Kalen DeBoer Was Asked About Alabama's Playoff Chances After Iron Bowl Win
11/30/2024 08:02 PM
Last week Alabama's College Football Playoff hopes appeared to be dead and buried at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners after a loss in Norman dropped them to three losses on the season.
But with a ton of losses among the teams ahead of them in the College Football Playoff, today's Iron Bowl win over arch-rival Auburn has the team a little more confident in their chances of reaching the postseason. Speaking to the media after today's 28-14 win over the Tigers, Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer was asked to make his playoff pitch. DeBoer stated that the Crimson Tide had a tough schedule that included several wins over top 25 teams. He believes that strength of schedule should be taken into account along with their record.
"Everyone is aware of our schedule... I know we beat four top-25 teams throughout the year... When you talk about the schedule and what it is, week to week, it's just a grind," DeBoer said, via Mike Rodak.
Kalen DeBoer asked for playoff pitch: "Everyone is aware of our schedule ... I know we beat four top-25 teams throughout the year. ... When you talk about the schedule and what it is, week to week, it's just a grind."
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) December 1, 2024
Alabama's College Football Playoff case was certainly boosted by several results throughout the sport today. No. 2 Ohio State lost to unranked Michigan while No. 6 Miami lost to unranked Syracuse. Both teams will be joining Alabama in watching their respective conference championship games next weekend, and their entire resume has been thrown into question to boot.
As far as their wins go, they had a huge one over Georgia that will look even better if the Bulldogs win the SEC Championship Game next weekend. They also boast a win over a surging South Carolina team and a blowout win over a ranked Missouri team.
But Alabama's three losses aren't all good losses. While there's no shame in losing to a Tennessee team on the road that's been dynamite all year, they can't escape from the fact that they also lost to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma - two teams that struggled to even reach bowl eligibility.
It's going to be up to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee to make a real judgment over how to value the wins and losses from all the teams this season.
Do you think Alabama deserves to be in the College Football Playoff?
Related: Nick Saban Says There Are Three Losses At Alabama That He'll Never Get Over
