The College Football Playoff committee just made a mockery of its own rankings. Despite two losses, Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama somehow cracked the top five, leapfrogging teams with cleaner résumés. The controversial decision has fans questioning the committee’s entire selection process.
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As shared by On3, Miami, Georgia, Utah, and Indiana claimed the first four spots in Tuesday’s reveal. Alabama followed at No. 5, becoming the highest-ranked two-loss team in the committee’s initial top 25.
The committee’s reasoning appears to center on the quality of Alabama’s schedule. Both defeats came against ranked SEC opponents, Georgia and Tennessee. The Tide also own victories over two teams in the committee’s top 25, including Kentucky and South Carolina.
Those results may have carried considerable weight in the evaluation. But the problem is what Alabama’s ranking means for everyone else. Undefeated UCLA was left behind Kalen DeBoer’s team. So were one-loss BYU and Notre Dame. Kentucky, meanwhile, sits above Alabama in the AP Poll despite losing to the Tide 45-17 earlier this season.
Alabama also received a much friendlier evaluation from the committee than it did from the national polls, where it entered at No. 9 in both the AP Top 25 and Coaches Poll. Fans weren’t willing to let that major gap slide. The response to the Tide’s placement quickly turned sour.
“Alabama in the top 5 is truly insane,” one user wrote.
Another was even more direct. “Anyone who thinks bama is anywhere close to a top 5 team is a damn idiot and knows nothing about football,” they commented.
A third fan didn’t see any justification for the decision, posting, “That’s absolutely awful. There is no universe where Alabama is the #5 team in the country.”
The criticism wasn’t limited to Alabama’s two losses, either. One particular result kept resurfacing in the discussion: Tennessee’s victory over the Tide. Another user brought up the QB situation and South Carolina’s subsequent result against the Vols.
“This s— sickening Bama loss to a Backup Tennessee QB, and SC beat that same team a week later,” they remarked.
It’s a fair point for critics to raise, especially when the committee is trying to separate teams with similar résumés. Alabama’s schedule has quality wins, but its losses still count.
Another person came up with a more suspicious theory about the ranking. “They’re trying to give Lane and LSU a top 5 win,” one fan suggested.
There is no evidence behind that claim, but LSU’s upcoming meeting with Alabama makes the comment interesting. The Tigers get Kalen DeBoer’s team at home, giving them an opportunity to knock off a program the committee currently considers one of the country’s five best.
Alabama still has time to justify its position. But the committee has also handed Kalen DeBoer an uncomfortable spotlight. At No. 5, every remaining result will be judged against that lofty placement.