Urban Meyer claims leaving Alabama out of College Football Playoff would have set a bad precedent

Urban Meyer said if the College Football Playoff committee left Alabama out of the field, it would set a bad precedent moving forward. The Crimson Tide, despite finishing 10-3 and losing the SEC Championship Game, stayed right at the No. 9 spot and will play at No. 8 Oklahoma in the first round.

There was some conversation about if Alabama could be dropped to keep Notre Dame in the field, given that Miami jumped up during the final week. But Meyer said if you make the SEC or Big Ten Championship, those two teams should be in the playoff regardless.

“But you better take more consideration who teams play,” Meyer said on The Triple Option. “And that was my whole deal with Alabama, you know? And you cannot set the precedent that would have been an awful thing to set. You finish in the top two in the SEC, (you go to the) playoff, man. I mean, I don’t know what else to say. It’s over. It’s done, you’re in the playoffs. So whenever someone has something to say about that, go coach in the SEC one time, or go play in it. I’ll challenge you any day of the week. If someone says, ‘Well, you finished second in the SEC,’ you’re in a playoff. (I feel) the same about the Big Ten. 

Alabama deserving of College Football Playoff spot?

“Those two conferences are better than the other conferences. Does that mean that that’s going to change everything? But you finish in the top two or those two, that conversation ceases. You go play your Big Ten Championship game for a ring, but do not say, ‘Well, you know, you played that extra game.’ Stop it. You know, I don’t, first of all, I don’t understand anyone that says anything other than that, if you get my point.”

Even head coach Kalen DeBoer admitted there was some anxiousness after not winning the SEC. When it’s not in your control, it can be nerve wracking.

“Yeah, when it’s not in your control, there’s always anxious times,” DeBoer said. “Just really still felt good about what we accomplished all season long, and you just trust that that that resume, I guess, if you want to call it that, is what’s going to provide the information to help make this type of decision.”

To Meyer’s point about Alabama leaving it “in the hands of the judges,” to use a fighting term, BYU was dropped down in the rankings after losing the Big 12 title game. But for those using that example, the Cougars were not in the field going into Saturday’s conference championship.