College football is currently in an ongoing debate over the playoff format, and teams that have fallen victim to the automatic bid system are slowly starting to speak out individually. Recently, Crimson Tides’ head coach shared his frustration after his team was snubbed from the playoffs last season, despite finishing with a 9-3 record in the conference.
Kalen DeBoer Addresses CFP Snub and Alabama’s Challenging 2024 Schedule
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer has finally opened up about the College Football Playoff committee’s decision to leave the Crimson Tide out of the 2024 playoff. He expressed frustration over how the committee handled Alabama’s demanding schedule. He believes the team’s brutal schedule wasn’t given the respect it deserved.
Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer on being left out of last year’s College Football Playoff: “You wonder what would have happened if other people would have played our schedule”
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) May 27, 2025
The playoff system favors conference champions, which hurt Alabama’s chances last season. Even though Alabama had the 20th most challenging schedule in the nation, teams like SMU, Arizona State, Clemson, Indiana, and Boise State got playoff spots because they won their conferences.
Let’s not forget just how hard their 2024 slate was. They had a tough non-conference trip to Wisconsin and had to survive an SEC schedule that featured road games against Vanderbilt, Tennessee, LSU, and Oklahoma. Close losses to Oklahoma (24-3) and Vanderbilt (40-35) hurt badly in Alabama’s case since the committee weighs bad losses heavily.
Despite this, Alabama’s 9-3 record was still impressive in any context. And it was DeBoer’s very first year with Alabama, following the legendary Nick Saban. Living up to that legacy isn’t easy, but DeBoer stepped up and proved he was the right guy for the job.
On Tuesday, DeBoer addressed the controversy, saying, “You wonder what would have happened if other people had played our schedule,” DeBoer said. “We haven’t held back. How do you figure out strength of schedule from conference to conference when you don’t play as many games as in basketball & other sports?”
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Looking ahead, Alabama’s 2025 schedule is becoming tough again. It ranks 11th in strength of schedule nationally. The Crimson Tide will face strong SEC rivals like Georgia, LSU, Tennessee, and South Carolina. Non-conference games against Florida State and Wisconsin will add to the challenge. They also have road games at Missouri, Vanderbilt, and Oklahoma.
This means Alabama faces another difficult path to the College Football Playoff. Once again, the strength of their schedule will significantly impact their postseason hopes.
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