News Now: Alabama Climbs : Alabama football narrowly missed the College Football Playoff, finishing as the final team out of the 12-team field. SMU claimed the last spot despite a close loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game.
The latest coaches poll, released after the CFP field announcement, ranked Alabama at No. 11, one spot ahead of SMU at No. 12. Earlier in the day, Alabama also edged SMU in the AP poll. However, neither poll influences the CFP selection process, which favored SMU for its stronger record against ranked teams despite Alabama’s wins over higher-ranked opponents.
CFP selection committee chair Warde Manuel explained the decision on ESPN, stating, “We evaluated Alabama’s wins against ranked teams and SMU’s undefeated in-conference performance. SMU’s losses were to ranked teams, while Alabama had losses to unranked opponents. It was a tough debate.”
Oregon retained the No. 1 spot in the coaches poll following its Big Ten championship victory over Penn State. Georgia climbed to No. 2 after defeating Texas for the SEC title. Notre Dame, Texas, and Penn State rounded out the top five. Tennessee and Ohio State were ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, and will meet in the CFP first round.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Boise State landed at No. 8, Indiana at No. 9, and Arizona State, the Big 12 champion, at No. 10. Clemson, the ACC champion and a CFP participant, was ranked 13th.
Coaches Poll Top 25:
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- Penn State
- Tennessee
- Ohio State
- Boise State
- Indiana
- Arizona State
- Alabama
- SMU
- Clemson
- South Carolina
- Ole Miss
- Miami
- BYU
- Army
- Iowa State
- Missouri
- Illinois
- Colorado
- Memphis
- UNLV
- Syracuse.                                                                                                          News Now: Alabama Climbs