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College football fans, media furious over Alabama’s ranking

Derek Peterson

By Derek Peterson

Published:

The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season were released Tuesday night. The SEC had seven of the top 10 spots, including the biggest surprise of the night: Alabama at No. 2.

The Crimson Tide were the highest-ranked 1-loss team in the field and ahead of 3 high-profile unbeatens in No. 3 Michigan State, No. 6 Cincinnati, and No. 8 Oklahoma. That the Tide were high in the initial rankings wasn’t much of a surprise given the respect paid to coach Nick Saban’s track record and the Tide’s success despite a reloading year, but their presence at No. 2 certainly caused an uproar.

“A fair amount of conversation was had about Alabama—where they’ve come from, where they’ve been, who they’ve played and beaten (Mississippi, Mississippi State), how well they’re playing,” said CFP chair Gary Barta. “There was a lot of consensus for Alabama to be No. 2. Then after that, it became, from 3-9, we probably spent a few hours yesterday and this morning working through 3-9 because there were several different ways to approach it.”

Despite the explanation, some (most?) college football fans were left scratching their heads with regards to Alabama’s placement. Several folks were crying foul. Here’s a sampling of what was said:

https://twitter.com/jasonkersey/status/1455676043155714051?s=20

https://twitter.com/NicoleAuerbach/status/1455676939721662467?s=20

https://twitter.com/SchutteCFB/status/1455679829836275718

 

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.