Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban has aimed for strength of schedule to be a real factor when it comes to seeding and seeding for Sunday’s College Football Playoff.
Saban saw his former team get left out of the 12-team field while SMU was able to get into the bracket despite losing the ACC Championship to Clemson. Alabama was seeded No. 11 in the penultimate rankings, but failed to advance into the final bracket reveal.
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Former Crimson Tide football coach Nick Saban watches a basketball game between Alabama and the Texas A&M Aggies at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa on February 17, 2024. (Gary Cosby Jr.-USA Today Sports)
Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne pointed out Saturday night that the Crimson Tide were No. 3 in opponents’ winning percentage and had three wins against teams in the CFP poll before the chart was released . He wrote on X that “strength of schedule matters.”
But Saban suggested on ESPN that Alabama might have been considered higher if strength of schedule really mattered.
“I think one of the things I’ve mentioned throughout this football season is if we don’t take into account the quality of the schedule, is there any benefit to scheduling really good teams in the future,” Saban said. “Like here Alabama, which is supposed to play Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Florida State in the future outside of the (SEC).
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Nick Saban and his family are honored with the renaming of Nick Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on September 7, 2024. (Gary Cosby Jr.-USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
“Well, these are great games for fans to see – and that’s what I think we should do in college football, it creates more inventory of great plays that people are interested in – but is it that you encourage people who want to do this where is the athletic director going to do, he could cancel all these games now, knowing that the SEC is pretty tough.
Saban said, however, that he believes the top 12 teams in college football are represented in this category.
“But at the same time, I think the best teams will make the playoffs, which I think is the most important thing,” Saban said. “And no coach should complain about their situation entering or exiting the playoffs, because they all controlled their own destiny and they all had opportunities. They had flaws and bad losses that contributed to their situation.
Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer during warmups before the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (Will McLelland-USA Today Sports)
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“So it could be a learning lesson for every team and every individual on those teams.”
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