CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek defends keeping Alabama at No. 9 in official bracket, rankings

College Football Playoff committee chair Hunter Yurachek defended Alabama‘s No. 9 ranking during the CFP bracket reveal on Sunday. ESPN’s Rece Davis grilled the Arkansas athletic director on several controversial decisions the committee made in their final rankings which sent a three-loss Alabama team to the playoffs and left Notre Dame out.

Yurachek noted that when you look at the complete resume of Alabama, Miami and Notre Dame — the Crimson Tide was the most impressive on paper. That’s why they ended up ahead of the Hurricanes, which controversially bumped Notre Dame out of the playoffs.

“We evaluated all of those conference championship games,” Yurachek told Rece Davis. “(We) felt like, in the end, regardless of Alabama’s performance yesterday, their body of work in those first 12 games where they had probably the best win, arguably this season, winning at No. 3 Georgia, having to win against Vanderbilt, wins against Tennessee as well.

“Their strength to schedule was the highest in the top 11. We felt like in spite of their performance yesterday in the conference championship, they deserve to stay at in that nine spot.”

Alabama’s loss to Florida State, which finished the year with a 5-7 record, in the season opener was major cause of concern for the Crimson Tide to begin the year. However, Kalen DeBoer’s squad would bounce back by winning its next eight games. This included a four-game stretch where Alabama played — and beat — Georgia and Missouri on the road, and Vanderbilt and Tennessee at home. All four of those matchups were against teams ranked in the top 14 of the AP poll at the time Alabama beat them.

The Crimson Tide’s slot at No. 9 led to Miami being ranked 10th, and Notre Dame being pushed outside of the final field of 12 entirely. The Irish had been slotted in front of the ‘Canes since the start of the CFP rankings this season, but controversially leapfrogged Notre Dame on selection Sunday.

Alabama becomes the first team to secure an at-large bid into the College Football Playoff as a three-loss team. Clemson made it last year with three losses, but did so as the fifth highest-ranked conference champion after upsetting SMU in the ACC title game.

They’ll face Oklahoma in the first round of the playoffs in Norman. Kickoff is set for Friday, Dec. 19 at 8 p.m. ET live on ABC/ESPN.