playing on championship weekend would not change in the ranking order regardless of Saturday’s game. For instance, the 12th-ranked Miami Hurricanes would not jump No. 11 Alabama.
But Manuel seemed to leave the door open to the possibility of SMU getting the final at-large berth over Alabama, if the Mustangs indeed lose to Clemson Saturday night in an upset.
After Manuel’s brief conversation with Davis, former Alabama coach Nick Saban weighed in with his thoughts on Alabama vs. SMU for the final playoff berth.
“I hear these guys talking over here about who they lost to, but who did you beat? Yeah, they’re looking at record, but who did you beat? SMU, how many top 25 teams did they beat? How many top 25 teams did Alabama beat? And I don’t think that we want to go down the road with this whole playoff thing where we enhance people for playing a weaker schedule to get more wins.”
Alabama beat four teams that are (or were) ranked in the Top 25: the Georgia Bulldogs, Missouri Tigers, LSU Tigers (8-4) and South Carolina Gamecocks. SMU beat two: the Louisville Cardinals and Pitt Panthers. Neither Louisville (8-4) or Pitt (7-5) are still ranked.
Moreover, Georgia (10-2, No. 5 CFP) is playing for the SEC championship and a first-round bye in today’s conference title game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. South Carolina (9-3) is ranked No. 14 in the CFP rankings, while Missouri (9-3) is ranked No. 19.
When pointing to the Crimson Tide’s name on a video screen, fellow GameDay analyst Desmond Howard said the biggest problem he had was the number next to Alabama’s loss total. Howard took a shot at Alabama for having three losses — mostly notably to the Vanderbilt Commodores (6-6) and Oklahoma Sooners (6-6).
Howard said:
“To me, if you handle your business, then you don’t put it in the committee’s hands. But this team lost a game where they were a three-touchdown favorite, and then lost another game where they were a 13-point favorite and only scored three points. In that situation, you need to handle your business.
“To me, you forfeit your right to bitch about what Warde and the committee said moving forward because you didn’t do what you were supposed to, especially in your conference where ‘It Means More.’”
Saban countered Howard by pointing to Alabama’s wins:
“So this team here, they beat three top 15 teams. They lost some games they shouldn’t lose, but I think the windup of all this is very simple: there is not one coach in the country that should complain about the fact that they don’t get in the playoffs because the people who aren’t going to get into the playoffs, regardless of who they are, did not take care of business against a team they should have beat.”
If SMU loses to Clemson, especially in a close game, get ready for an even more spirited debate Saturday night and Sunday morning over the Crimson Tide and Mustangs for the final at-large CFP bid.
The crew shares their thoughts on the latest CFP bracket as we get closer to Selection Day 
@ReceDavis @KirkHerbstreit @PatMcAfeeShow @DesmondHoward @StanfordSteve82 pic.twitter.com/TVp5kLNK2o
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) December 7, 2024
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