In possibly the most shocking twist yet, CFP selection committee has ranked Alabama and Miami in bowl game slots. Notre Dame has decided to remove themselves from consideration. Alabama ended the very competitive 2023 season on a high note with a terrific No. 9 ranking. Miami was a very close second, taking No. 10 overall. Regardless of which team comes out victorious, they’ll be immediately tested by a powerhouse in the first round of the state playoffs.
Oklahoma, now the No. 8 team in the country, is set to take on Alabama in a highly-anticipated showdown. The stakes are high as Alabama looks to prove its worth after edging out Notre Dame for a playoff spot. On the other side of the playoff spectrum, Miami, who faces a ranked opponent next week in No. 7 Texas A&M.
Unsurprisingly, the Hoosiers occupy the top spot in the rankings as the No. 1 overall seed. These Oregon and Ole Miss follow closely, in 5th and 6th place. Oregon will match up against James Madison in the first round and Ole Miss will meet Tulane. This new playoff structure would showcase the cutthroat, gladiatorial machinations at work in college football and the heavy-hearted deliberations of the selection committee.
The decision to leave Notre Dame out was deeply regretted by a lot of angry fans. We have made a similar commitment, especially when Notre Dame announced that they would turn down any bowl game invites after the 2025 season.
“As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season.” – Notre Dame
The selection committee had difficult head-to-head matchups to make among teams competing for the final playoff slots. In an interview afterwards, committee member Hunter Yurachek provided insight into the factors that shaped their decision-making for placing teams.
“Once we moved Miami ahead of BYU, then we had that side-by-side comparison that everybody had been hungering for.” – Hunter Yurachek
As teams prepare for their upcoming matchups, all eyes will be on how Alabama and Miami perform in their respective games. The policy ramifications from these playoff decisions will have long-term effects for both teams and their upcoming seasons.
“You look at those two teams on paper, and they are almost equal in their schedule strength, their common opponents, the results against common opponents. But the one metric we had to fall back on, again, was the head to head.” – Hunter Yurachek
As teams prepare for their upcoming matchups, all eyes will be on how Alabama and Miami perform in their respective games. The implications of these playoff decisions will have lasting effects on the teams involved and their future seasons.