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Opinion: Alabama making playoff wouldn’t be a farce; just more of the same unwritten rule

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Opinion: Alabama making playoff wouldn’t be a farce; just more of the same unwritten rule


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The College Football Playoff committee publicly lists only four specific criteria it uses to rank teams. That list includes strength of schedule and head-to-head competition.  

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But a fifth unwritten nugget has become apparent throughout the playoff’s existence: Alabama always, always, always will receive the benefit of the doubt.

You didn’t really think the committee would embrace Miami, Mississippi or South Carolina over Alabama for the final spot in this 12-team bracket, did you? That Script “A” casts a spell on the committee. The Alabama brand endures, even after it loses 24-3 to an opponent that finished 6-6.

Of course Alabama would become the first three-loss team admitted into the 12-team playoff. Who else would it be?

Mississippi, with its lavish history that includes never appearing in the SEC championship game? Not when a storied blue blood like Alabama shares Ole Miss’ 9-3 record.

Sorry, Rebels, you looked awfully good smashing Georgia and South Carolina. And you do use the script font on your helmets, but there’s no “A” in Ole Miss.

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Just last year, the committee chose 12-1 Alabama over 13-0 Florida State. That became the only time an undefeated Power Four champion got left out of the four-team playoff.

And in 2017, Alabama joined Ohio State as the only teams from a conference to ever qualify for the playoff without winning their division. That Alabama squad went on to win the national championship, giving future CFP committees permission to keep awarding the Tide the benefit of the doubt.

This latest feat would be the Tide’s most impressive, reaching the playoff despite losing to two 6-6 teams, one of which is Vanderbilt.

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ACC title game still matters to CFP bracket

Alabama hasn’t quite pulled this off. The committee, during Tuesday’s rankings update, slotted the Tide to the 11 seed, earmarking for Alabama the final at-large spot. The ink is not dry.

The committee could redirect that final at-large bid to SMU or Boise State if either loses its conference championship game to bid-stealing Clemson or UNLV, respectively.

SMU ranks three spots ahead of Alabama; Boise State sits one spot ahead of the Tide.

SMU or Boise State can only really feel safe, though, if they win their conference crowns and capture the accompanying auto bids. Forget the rankings: Do you really trust that if SMU loses to Clemson in the ACC championship game, the committee would favor the Mustangs over Alabama?

Can’t you just hear CFP committee chairman Warde Manuel explaining the group’s pick of Alabama over SMU? While the committee respects SMU’s 11 victories, let’s not forget that just a few weeks ago, Alabama destroyed Mercer.

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Alabama getting playoff bid wouldn’t be like last season’s farce

A year ago, Alabama farcically qualified over Florida State, the ACC’s undefeated champion, because the Seminoles’ quarterback got hurt, and the committee’s crystal ball said FSU wouldn’t hold up in the playoff without its quarterback, even though it had just beaten Florida on the road without its quarterback.  

In contrast, this is no farce. It’s just a show of Alabama getting the crimson rose to emerge from a bubble full of flawed résumés.

Legitimate reasons exist to anoint Alabama as the least-bad choice. Listen to Manuel spell out the rationale for putting Alabama ahead of 10-2 Miami.

“Alabama is 3-1 against current top-25 teams, and Miami is 0-1,” Manuel explained on ESPN. “Alabama is 6-1 against teams above .500, and Miami is 4-2.”

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Can’t argue that. Alabama wouldn’t be a good choice, because no good choice exists. Miami would be a worse choice. Alabama’s strength of schedule outranks that of Miami and Ole Miss, the two teams directly behind Alabama in the rankings.

The Rebels lost on their home field to Kentucky, the SEC’s second-worst team, and Miami lacks a signature victory. That’s the thing about expanding the playoff from four to 12 teams. The more teams you add, the worse an at-large playoff résumé looks, and the better a 9-3 blue blood looks.

Of the mangled collection of bubble teams, I would have chosen Ole Miss, by virtue of its dominant victories against Georgia and South Carolina. No playoff team would want to play the Rebels when they’re at their best, but they had their chances, and they blew enough of them, so dry your tears.

How about another 9-3 team, South Carolina? Well, the Gamecocks lost to Alabama and got blown out by Ole Miss, so forget that.

Last year, the committee snubbed a deserving, undefeated team. This year, it’s difficult to vigorously argue that anyone is truly getting snubbed, in the purest sense of the word.

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Anyway, you had to see this coming.

