Sports

Alabama snubbed? The Crimson Tide’s case for Playoff inclusion was better than some admit

Published

1 year ago

December 8, 2024

Alabama snubbed? The Crimson Tide’s case for Playoff inclusion was better than some admit

Taking up the cause for Alabama and the SEC feels like going to bat for Apple or Amazon. It’s fighting for a tax break for Elon Musk or Warren Buffet. It’s rushing to the defense of the biggest bully on the block the one time somebody gets in a shot that knocks him to his knees.

Yet here I am, making the case for the Crimson Tide as the team the College Football Playoff selection snubbed from the first 12-team field.

I do like having an ally in the greatest coach of all time. ESPN’s Nick Saban, dressed in a crimson jacket on the selection show, tried to avoid sounding like a shill for the program he spent 17 years running, but his stance came through loud and clear.

“All wins are not the same as other wins,” Saban said during ESPN’s excruciatingly long lead-in to revealing the bracket Sunday. “In other words, what we’ve always done publicly in college is look at record. We don’t look at strength of schedule. We don’t look at all those types of things.”

This is a left-brain (analytical thinking), right-brain (emotional processing) deal.

If the committee truly had looked at “those types of things,” if this was more of a data-driven process, Alabama would be in the Playoff instead of SMU.

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Strength of schedule metrics vary, but most come to a similar conclusion about Alabama and SMU. The Crimson Tide’s schedule was more rigorous. ESPN’s FPI has Alabama playing the 18th toughest schedule and SMU the 57th toughest.

Most power rankings, which are forward-looking analytics, have Alabama ahead of SMU. The Athletic’s own modeler, Austin Mock, would have Alabama as a six-point favorite on a neutral field against SMU.

Years of recruiting rankings will tell you Alabama has one of the most talented rosters in the country and that the SEC is where the most good football players can be found. The SEC got three teams (Georgia, Texas, Tennessee) in the bracket, one fewer than the Big Ten and one more than the ACC.

“As someone with access to college tape and staff of 11 former NFL scouts that logged hundreds of hours evaluating this CFB season, it’s easy to see why SEC coaches are upset with the final playoff bracket,” Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy posted on X. “Based strictly off future NFL talent, Alabama, South Carolina, & Ole Miss (and you can even throw in Florida, Texas A&M, and LSU for that matter) are all easily in Top-12.”

I get it. Alabama always seems to get the nod from the selection committee. When in doubt, go with the team that made the CFP eight times in 10 years when it was a four-team format — and won it three times.

Even last year, the committee bypassed unbeaten Florida State — because it lost star quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury — in favor of one-loss Alabama.

Do we really need to give the benefit of the doubt to the worst Alabama team in almost two decades, one that lost games to Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, both of which would not have been bowl-eligible if they hadn’t beaten the Tide? Most Alabama fans don’t even think their team had a good year.

Left brain or right brain?

How much did rallying around SMU have to do with the Mustangs’ story — a four-decade climb back from the NCAA death penalty — more than their resume? It sure would have felt awful to keep them out of the Playoff after they lost the ACC Championship Game on what will go down as one of the greatest, clutchest kicks in the history of college football by Clemson’s Nolan Hauser.

“When the announcement happened, honestly, I got emotional, just because I’m so happy for our kids,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said on ESPN. “They’ve worked so hard. They’ve won 22 games in the last two years. They laid it all on the line last night. We lost heartbreaking at the end to a great opponent.”

The Mustangs put the committee in a difficult position and exposed a glaring flaw in the system, adding to the reasons the CFP needs to do away with its weekly in-season rankings during the season’s final month.

So much talk heading into conference championship weekend was about how much a team should be penalized for losing a title game. The committee’s answer was resounding: not much. Texas, Penn State and SMU all lost their conference title games. All were very competitive. None dropped more than two spots from last week’s rankings.

The rankings show is just that: a show. Content that helps get people talking about the Playoff in November. There is value to that. It is understandable that the conference commissioners who run the CFP would want to control the process instead of letting fans use the AP Top 25 to speculate about what the Playoff race looks like down the stretch.

“I do believe it’s good for us to release our ranking, because our ranking is out there and competes with two others, the AP and the coaches,” committee chairman Warde Manuel said. “So I think it’s important, since they release a weekly ranking, that at the appropriate time in the season … that we release how we’re thinking so people are not surprised in analyzing and trying to figure out how the committee is thinking about things.”

The chairman has a talking point that the committee starts each week with a blank sheet of paper when it begins ranking teams.

