Greg McElroy makes case College Football Playoff committee will view Alabama differently than AP poll

For now, college football is ranking teams based on the AP poll. In just a couple of weeks, the College Football Playoff rankings will be introduced, giving us an idea of where teams really stand. As ESPN’s Greg McElroy points out, years past have provided a big difference between the AP poll and CFP committee.

“We’ve kind of cast a couple programs aside because the AP poll is a little bit different than the College Football Playoff committee’s poll, more than likely,” McElroy said Tuesday. “They have long valued great wins. Teams with outstanding and high ceiling, with high talent level, and chances of potentially going off and knocking off some of the top teams.”

One team, in particular, stands out to McElroy on this topic — the Alabama Crimson Tide. Following the loss to Tennessee, Alabama is No. 15 in the AP poll, the program’s lowest ranking since the end of the 2010 season. Add in the slip-up against Vanderbilt and two losses is not where Kalen DeBoer wanted to be at this point of the season.

But there is a massive outlier for the Crimson Tide after beating Georgia on Sept. 28 in Tuscaloosa. McElroy calls it the “best win in college football.” He wonders how the committee will value that despite having a two in the loss column.

“Right now, the best win in college football is Alabama,” McElroy said. “Alabama beat the No. 2 ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Right now, Georgia is the No. 1 one-loss team. So, how will that factor in?”

Alabama does have one game remaining before the CFP rankings are unveiled. Missouri comes to town on Saturday for a ranked matchup, another potential positive point in the Crimson Tide’s resume. A bye week will then take place before the top 25 is released on Nov. 5.

Get a win in Tuscaloosa against Missouri and McElroy believes there is a chance for a two-loss Alabama team to be placed higher than their No. 15 spot in the AP poll.