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Nick Saban cites strength of schedule when asked about Alabama's College Football Playoff chances

Matt Connollyby: Matt Connolly12/06/24MattConnollyOn3
Nick Saban
Sara Diggins | American-Statesman | USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Alabama is in position to reach the College Football Playoff, despite having three losses on the season. The Crimson Tide are ranked ahead of two-loss teams Miami, Arizona State, Iowa State and plenty of others.

Former Alabama coach and current ESPN college football analyst Nick Saban believes the Crimson Tide have rightfully earned a spot in the CFP, regardless of what happens this weekend in championship games.

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Saban pointed to Alabama’s strength of schedule and impressive wins as reasons for the Tide to be ranked in the top 12. Alabama has top-15 wins over Georgia and South Carolina on its resume.

“I do think that strength of schedule, and what teams did you beat, how many good teams did you beat? I think that speaks volumes about what kind of team you’re capable of being,” Nick Saban said Friday on The Pat McAfee Show. “And I think there’s a lot of ups and downs in college football, probably the system has created that to some degree. It’s more difficult to be consistent.”

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Nick Saban went on to point out that there are some teams that are going to make the College Football Playoff with no ranked wins on the season.

Texas, SMU and Indiana are all ranked in the top 10 of the CFP rankings, despite having no wins over teams currently ranked in the top 25. Texas and SMU are set to play ranked teams in championship games this weekend, while Indiana will enter the playoff with no ranked wins.

Saban feels that rewarding teams who don’t have ranked wins is a bad precedent to set.

“I don’t think we want to do anything in this playoff situation that’s going to enhance people not to play a tough schedule,” Saban said. “I think we want people to play a tough schedule, because you want good games. People want to see good games. You want people to play in those games.

“And you want them to schedule some tough nonconference games. So I don’t think we want to enhance people that won 10 or 11 games and didn’t play one top 25 team or didn’t beat one top 25 team.”