But Manuel also said last week that teams not playing on championship weekend were done being evaluated. They could move around based on the movement of other teams that were playing for league titles, but the order of teams such as Alabama, Miami, South Carolina, etc., was set.

Saban pointed out the problem with SMU and Alabama was SMU entering the weekend ahead in the first place, and maybe he’s right. SMU should have been playing its way into the field instead of playing its way out in the ACC Championship Game, he said.

“Playing in (the SEC), and I played in this conference for over 20 years, and when you have to go play Tennessee, then you have to go play LSU, then that team that you play next, now you might be more vulnerable to,” Saban said.

Saban, Greg Sankey, the SEC and Alabama don’t make for the most sympathetic victims, nor should they be viewed that way.

Defending them all feels like demanding that the spoiled kid who seems to have all the toys also gets a pony — or in this case, the Ponies’ spot in the Playoff.

But it’s hard not to admit that when you crunch the numbers, they have a point.

(Photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images)

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Sports

Sherrone Moore appears red-eyed in booking photo after Michigan firing, arrest

Published

6 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Sherrone Moore appears red-eyed in booking photo after Michigan firing, arrest

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Sherrone Moore’s booking photo was released about a week after the former Michigan Wolverines football coach was fired from his job and arrested on several charges.

Fox News Digital obtained the booking photo of Moore on Thursday. The picture showed a red-eyed Moore appearing downcast in the Washtenaw County Jail in Michigan.

Sherrone Moore’s booking photo was obtained by Fox News Digital on Dec. 18, 2025. (Washtenaw County Jail)

The photo’s release came as new details emerged in the Moore scandal, including allegations that he “had a long history of domestic violence” against the staffer with whom he allegedly maintained an inappropriate, yearslong relationship.

Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital revealed allegations made by the staffer’s attorney, Heidi Sharp, on the day that Moore allegedly entered her home without permission, which later resulted in his arrest.

Moore appeared in a Washtenaw County court on Friday, where his bond was set at $25,000 and included several conditions, including no contact with the alleged victim in the case. A not guilty plea was entered for him.

Prosecutors detailed the alleged events that led up to Moore’s arrest, including that Moore had engaged in an “intimate relationship” with the Michigan staffer for “a number of years” and that the woman had broken up with him two days before his arrest.

Former Michigan football coach Sherrone Moore appears via video in court in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on Dec. 12, 2025. (Ryan Sun/AP Photo)

MICHIGAN FOOTBALL RECRUITS DE-COMMIT FROM PROGRAM AMID SHERRONE MOORE SCANDAL

Prosecutors accused Moore of contacting the staffer via phone calls and texts after the breakup, prompting the victim to contact the University of Michigan and cooperate in its investigation. Moore was subsequently fired from his position as head football coach, which prosecutors said prompted him to show up at the woman’s home.

Moore then allegedly “barged” his way into the residence, grabbed a butter knife and a pair of scissors and then began threatening his own life. According to prosecutors, Moore allegedly told the staffer, “My blood is on your hands” and “You ruined my life.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Moore’s attorney for comment.

Moore faces a felony charge of home invasion in the third degree and two misdemeanor charges of stalking and breaking and entering without the owner’s permission. He was released on bond and is due back in court on Jan. 22.

Sherrone Moore, then-of the Michigan Wolverines, looks on during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium on November 22, 2025 in College Park, Maryland. (Chris Bernacchi/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

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Moore took over as head coach for Jim Harbaugh when he left to take the Los Angeles Chargers’ job.

Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj contributed to this report.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

Sports

High school basketball: Boys’ and girls’ scores from Wednesday, Dec. 17

Published

6 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

High school basketball: Boys’ and girls’ scores from Wednesday, Dec. 17

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

BOYS
CITY SECTION
AMIT 59, Sun Valley Magnet 38
Bernstein 71, Contreras 26
Crenshaw 55, King/Drew 39
Fulton 50, Vaughn 48
Hollywood 104, Belmont 10
LA Hamilton 71, Downtown Magnets 69
MSAR 67, Valor Academy 56
MSCP 84, Larchmont Charter 25
Northridge Academy 59, VAAS 12
Orthopaedic 69, Animo Bunche 34
RFK Community 73, Jefferson 70
Royal 54, Mendez 52
View Park 55, Bell 48
Wilmington Banning 62, Elizabeth 26

