If Alabama misses the College Football Playoff it only has one team to blame: Alabama

There's only one team to blame for the Alabama Crimson Tide if it ultimately misses the College Football Playoff. That blame doesn't go to Clemson for beating SMU, but not blowing them out. The blame doesn't go to SMU for losing a game that, had they won, would've punched the Crimson Tide's ticket.

No, the blame rests solely on the shoulders of Alabama itself. The Crimson Tide should have never been in this position. A flawed team for sure, but one that was too talented to lose three games in the manner in which they did.

Alabama has one of college football's best wins. They beat the eventual SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs in Tuscaloosa at the end of September. Unfortunately, the Tide followed that up by losing to Vanderbilt on the road. A much improved Commodores team, to be clear, but still one that finished just 6-6.

A loss to Tennessee a couple of weeks later could be forgiven. The Volunteers finished the regular season 10-2 and are a lock to make the playoff. That road game in Knoxville was always going to be one of the most challenging games on the Tide's schedule.

Coming out of Knoxville, Alabama blew out Missouri 34-0 heading into the bye week. On the other side of it, the Crimson Tide looked dominant again in a rout of LSU in Baton Rouge, a game that deluded fans into believing this team had officially turned the corner.

That came crashing down to earth the following week in Norman in one of the most lifeless offensive performances in two decades in a 24-3 loss to Oklahoma. Ultimately, it was the loss to the Sooners that weighed on the Tide's playoff resume like cinder blocks on your shoulders. A second loss to a .500 team, even with three ranked wins banked, was always going to be tough to overcome.

Do I think Alabama should make the playoff over SMU? Absolutely. I think calling the ACC a Power-4 conference at this stage is a stretch. And the Mustangs enjoyed a comfortable schedule and got into the playoff without winning a single game over a Top-25 opponent.

The committee was in a lose-lose situation, though. The easy result would have been an SMU win handing Clemson a fourth loss and no questions about the Tigers' playoff viability. Instead, the committee had to pick between two evils:

One, you pick Alabama and punish SMU for playing in a conference championship game after having the Mustangs ranked No. 8 before the ACC title game.

Two, you pick SMU and delegitimize strength of schedule. The Mustangs played the No. 75 strength of schedule. All schedules, and all conferences, aren't created equally.

You can quibble over either argument, and both teams have cases to be in the playoff. But at the end of the day, you'll have a hard time finding a Crimson Tide fan who truly believed Alabama deserved to be in the playoff.

I wanted Alabama to make it. I was rooting for that outcome. But, ultimately, the Tide was its own worst enemy and the only reason it will be sitting at home and watching 12 other teams compete for a national championship.