Alabama out of College Football Playoff, set to play Michigan in bowl game
Reading time: 4 minutes
The first ever 12-team College Football Playoff is set and Alabama is officially out of the field.
The Crimson Tide and its fans were sweating Sunday morning during the selection show after a dramatic Championship Saturday. But the morning ended in disappointment as the team will not be in the playoff for just the third time in the last 11 years.
Keep reading to find out all the details about this year’s playoff + where Alabama is headed next.
2024 College Football Playoff
After a decade of using a 4-team playoff to determine a national champion, this is the first season that will feature a 12-team bracket at the FBS level.
Five bids go to the five highest ranked conference champions while the remaining seven spots are awarded to teams by the selection committee. Alabama was officially the #11 seed in last week’s rankings but some big results in the SEC, Big 12 and ACC Championship Games caused a major shake up.
Here are the 12 teams still competing for the national championship, listed in order of seeding with their official CFP ranking in parentheses:
- Oregon (1)
- Georgia (2)
- Boise State (9)
- Arizona State (12)
- Texas (3)
- Penn State (4)
- Notre Dame (5)
- Ohio State (6)
- Tennessee (7)
- Indiana (8)
- SMU (10)
- Clemson (16)
The first four seeds will earn a bye into the quarterfinals while seeds 5-8 will host the first round of the playoff. Here’s how the first round will matchup:
- #10 Indiana at #7 Notre Dame | Dec. 20 | 7PM | ABC
- #11 SMU at #6 Penn State | Dec. 21 | 11AM | TNT
- #12 Clemson at #5 Texas | Dec. 21 | 3PM | TNT
- #9 Tennessee at #8 Ohio State | Dec. 21 | 8PM | ABC
Clemson’s win over SMU on a last-second field goal in the ACC Championship Game set up a controversial Sunday morning with the committee having to choose between an 11-2 SMU team and a 9-3 Alabama team for the final spot.
“We looked at SMU’s schedule. They were undefeated in-conference. Their losses were to ranked teams. But we also looked at Alabama’s losses to unranked teams. It was quite a debate.”
~ Warde Manuel, CFP committee chair
Former Alabama coach Nick Saban made the argument for the Tide’s strength of schedule but ultimately said the committee got the 12-best teams in the country.
“If we don’t take strength of schedule into consideration, is there any benefit to scheduling really good teams in the future?… Those are great games for fans to see and that’s what I think we should be doing in college football is creating more good inventory of great games that people want to see.”
~ Nick Saban on ESPN
During the 10 years of the four-team playoff, Alabama made the semifinals eight times and won three national championships.
Under Nick Saban, the Crimson Tide only went to six bowl games that did not have a national title on the line but two of those happened in 2007 and 2008, his first two seasons in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama vs. Michigan in ReliaQuest Bowl
Alabama’s season is not over just yet, securing a bid to the ReliaQuest Bowl, formerly known as the Outback Bowl. The Tide is searching for its 17th consecutive season with at least 10 wins.
Here’s what you need to know:
- What: ReliaQuest Bowl
- Who: #11 Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3) vs. Michigan Wolverines (7-5)
- Where: Raymond James Stadium | 4201 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL 33607
- When: Monday, Dec. 31 | 11AM central
- Watch: ESPN
- Tickets | More info
Alabama is 1-0 all-time in the Outback Bowl, beating Michigan in 1997. This will be the program’s 78th all-time bowl game appearance and the Tide extends its streak to 21 consecutive seasons.
The Citrus Bowl had first pick of SEC bowl-eligible teams not in the playoff, selecting South Carolina to face off against Illinois.
Do you think Alabama deserved a spot in the College Football Playoff? Let us know by tagging The Bama Buzz on Instagram, X, Facebook + LinkedIn.