SOUTHERN SECTION
Arroyo 54, South El Monte 50
Chadwick 91, Paramount 63
Damien 66, Aquinas 41
Downey 57, Workman 22
Edgewood 52, West Covina 43
Flintridge Prep 80, ISLA 15
Gabrielino 91, Mountain View 46
Garden Grove 58, Irvine University 56
Hemet 56, Valley View 55
Highland 68, Lancaster 34
Hillcrest 57, Orange Vista 56
Indian Springs 64, Citrus Valley 55
Laguna Beach 70, Costa Mesa 46
Lakeside 54, Canyon Springs 50
La Palma 69, Westminster 18
Maricopa 47, Laton 17
Moreno Valley 52, Arlington 42
North Torrance 75, Bellflower 30
Pasadena Marshal 75, El Monte 51
Peninsula 65, Redondo Union 63
Perris 63, Riverside North 62
Pilgrim 71, Westmark 39
Public Safety Academy 51, River Springs Charter 44
Quartz Hill 76, Antelope Valley 44
Redondo Union 76, Peninsula 18
Riverside King 61, Chaparral 55
Riverside Poly 54, Liberty 43
Samueli Academy 49, Bolsa Grande 48
San Fernando Academy 71, Summit View 19
Segerstrom 66, Loara 38
Sierra Vista 62, Covina 58
Temple City 51, El Rancho 46
Thousand Oaks 65, Shalhevet 38
Torrance 76, El Segundo 37
Vista del Lago 57, Heritage 51

INTERSECTIONAL
Dorsey 60, Lawndale 55
Grace 68, Panorama 34
LA Roosevelt 42, Alhambra 39
San Gabriel 50, Maywood CES 23
Westchester 48, Compton Centennial 36

GIRLS
CITY SECTION
AMIT 25, Sun Valley Magnet 20
Bernstein 56, Contreras 13
Cleveland 64, North Hollywood 24
Hollywood 63, Belmont 13
King/Drew 60, Crenshaw 12
Larchmont Charter 36, MSCP 33
MSAR 42, Valor Academy 29
Orthopaedic 28, Animo Bunche 5
Rancho Dominguez 31, Elizabeth 20
South East 51, Lakeview Charter 23
Washington 65, Fremont 10

SOUTHERN SECTION
Agoura 65, Simi Valley 38
Buena Park 78, Westminster 29
Citrus Valley 43, Indio 24
Covina 56, Garey 25
CSDR 71, Victor Valley 33
El Modena 37, Edison 29
Flintridge Prep 85, Westridge 9
Gabrielino 81, Mountain View 4
Hemet 51, Valley View 24
Jurupa Valley 29, Indian Springs 20
Knight 81, Littlerock 8
Lancaster 60, Highland 40
Laton 29, Maricopa 8
Liberty 59, Citrus Hill 28
Los Altos 59, Anaheim 42
Los Amigos 39, Saddleback 19
Mira Costa 54, West Torrance 50
Newbury Park 53, Oxnard Pacifica 34
Oxnard 50, Santa Paula 42
Quartz Hill 57, Antelope Valley 18
Rancho Verde 46, Perris 19
Ramona 56, Gahr 29
Rancho Christian 100, Heritage 41
Riverside North 47, Vista del Lago 34
Riverside King 63, Xaxier Prep 38
Riverside Poly 73, Paloma Valley 38
River Springs Charter 35, Public Safety Academy 15
San Gabriel 46, Edgewood 26
San Gabriel Academy 63, Compton Centennial 62
Savanna 52, Costa Mesa 38
South El Monte 24, Arroyo 21
Thousand Oaks 69, Shalhevet 39
Torrance 74, El Segundo 36
Upland 44, Rosemead 27
Woodbridge 48, Century 6
Yorba Linda 64, Placentia Valencia 44

Sports

Josh Allen reflects on growth he’s made since joining Bills and becoming expectant father

Published

18 hours ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Josh Allen reflects on growth he’s made since joining Bills and becoming expectant father

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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen has had a terrific 2025.

He and his wife, actress and singer Hailee Steinfeld, got married in June and last week he announced the two were expecting their first child together. Not to mention, he started the year being awarded the NFL MVP trophy.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) passes against the New England Patriots during the second half of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Allen expressed some appreciation for how he’s grown as a person since he arrived in Buffalo in 2018 as his life took him from a small town in California to Wyoming to the NFL and on the brink of leading a championship-starved city to a Super Bowl appearance.

“Yeah, I guess it’s like the evolution of life,” he said Wednesday. “I consider this place my home. It’s where I’ve done a lot of growing up. And it’s a place that I’ll raise a family. It’s really cool.”