Alabama Had 'Worst Possible Scenario' Happen On Saturday Night
12/08/2024 10:30 AM
Alabama entered the weekend in the driver's seat for a College Football Playoff spot. However, the Crimson Tide may have watched their spot vanish.
Despite suffering three losses in Kalen DeBoer's first season replacing Nick Saban, Alabama ranked No. 11 in the penultimate CFP rankings. Since the winner of a Big 12 Championship Game matchup between No. 15 Arizona State and No. 16 Iowa State had a guaranteed spot, the Crimson Tide would have garnered the last at-large bid based on those rankings.
Unfortunately for Alabama, the Sun Devils weren't the only team below them to win a conference title. No. 17 Clemson knocked off No. 8 SMU to capture the ACC crown in a thrilling finish Saturday night.
Paul Finebaum claimed on Sunday morning's SportsCenter that it wasn't just the final result that hurt Alabama.
SMU rallied from a 31-14 deficit to tie the game with 16 seconds remaining. A 41-yard kick return from Adam Randall positioned Clemson to salvage a last-second victory behind a 56-yard field goal from Nolan Hauser.
Despite falling short, Finebaum believes the comeback attempt saved SMU's season.
"If you were sitting at Alabama and said, 'Let's come up with the worst possible scenario for us,' — it happened last night in Charlotte," Finebaum said, via On3's Barkley Truax. "Up until the fourth quarter, Alabama was in the Playoff because SMU had not looked Playoff-worthy, and then it all changed."
During his on-field interview after Clemson's victory, Dabo Swinney declared that SMU "better be in the dang playoffs." SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee also sent an emphatic message to the CFP selection committee in his post-game press conference.
He noted that the committee considered No. 8 SMU a playoff team before the game, but the Mustangs "showed up" and "competed our butts off" anyway.
"It'd be criminal if we're not in," Lashlee said, per ESPN's Andrea Andelson. "It'd be wrong on so many levels. Not just our team. It'd be wrong to what college football stands for. Our team deserves a chance to be in."
Finebaum believes the committee will concur with Lashlee after watching SMU's comeback attempt. Alabama ranked ahead of undefeated Florida State last year and the two-loss Miami Hurricanes earlier this week, but the Mustangs are in a different position than those ACC programs with two three-point losses.
ESPN will reveal the final College Football Playoff rankings and bracket Sunday at noon ET.
Related: Clemson May Steal CFP Bid From Longtime Rival Alabama
