Alabama missing last season's College Football Playoff is a hot topic once again at SEC spring meetings in Destin, Florida. It's certainly at the top of Greg Sankey's mind as he ponders the future of the College Football Playoff and the SEC's place in the NCAA.
It's only natural that after everything Sankey had to say that Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer would get asked about the Crimson Tide missing last year's playoff. His response has him and Alabama getting ripped on social media:
Of course, there was a legitimate argument for the Tide to make last season's playoff over the likes of SMU and Indiana. Objectively, they had a better resume than both of those teams even with three losses. But at the end of the day, Alabama missing the playoff is nobody's fault other than Alabama's.
Would Indiana or SMU have gone 9-3 against Alabama's schedule? No, probably not. But that's irrelevant. The only relevant fact is that Alabama did go 9-3 against their own schedule. And in no world should the Tide have lost three games.
The road loss to Tennessee was certainly understandable. The Vols were a playoff team, and that loss had zero impact on Alabama missing the playoff. But Alabama also lost road games to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma, two teams that finished the regular season with 6-6 records.
The Tide could have survived one or the other and still made the 12-team field. Not both.
You could chalk the Vanderbilt loss up to a fluke. Alabama started slow and couldn't recover, but statistically, Alabama's loss was unlikely. According to Bill Connelly's post-game win expectancy, Vanderbilt's chances of winning was 1.8%.
Alabama could have overcome that, though. They had everything in front of them and then completely no-showed in late November against Oklahoma.
And if Alabama was disappointed to miss the playoff and looking to prove a point in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Michigan, it didn't show. Alabama fell to the Wolverines in a game they were favored by more than two touchdowns.
Putting last season behind him is in Kalen DeBoer's best interest
Last season was a big disappointment for Alabama football and its fans. But that is in the past and needs to stay there.
DeBoer and his staff have a lot of momentum at the moment. Alabama has folks around the country believing again that this team can contend for a National Championship after many quickly wrote the obituary following last year's four-loss season.
DeBoer can't help what questions are asked of him by the media. But his best move would be to side-step those questions in the future and tell reporters he's only looking forward to 2025.
Reliving the 2024 season isn't in his best interest. It just frustrates fans of the program who have begrudgingly offered him a mulligan.
There is a lot of excitement around the program right now. Recruiting is going well. The staff expertly navigated the spring Transfer Portal window. They look like a real contender for next season.
The focus should be squarely on 2025 now. 2024 is a thing of the past and needs to stay there.