“We looked at the number of wins that Alabama had against ranked opponents,” Manuel said on ESPN. “We looked at SMU’s schedule, and they were undefeated in conference. Their losses were to ranked teams. But we also looked at Alabama’s loss to unranked teams, and it was quite a debate.
“I mean, we value strength of schedule. That’s why Alabama, as a three-loss team, is ranked ahead of other teams that have two losses. It is something that we talk about quite a bit. But in the balance of it, in the way SMU played in that game, losing on the last-second field goal, great win by Clemson, great game. We just felt that in this particular case, SMU still had the nod at 10 above Alabama.
“But it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. It’s merely looking at the entire body of work for both teams.”
“I mean, we value strength of schedule. That’s why Alabama, as a three-loss team, is ranked ahead of other teams that have two losses. It is something that we talk about quite a bit. But in the balance of it, in the way SMU played in that game, losing on the last-second field goal, great win by Clemson, great game. We just felt that in this particular case, SMU still had the nod at 10 above Alabama.
“But it’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule. It’s merely looking at the entire body of work for both teams.”
