Neither debate nor deliberations are over, but Alabama has gained considerable ground as college football's best two-loss team. ESPN's FPI model ranks the Crimson Tide as better than any other two-loss team and also better than one-loss teams Miami, Indiana, Wake Forest, and Texas Tech, and even better than the FBS's two undefeated teams, Utah and UCLA. At 9-0, the No. 27 ranked Bruins are just one spot higher than the 5-4 Florida Gators.
Forget the claims that, being an ESPN product, the FPI is SEC-biased. It is just lots of numbers compared against lots of numbers. That doesn't make right or wrong about any one team. Texas A&M at 4-5, also ranked above UCLA, may appear illogical, but it's not the result of pro SEC-bias.
Alabama Crimson Tide College Football's Best Two-Loss Team
Another recent source, Matt De Lima of SI.com, graded the top two-loss teams. Alabama, ranked No. 1, was the only team to receive an 'A' grade. Four of his top six two-loss teams are SEC teams, with only one each from the Big 12 and the Big Ten.
Only two other teams scored in the 'A' range: No. 2 Texas with an A-, and No. 3 Tennessee, also with an A-. No. 4 BYU and No. 5 Iowa received B+ grades. The No. 7 through No. 9 ranked teams, Houston, USC, and Arizona, received 'B' grades. Ranked from No. 10 through No. 13, Duke, SMU, Louisiana Tech, and North Texas received 'B-' grades.
Seven additional FBS teams were graded from 'C+' down to a 'D+' for No. 20 Toledo.
If the CFB Selection Committee is looking for justification to maintain Alabama's No. 3 ranking, it's available from multiple sources. De Lima's rankings are subjective, but an objective data set provided by Brian Fremeau ranks Alabama, Texas, and Georgia as the best Playoff teams.
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