SEC Analysts Provide Their Thoughts on Alabama’s CFP Dilemma

ATLANTA, Ga. - The Alabama Crimson Tide will play in the SEC Championship tomorrow, Saturday, December 6, against the Georgia Bulldogs. Alabama got here by going 7-1 in the SEC, with five of the Tide's eight games in conference play coming against opponents ranked at the time of the game. Alabama's lone loss in the conference was a two-point loss to Oklahoma, where Alabama turned the ball over three times.

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Alabama's resume includes ranked wins over Missouri, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt, and arguably the best win of the country over now-No. 3 Georgia in Athens, Georgia. And yet, the Crimson Tide is sitting on the bubble of the College Football Playoffs while three other SEC teams sit at home after not making the conference championship.

Alabama finished as the one seed after the SEC regular season, with that head-to-head win over Georgia being what gave Alabama the nod over Georgia as the top team after eight regular season conference games were played. With the gauntlet of the schedule that the Crimson Tide has faced, multiple SEC analysts think the Crimson Tide should be in, regardless of the outcome of tomorrow's SEC championship.

"There is not a world where the SEC runner-up should be left out of a 12-team playoff," former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers said, "and I would say the same thing if the exact same scenario were happening in the Big Ten.

"I think the Big Ten and the SEC are the two premier conferences in the entire country. The depth, the talent that they have, in my eyes, there's no way that the runner-up of either conference should ever be left out. I don't care if Alabama loses by four touchdowns. They should be in the playoffs because they still have one of the best wins, at Athens, beating Georgia, and then they'd be 1-1 against them. I think no matter how it shakes, both Alabama and Georgia (obviously) should both be in."

Former Alabama safety Roman Harper echoed the sentiment about the Crimson Tide, stating the best team in the best conference should not be left out, regardless of the SEC championship outcome.

"Yes, I totally do (think Alabama should be in CFP with a loss). 1,000% confident in saying that, and it's because - everybody on the outside says the SEC is the best conference in football," Harper said. "I don't know if you agree? You do. Regular season-wise, in the standings, the number one team in the conference is Alabama. So, how do you all of a sudden not put the number one team in the standings into the College Football Playoffs because they lose the championship game, when you didn't do that last year with SMU?

"If like is like, you have to allow them to go out there. I think the committee protected themselves by putting them in front of Notre Dame, which they should've been the whole time, but I'm not on the committee. I think the one that has a lot to say about this that's not getting enough words or people valuing their resume, is BYU. The real conversation should be about BYU versus Notre Dame. BYU's resume stacked up against Notre Dame is really good, and possibly better, and they have a conference championship data point. Those are all the things that we say that matters to us, but when it comes down to it, the committee still puts teams where they want to put them, and they'll also put a team like Iowa, with four losses, in the back half to kind of support why they have a couple of teams in the top 15. Not like I'm paying attention, though."

Alabama will face Georgia in the SEC Championship on Saturday, December 6, at 4:00 p.m. ET. Our coverage of the SEC Championship is brought to you by Pearl River Resort and the Sportsbook at Golden Moon Casino.

Wyatt Fulton is the Tide 100.9 DME and Brand Manager, primarily covering Alabama Crimson Tide football and men's basketball. For more Crimson Tide coverage, follow Wyatt on X (Formerly known as Twitter) at @FultonW_.