It’s been said for years that teams playing in conference championship games won’t be penalized for losses when it comes to College Football Playoff rankings. That might be put to the test on Sunday when the 12-team 2025-26 tournament bracket is set and announced (11 a.m. CT, ESPN)
Following Saturday’s results, when just about everything didn’t go the Crimson Tide’s way, chances are the committee will end up picking two just teams between Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami for the final at-large spots.
Did Alabama do enough to get in after being the first team out last year? Will the committee switch it and Notre Dame in the rankings after moving the Crimson Tide ahead of the Fighting Irish last week? Might Miami leapfrog one or both despite not playing this week?
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This is to put the team resumes next to each other to make them easier to compare, but before doing so we’re going to make two assumptions:
That No. 11 Brigham Young (12-2) is out of the mix after getting routed in the Big 12 Championship Game to Texas Tech. Why? Their only win against a ranked opponent this season was 24-21 over then-No. 24 Utah.
Unranked Duke won’t be seriously considered by the selection committee despite winning the ACC Championship Game in overtime against Virginia. Even with the win, the Blue Devils finished 8-5.
That means the ACC will be out of the playoff if Miami doesn’t get in.
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To fill in a couple of details, one of the changes from last year was that only the top five conference champions in the rankings secure the automatic bids. Consequently, James Madison will squeeze in instead. In case you missed, it, Duke played in the ACC title game in Charlotte after a five-way tie for second place in the league standings, which was finally broken by the sixth tiebreaker.
Tulane, No. 20 in last week’s CFP rankings, will be the No. 11 seed.
Two of these teams will be in the top 10 and still alive for the national championship. Unless the selection committee makes a change with the teams that were idle this week (Ole Miss without Lane Kiffin?) the No. 9 team will visit Oklahoma, and the No. 10 team will draw Texas A&M.
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SEE ALSO: Kalen DeBoer Makes Final Pitch to CFP Committee After SEC Championship Loss
Alabama Crimson Tide
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CFP Ranking Last Week: 9 Record: 10-3 Did it play in conference championship: Yes, but not well, losing to No. 3 Georgia. Wins over ranked teams: at then-No. 5 Georgia 24-21; No. 16 Vanderbilt 30-14; No. 14 Missouri 27-24; No. 11 Tennessee 37-20 Losses: at Florida State in season opener, 31-17; No. 11 Oklahoma 23-21; No. 3 Georgia in SEC Championship Game 28-7. Note: First team in SEC history to beat four ranked opponents on four subsequent Saturdays. Went 2-2 over final four games.
Strength of schedule last week: 11 Strength of record last week (ESPN): 8 BCS computers last week: 8
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
CFP Ranking Last Week: 10 Record: 10-2 Did it play in conference championship: No. Wins over ranked teams: Then-No. 20 USC 34-24; at No. 22 Pitt 37-15 Losses: 27-24 at then No. 10 Miami in season opener, 41-40 to No. 16 Texas A&M Note: Won 10 straight, but didn’t beat a top-15 team.
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Strength of schedule last week: 42 Strength of record last week (ESPN): 13 BCS computers last week: 10
Miami Hurricanes
CFP Ranking Last Week: 12 Record: 10-2 Did it play in conference championship: No. Wins over ranked teams: Then-No. 6 Notre Dame 27-24 in season opener; No. 18 South Florida 49-12; at No. Florida State 28-22; at No. 22 Pitt 38-7 Losses: Louisville 24-21; at SMU 26-20 OT Note: Beat Notre Dame, and a team that defeated Alabama, Florida State.
Strength of schedule last week: 44 Strength of record last week (ESPN): 14 BCS computers last week: 13
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Texas Longhorns
CFP Ranking Last Week: 13 Record: 9-3 Did it play in conference championship: No. Wins over ranked teams: Then-No. 6 Oklahoma 23-6; No. 9 Vanderbilt 34-31; No. 3 Texas A&M 27-17 Losses: at then-No. 3 Ohio State 14-7; at Florida 29-21; at No. 5 Georgia 35-10 Note: It had three regular-season losses, which was the difference for the Crimson Tide not making it last year. Texas is arguing that it shouldn’t be penalized for its season-opening loss against Ohio State. You could say the same then for Alabama and Notre Dame.
Strength of schedule last week: 8 Strength of record last week (ESPN): 12 BCS computers last week: 15
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Vanderbilt Commodores
CFP Ranking Last Week: 14 Record: 10-2 Did it play in conference championship: No. Wins over ranked teams: Then-No. 11 South Carolina 31-7; No. 10 LSU 31-24; No. 15 Missouri 17-10; at No. 19 Tennessee 35-24 Losses: at then-No. 10 Alabama 30-14; at No. 20 Texas 34-31 Note: Best team in Vanderbilt history? The problem is the Commodores lost to two other teams in this group, Alabama and the one directly ahead of it, Texas.
Strength of schedule last week: 22 Strength of record last week (ESPN): 11 BCS computers last week: 12
Alabama football hosted a hometown kid for an official visit last weekend when it got Jeremiah Beverley on campus for an official visit.
Beverley attends Hillcrest High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and ESPN currently has him rated as a four-star recruit. He is considering Alabama, Cincinnati, Wake Forest and others.
The Crimson Tide offered Beverley earlier this month and got him on campus for an official visit last weekend. The Alabama target told Touchdown Alabama he used the visit to learn what the Tide has planned for him if he commits.
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“I’m truly happy that I went on that official visit,” Beverley said. “Blessed for that. All I was talking about was the next step, what I got to do? So, just knowing what they have planned for me, knowing what they have set for me.”
At 6-foot-2 and 235 pounds, Beverley makes plays for Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa as a defensive end. Alabama has plans to use him similarly at the next level.
“They’re going to have me at wolf mostly,” Beverley said. “I know coach (Kane) Wommack and coach (Christian) Robinson, I think they see me at other positions, but I know it is guaranteed they’re going to see me at Wolf and me working my way up on special teams, and they expect that out of me.”
Beverley is expected to announce a commitment decision on Friday.
Watch Jeremiah Beverley’s Highlights Below:
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
Alabama football is hiring Noah Fisher to be its assistant tight ends coach, according to CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz.
Fisher spent two seasons as a graduate assistant working with the offensive line and tight ends at Louisville before joining the Tide’s staff. He played three years on the offensive line at South Alabama and spent one season with Tulane. The Jaguars started Fisher along its offensive line when he was a player for multiple games.
The Crimson Tide appear to want to use their tight ends in multiple ways in the future including as extra blockers along the line of scrimmage. Fisher looks as if he can assist the Tide with this mission.
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Justin Smith is the Managing Editor and Lead Writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine with over 10 years of writing experience & expertise. Smith has consistently delivered high quality, extensively researched information on the University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide football team that fans can trust. Smith is official credentialed media with the University of Alabama under Touchdown Alabama Magazine. He is also the Director of Recruiting for Touchdown Enterprises, specializing in scouting and analyzing high school recruits around the nation, specifically focusing on recruits within the state of Alabama.
PRICHARD, Ala. (NBC 15) — Sewage overflows during storms in Prichard are sending wastewater into local waterways that feed Mobile Bay, prompting an environmental group to push for state funding to upgrade aging infrastructure.
Mobile Baykeeper says sewage overflows during storms flow into Three Mile Creek, then into the Mobile River, and ultimately end up in Mobile Bay. The group said that last week, during heavy rain, more than 256,000 gallons of sewage spilled into Gum Tree Branch and Three Mile Creek.
Mobile Baykeeper has launched a petition seeking funding from the state of Alabama to fix Prichard’s old water infrastructure.
