Alabama AD suggests CFP snub will impact schedule: 'Not good for CFB'

Alabama's exclusion from the first edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff could affect how the program builds its schedule moving forward.

The 9-3 Crimson Tide are on the outside looking in, with the committee selecting 11-2 SMU as the final at-large berth Sunday.

While the Mustangs had two more wins than Kalen DeBoer's team, the strength of schedule between the two programs wasn't close. Alabama held the 16th-ranked strength of schedule nationally, while SMU sat 60th. Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said the committee not putting more weight on strength of schedule will affect the program's approach.

"We have said that we would need to see how strength of schedule would be evaluated by the CFP," Byrne wrote in a post on X. "With this outcome, we will need to assess how many (Power 4) nonconference games make sense in the future to put us in the best position to participate in the CFP. That is not good for college football."

Alabama went 4-0 in its nonconference schedule and has no say in how the SEC slate breaks down each year. The main reason the Crimson Tide aren't in the playoff is a 5-3 record in conference play, with a shocking 24-3 loss to a 6-6 Oklahoma team ultimately being the deciding factor. That was the lowest point total in a game by an Alabama team since 2004. That loss was the third in a season that also featured the Crimson Tide's first defeat to Vanderbilt since 1984.

The SEC only plays eight league games, while other top conferences put nine on the schedule. Ohio State is entering the playoff with a nonconference schedule that featured two MAC teams and a C-USA opponent, but the ninth Big Ten game gave the Buckeyes the same number of Power 4 contests as the Crimson Tide.

Alabama joined Ole Miss and South Carolina as SEC teams just outside the CFP field. The three combined for a perfect 12-0 nonconference record this season while going 15-9 in conference.