Alabama football kept its CFB Playoff run intact as the No. 4 seed and will face Clemson at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.
It’s on Alabama football fans, the Championship chase continues with a rematch against Clemson. The Tide will take on the No. 1 seed Tigers in a familiar home of Alabama football greatness, the Superdome in New Orleans.
The Alabama football and Clemson semi-final contest will take place on January 1st at 7:45 PM CST. Earlier on the same day, the Rose Bowl semi-final will pit Oklahoma and Georgia.
Why the Playoff Selection Committee chose the Tide over the Buckeyes
Shortly after the top six slots were announced, ESPN’s Rece Davis interviewed the CFB Selection Committee chair, Kirby Hocutt. Hocutt’s response was direct and concise. Bottom line, he said the committee believed that Alabama football is the better team. He stressed the committee analyzed the ‘full body of work’ from the entire season.
That ‘body of work’ became more important than a conference or even a division championship. For Alabama football fans, the committee’s decision was not difficult. The Crimson Tide’s one loss was a 12-point deficit against the final ranked No. 7 Auburn Tigers. Not only did Ohio State have two losses, but one of those losses was by 31-points to a five-loss Iowa team.
For the rest of the college football world, the Tide’s ‘body of work’ did not include enough wins against top teams. Tide fans are relieved the committee disagreed. ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said in advance he believed Alabama was the nation’s fourth-best team. Almost immediately after the committee’s decision was announced, Herbstreit was shocked the Tide was chosen over the Buckeyes. Kirk explained,
"The committee put politics aside and make it clear they were not into appeasing people’s agendas."
Herbstreit was correct about both the committee’s decision and the avowed purpose of the CFB Playoff selection process since the committee’s formation. The purpose and the process was and are to select the best four teams each season.
Conventional wisdom since the Playoff era began has been another purpose of the committee was to exclude two teams from the same conference. Herbstreit believed the committee would be ‘politically correct’ and not put two SEC teams in the Playoff field. The conventional wisdom was wrong.
Fans across the nation will disagree but almost across the board, the ESPN pundits quickly embraced the committee did the right thing. Admittedly, ESPN is adept at reverting to spin mode any moment. There will be other media ‘gurus’ who will disdain the committee’s decision.
The Tide and Clemson
The rematch will be filled with drama. The third game in three years, two of which determined the national champion. Two programs tied together by coaching legacies. Two programs that do not have to feign mutual respect.
As the No. 1 team, the Tigers will be favored. The line will shift as news evolves about the health of the trio of Tide, still-healing linebackers. The game will be a war between two of the best defenses in college football. Even though it is a semi-final it will have the feel of the national championship game. Who could ask for more? Not Alabama football fans.
Next: Tide-Clemson equal to Cavs-Warriors?
Bama Hammer will be all over every aspect of the big semi-final contest. For the Tide and the Tigers, preparation started before the CFB Playoff selection show ended. The buildup to the game will overshadow the other semi-final.