In a twist, Alabama has been not noted of the 2024 Faculty Soccer Playoff, and Nick Saban has some ideas on that.
The previous Alabama head coach-turned-analyst spoke on ESPN on Saturday, minutes after it was introduced that SMU would take the ultimate CFP spot over the Crimson Tide. Whereas talking concerning the CFP committee’s choice, Saban opined about whether or not Alabama’s omission units a precedent for future groups by way of scheduling.
“If we do not take energy of schedule into consideration, is there any profit to scheduling actually good groups sooner or later?” Saban mentioned. “Right here at Alabama, we’re purported to play Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Florida State sooner or later, exterior the league. Properly, these are nice video games for followers to see, and that is what I believe we must be doing in faculty soccer, is creating extra good stock for excellent video games that persons are taken with.
“What is the athletic director going to do? He might go cancel all these video games now, figuring out the SEC is hard sufficient.”
Saban mentioned he agreed with the bracket general.
“The most effective groups are within the playoff, which I believe is most essential,” Saban mentioned. “No coach ought to have any criticism about what his circumstances relative to entering into the playoffs or out of the playoff, as a result of all of them management their very own future, they usually all had alternatives.”
Alabama completed the season 9-3, lacking out on the SEC title sport after in-conference losses to Tennessee — who made the CFP because the No. 9 seed — and unranked opponents Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
CFP committee chair Warde Manuel spoke on ESPN after the choice present, stressing that the committee took energy of schedule under consideration.
“We worth energy of schedule, which is why Alabama with three losses is ranked forward of the opposite two-loss groups,” Manuel mentioned.
The Crimson Tide completed at No. 11 within the CFP rankings, however didn’t make the ultimate 12-team bracket as a consequence of Clemson (ranked No. 16 by the CFP) taking a bid by successful the ACC. SMU’s 11-2 end got here after the Mustangs misplaced to Clemson on a last-second area aim; the crew’s different loss was to BYU, which ended up ranked No. 17.
By all accounts, SMU’s non-conference opponents this season — Nevada, Houston Baptist, BYU and TCU — could possibly be thought-about tougher than Alabama’s. The Crimson Tide performed Western Kentucky, South Florida, Wisconsin and Mercer, incomes simple wins in all 4 video games.
Regardless, there appears to be a common consensus amongst non-Alabama followers that the committee made the fitting choice. Even SMU’s opponents are completely satisfied for the Mustangs: ESPN’s Molly McGrath reported that Clemson gamers and coaches cheered additional loudly for the Mustangs’ choice throughout their CFP watch occasion.
