Boo Corrigan addresses importance of head-to-head when ranking Alabama, Texas

In Week 2, Alabama suffered its only loss of the season when Texas came into Bryant Denny Stadium and got the 34-24 victory. It was a rare double-digit loss for Nick Saban on his home turf, and at the time, it looked like the Crimson Tide had a long road to the College Football Playoff.

Things have changed for both teams since. Alabama has rattled off eight consecutive victories since that night while three of Texas’ past four wins have come in one-possession games. In the latest CFP rankings, though, Texas still ranked ahead of Alabama. The Longhorns and Crimson Tide held at No. 7 and No. 8, respectively, in Tuesday night’s reveal.

In light of their recent games, some wondered if Alabama would jump in front considering the blowout nature of its last few wins. According to CFP committee chair Boo Corrigan, that head-to-head matchup is a key part of the conversation. Ultimately, though, he said conference championships will be vital.

“Again, two really good teams,” Corrigan said on a post-reveal show teleconference. “Alabama’s continued to improve and Jalen Milroe has gotten better each week. As we look at it, the importance of the head-to-head is there, just as conference championship are. … The debate in the room continued to be strong as we’re going through this and making sure that we’re looking at everything as we gather more information.

“Teams are different. Texas has Quinn Ewers back after being gone for a couple weeks. We’ll continue to look at it, but head-to-head certainly is important.”

Inside the numbers: A look at Alabama and Texas’ latest stretches as conference championship sprints begin

Over Alabama’s last five victories — two of which were one-score games — the Crimson Tide have won by an average of 20.4 points as Milroe has found his stride at quarterback. Texas started out the year with a 23.2 point differential through its first five victories, but that number has dropped to 10.5 during the Longhorns’ four-game winning streak. One of those wins was a 35-6 trouncing of BYU.

Alabama has already locked up its spot in the SEC Championship, doing so in grand fashion. The Crimson Tide flew past Kentucky 49-21 behind yet another monster game from Milroe, who accounted for six total touchdowns. They’ll take on Georgia in the conference title game Dec. 2.

Texas is on track for a Big 12 Championship appearance and can secure a berth with a victory over Iowa State, and a victory would make the conversation very interesting when it comes to that fourth spot in the field.