Nick Saban questions strength of schedule factor in CFP as Alabama misses field

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Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban took aim at strength of schedule being a true factor when it came to rankings and seeding for the College Football Playoff on Sunday.

Saban watched as his old team was left out of the 12-team field while SMU was able to get into the bracket despite losing the ACC Championship to Clemson. Alabama was seeded No. 11 in the penultimate rankings but failed to find its way into the final bracket reveal.

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Former Crimson Tide head football coach Nick Saban watches a basketball game between Alabama and the Texas A&M Aggies at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa on Feb. 17, 2024. (Gary Cosby Jr.-USA Today Sports)

Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne pointed out late Saturday that the Crimson Tide were No. 3 in opponents’ winning percentage and had three wins against teams in the CFP poll before the bracket was released. He wrote on X that "strength of schedule matters."

But Saban suggested on ESPN that Alabama may have been thought more highly of if strength of schedule truly mattered.

"I think one of the things that I’ve mentioned throughout this football season is if we don’t take strength of scheduling into consideration, is there any benefit to scheduling really good teams in the future," Saban said. "Like, here at Alabama, who’s supposed to play Notre Dame, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Florida State in the future outside of the (SEC).

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Nick Saban and family are honored with the renaming of the Nick Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Sept. 7,