The first 12-team College Football Playoff is here and we're just a few hours away from Indiana kicking off in South Bend against Notre Dame in the first playoff game ever played on a campus.
At this point, most Alabama fans are over the disappointment that came with missing the playoff in favor of SMU; the sole focus for Tide fans recently has been the Transfer Portal and pending NFL Draft decisions. The focus is on 2025 roster building as the current team continues preparation for New Year's Eve's matchup with Michigan in Tampa for the ReliaQuest Bowl.
Perhaps begrudgingly, most Alabama fans will watch the College Football Playoff even though they probably told people they wouldn't out of disgust for the Tide missing and the current state of affairs in the sport.
We are all football fans after all, and seeing something brand new for the first time like playoff games on campuses is sure to produce at least a cursory viewing.
Let's take a look at each of the first-round playoff games and examine the rooting interests for Alabama fans:
An Alabama fan's guide to this year's College Football Playoff
No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame - 12/20 @7pm CST
This one is pretty easy. For most Alabama fans, rooting for Notre Dame is never going to happen. They hate the team from South Bend and the only way that probably would have been different is if Tennessee was the team traveling to face the Fighting Irish instead. Then perhaps the rooting interest would have been for an apocalyptic event instead.
This one is made easier by the fact that Indiana is a scrappy underdog that has never been in this kind of position. They're also coached by former Alabama assistant Curt Cignetti, whose swagger and confidence is impossible to dislike.
He's built the Hoosiers in his image, and Alabama fans everywhere will be cheering for Cignetti to lead Indiana to an upset tonight against the Golden Domers.
Rooting for: Indiana
Prediction: Notre Dame 27, Indiana 21
No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State - 12/21 @11am CST
Even for those of us over Alabama's exclusion for this year's playoff - and to be frank, most Tide fans didn't think Alabama deserved to be anyway - watching SMU in this year's playoff will sting a little. It'll be even more frustrating if Penn State wins this game in a rout and we're left wondering "what if?" about Alabama's chances of taking down the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley.
I think most Crimson Tide fans are too frustrated with SMU for not beating Clemson and/or not laying down and getting blown out by the Tigers. Their close loss in the ACC Championship kept Alabama out of the playoff. No Bama fans are going to root for SMU here.
A blowout would allow each of us to say "we told you so" which is a solid consolation prize.
Rooting for: Penn State
Prediction: Penn State 31, SMU 21
No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas - 12/21 @3:00pm CST
Never Dabo. I don't care that he's an Alabama alumnus. He's the direct reason Alabama missed this year's playoff - yanno, aside from the three losses. All Clemson had to do was not blow a three-score fourth-quarter lead and allow the game to be close at the end. Otherwise, all he had to do was lose, which he's gotten pretty good at the last couple of years.
Not only that but then Dabo caped super hard for SMU's inclusion into the playoff over his alma mater. Every Bama man is against you now, Dabo.
I believe most Alabama fans still have a soft spot for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, who was excellent in his time at the Capstone as the team's offensive coordinator. He was the playcaller for Alabama's dominant 2020 National Championship team that had one of the greatest offenses of all time.
This one is easy unless you are related to Dabo. I also think it's probably the biggest mismatch of the first-round games.
Rooting for: Texas
Prediction: Texas 34, Clemson 17
No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State - 12/21 @7:00PM CST
This one isn't as cut and dry as you might think. A LOT of Alabama fans have severe disdain for Ohio State. So much that it would not surprise me if some of them would (gulps) root for the Viles, er, Vols in Columbus.
Ohio State fans have not endeared themselves to Alabama fans over the years with a lot of trash talk and Big Ten chest-thumping against the SEC. It doesn't help, either, that the Buckeyes landed coveted Tide transfer Caleb Downs last year. There are still a lot of hurt feelings over that one.
For me, though, none of that trumps my deep-rooted hatred of Tennessee. I cannot and will not root for Tennessee. Against anyone. In the rare occasions that Tennessee has played Auburn, I can't even watch because that much orange at one time would require bleach to the eyeballs.
I have no love lost for Ohio State, but I'm a Buckeye for three hours on Saturday night. I think that's the losing side, though.