Bama Bias is Real

By Mark Nagi

So, there’s an adage that states you aren’t paranoid … if they are out to get you.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think the earth is flat.  But there are some conspiracies that make too much sense not to have at least a little credibility. With that, I give you college football and the University of Alabama.

Keep in mind that I’m writing this article right before the final College Football Playoff rankings are announced.  But whether Alabama gets in or not, the fact remains that the Playoff Committee continues to bend over backwards to assist the Crimson Tide.

Let’s go back two years to when Tennessee and Alabama were each fighting to get into the 4-team playoff.  Both teams finished the regular season 10-2, but Tennessee had the head-to-head win over Alabama, they have a better strength of schedule than Alabama, and in terms of similar opponents, Tennessee destroyed LSU 40-18 in Baton Rouge, while the Crimson Tide lost to the Tigers in Baton Rouge.

But the committee chose to put Alabama 5th, just ahead of Tennessee. following the season-ending injury to Vols QB Hendon Hooker. In the CFB Playoff principles, it states that they’ll consider “other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.”

Backup QB Joe Milton wasn’t at Hooker’s level, but he did lead the Vols to a blowout shutout of Vandy and then was named Most Valuable Player following Tennessee’s Orange Bowl win over Clemson.

Let’s go back one year when Alabama was fighting for a playoff spot once again. This time, the committee placed 12-1 SEC champion Alabama 4th, ahead of 13-0 ACC champion Florida State. Never before had an undefeated Power 5 conference champ been left out of the playoff. But the committee bent over backwards once again for Alabama, and once again used an injury as an excuse after Seminoles QB Jordan Davis broke his leg.

I maintain that the committee knew Alabama head coach Nick Saban was going to retire and did everything they could to get the Tide into the playoff one last time, even if it meant ignoring all precedent.

And that brings us to 2024. This 9-3 Alabama team is not very good. They needed a late charge to pull away from South Florida. They lost a close game in Neyland Stadium and fell at 6-6 Vanderbilt. Two weeks ago, they got blown out at 6-6 Oklahoma, scoring only 3 points. Last week they turned the ball over 4 times in a shaky 28-14 win over 5-7 Auburn.

But the committee looked at a September win over Georgia and a tight two-point win in October over South Carolina and was convinced (as of December 7) that they deserved to be in the field of 12. They favored Alabama over 10-2 Miami, and fellow 9-3 SEC rivals Ole Miss and the Gamecocks.

Head-to-head doesn’t matter… until it benefits Alabama.

Heck, in 2017 an 11-1 Alabama team that didn’t win their own division got the 4th spot over an 11-2 Big 10 champion Ohio State, even though the Buckeyes had more ranked wins. That time, the committee couldn’t overlook a 31-point loss by Ohio State at Iowa.

In 2011 even the BCS computers were in on the act. They favored an 11-1 Alabama which didn’t win their own division over Big 12 champ Oklahoma State, setting up an LSU/Alabama title game rematch … and the outrage led to the 4-game playoff that started in 2014.

No matter the playoff system, Alabama gets the benefit of the doubt.

I thought all of this would change when Saban retired. I was naïve. In the future, we will be better off knowing that it is an 11-team playoff, with Alabama already given a spot.

College football is not a meritocracy. It favors big brands.