Although you won’t find it listed in the CFP rules, because it’s unwritten, by now we all understand: If the committee can find any reason to select Alabama, it will.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer. Subscribe to read all of his columns.





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Alabama

Man sexually abused child at north Alabama daycare run out of home, authorities say

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Man sexually abused child at north Alabama daycare run out of home, authorities say


A man was arrested Tuesday after authorities said he sexually abused a child two years ago at a daycare run out of a private home in north Alabama.

Kevin Dewayne Franklin, 50, was charged with first-degree sodomy and sexual abuse of a child less than 12, according to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office.

Franklin is being held without bond in the Marshall County jail pending an Aniah’s Law hearing.

Deputies finished their investigation into Franklin in October 2023 following allegations he sexually abused a child at a daycare in a private home in the Nixon Chapel community.

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Franklin was related to the owner of the daycare, who also lived at the home.

The daycare has since closed, authorities said.

The Marshall County District Attorney’s Office along with sheriff’s office investigators presented the case to a grand jury in November.

Franklin was arrested Tuesday by patrol deputies.



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Alabama

Gov. Kay Ivey salutes new Miss America from Alabama: 'Incredibly deserving of this honor'

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Gov. Kay Ivey salutes new Miss America from Alabama: 'Incredibly deserving of this honor'


Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey offered her congratulations to the new Miss America, Abbie Stockard, in social media posts this week. Stockard, who competed for the national title as Miss Alabama, won the national crown on Sunday, Jan. 5, in Orlando, Florida.

“Our very own Miss Alabama, Abbie Stockard, has won the title of Miss America!” Ivey said in a Sunday night post on X (formerly Twitter). “I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Abbie, and I know firsthand what an outstanding young woman she is. She is incredibly deserving of this honor. Congratulations, Abbie!”

Ivey also trumpeted Stockard’s win with the same message in an Instagram reel and Facebook story.

Stockard, who grew up in Vestavia Hills, is the fourth Miss Alabama to become Miss America and the first Miss America from Alabama in 20 years. She’s following in the footsteps of previous winners Deidre Downs, Miss America 2005; Heather Whitestone, Miss America 1995; and Yolande Betbeze, Miss America 1951.

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READ: Who is Abbie Stockard? Miss America 2025 is the fourth winner from Alabama

Ivey and Stockard share a kinship as sorority sisters, through Auburn University and Alpha Gamma Delta. Stockard, 22, is a nursing student at Auburn University and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. Ivey, 80, an Auburn alum, pledged the sorority in the 1960s.

Stockard traveled to Montgomery to meet Alabama’s governor in October 2024, about four months after her win as Miss Alabama. “What an honor it was to meet with Alabama’s Governor, Kay Ivey!” Stockard said in an Instagram post. “We had a wonderful time discussing my work for Cystic Fibrosis advocacy across the state and giving a glimpse into the next few months as I prepare for Miss America!”

Stockard’s philanthropic platform as Miss Alabama, and now as Miss America, is Be the Change: Find a Cure — Cystic Fibrosis Awareness.

Another Miss Alabama winner with Auburn ties, Lauren Bradford, met Ivey in Montgomery after her win in the state pageant. Bradford, Miss Alabama 2021, is an Auburn University alum and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. She was named first runner-up at Miss America 2022.

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“I had a great visit with Miss Alabama 2021 Lauren Bradford today discussing her historic win as the 100th Miss Alabama, our @auburnalphagam sisterhood, our beloved @auburnu & most importantly #COVID19 vaccinations,” Ivey said in an Instagram post on Aug. 5, 2021. She and Bradford can be seen in a video clip saying, “Get vaccinated, Alabama!”

The Miss Alabama organization posted about Bradford’s meeting with Ivey on Facebook, saying “Thank you, Governor Ivey, for your hospitality.”





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CJ Hines hits game-winner, scores 23 as Alabama State rallies to beat UAPB 93-91

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CJ Hines hits game-winner, scores 23 as Alabama State rallies to beat UAPB 93-91


Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — CJ Hines scored on a layup at the buzzer and finished with 23 points as Alabama State rallied to beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff 93-91 on Monday night.

Hines also contributed six rebounds for the Hornets (6-9, 2-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Amarr Knox added 20 points and Micah Octave scored 13.

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The Golden Lions (3-12, 0-2) were led by Doctor Bradley, who scored a career-high 35 in his second game of the season. Bradley, a junior who had a career-best 30 points in his first game, added seven rebounds and seven assists. Christian Moore had 19 points and Caleb Jones scored 15.

Alabama State rallied after trailing 50-41 at halftime.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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