Alabama can huff and puff about the College Football Playoff committee until itās blue in the face. Eventually, the Crimson Tide is going to have to take a look in the mirror.
Should Alabama have been included in this yearās 12-team field? Probably. Even at 9-3, the Tide has the same amount of ranked wins (3) as Boise State (2), Penn State (1), Indiana (0), SMU (0) and Texas (0) combined. Still, despite Greg Byrneās threats to pack up his toys and cancel upcoming playdates with high-profile opponents, scheduling and strength of schedule werenāt what sunk Alabamaās season.
The committee wasnāt on the field when Alabama allowed Vanderbilt to convert 12 of 18 third-down attempts during a 40-35 loss to the Commodores. It wasnāt screaming from the stands when the crowd inside Neyland Stadium rattled the Tideās offense in a 24-17 loss at Tennessee. To the committeeās credit, it gave roughly the same amount of effort as Jalen Milroe when it came to chasing down Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis during his 49-yard interception return in Alabamaās 24-3 loss to the Sooners.
Alabamaās disappointing season is a culmination of several flaws from a team that likely had little shot of taking home a title even if it had seen its playoff ticket punched. As Kalen DeBoer works to fix those heading into his second year with the program, hereās a look at the seven deadly sins that ultimately did in his team during his first season at the helm.
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Should Alabama have been included in this yearās 12-team field? Probably. Even at 9-3, the Tide has the same amount of ranked wins (3) as Boise State (2), Penn State (1), Indiana (0), SMU (0) and Texas (0) combined. Still, despite Greg Byrneās threats to pack up his toys and cancel upcoming playdates with high-profile opponents, scheduling and strength of schedule werenāt what sunk Alabamaās season.
The committee wasnāt on the field when Alabama allowed Vanderbilt to convert 12 of 18 third-down attempts during a 40-35 loss to the Commodores. It wasnāt screaming from the stands when the crowd inside Neyland Stadium rattled the Tideās offense in a 24-17 loss at Tennessee. To the committeeās credit, it gave roughly the same amount of effort as Jalen Milroe when it came to chasing down Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis during his 49-yard interception return in Alabamaās 24-3 loss to the Sooners.
Alabamaās disappointing season is a culmination of several flaws from a team that likely had little shot of taking home a title even if it had seen its playoff ticket punched. As Kalen DeBoer works to fix those heading into his second year with the program, hereās a look at the seven deadly sins that ultimately did in his team during his first season at the helm.
Tony's take: The seven deadly sins that sunk Alabama's season
Tony Tsoukalas takes a look at the flaws that undid Alabama's playoff hopes this season.
