Alabama AD Greg Byrne sends message to College Football Playoff committee on nonconference scheduling

Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne had an interesting take on how the nonconference schedule affects its College Football Playoff chances. The Crimson Tide defeated Georgia on Saturday to claim the SEC Championship, strengthening its case to be included in the top four and compete for a national title.

However, thanks to a nonconference loss against Texas in Week 2, there’s still some debate as to whether Alabama will get in. It’s assumed the Longhorns will make it after winning the Big 12 title and that Washington will also get in thanks to an undefeated season and Pac-12 Championship. That means the Big Ten and ACC Championships will play great importance as Michigan and Florida State also hope to finish unbeaten and make the Playoff.

If both teams win, there’s a possibility that Alabama could still end up getting left out despite its SEC title victory. Byrne explained Saturday that could deter the Crimson Tide from scheduling nonconference Power 5 opponents in the future.

“If we would have played a Group of Five game instead it Texas, there’d be no debate right now,” Bryne said according to Nick Kelly of the Tuscaloosa News.

If Alabama and Georgia were to miss the College Football Playoff, it would mark the first time the history of the CFP that no SEC team made the field. However, there’s still debate as to whether the Crimson Tide could get in even if Florida State and Michigan both win.

The Wolverines would still likely be in if that scenario played out, but questions remain on the Seminoles. FSU lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury, and there is doubt as to whether it is still a top four team without him. That being the case, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Alabama moved into the fourth spot.

Ultimately, there is some truth to what Byrne said about the nonconference schedule. There would be no question an undefeated SEC champ team would make the Playoff, and Alabama could have accomplished that if it scheduled an easier opponent than Texas.

Still, these are the games that fans love to see early on, and not having them would make things less interesting. Ultimately, we’ll have to wait to see how everything plays out before the final CFP rankings are announced Sunday at noon ET.

Alabama, Texas getting better odds to make College Football Playoff than Florida State, Georgia

As college football conference title games shake out, the College Football Playoff picture is starting to come ever-so-slightly more into focus. And head of the slate of evening games — namely the ACC and Big Ten championship games — DraftKings offered some updated odds on the four teams likely vying for the final two spots.

Assuming Michigan wins against Iowa and Florida State beats Louisville, the Seminoles, Alabama, Georgia and Texas would likely be the four main contenders for spots No. 3 and 4. Michigan and Washington would likely have the top two spots sewn up in that scenario.

The odds for those four teams to make the playoffs are as follows, according to DraftKings:

• Alabama: -550
• Texas: -300
• Florida State: +130
• Georgia: +650

Similarly, DraftKings offered some odds for those same four teams to not make the CFP field:

• Georgia: -1000
• Florida State: -160
• Texas: +240
• Alabama: +400