As a result of the Alabama Crimson Tide missing out on the College Football Playoff (CFP) in favor of the SMU Mustangs this past Sunday, there has been some talk surrounding college football on the impact of scheduling.
In particular, should teams from conferences such as the SEC and Big Ten schedule tougher non-conference opponents, or should they play arguably lesser teams in the non-conference to pick up wins?
Well, Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne commented on this topic Sunday in a statement on social media, which was posted shortly after the Crimson Tide missed the CFP in favor of SMU.
“Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the 12 best teams in the country,” Byrne said. “We had an extremely challenging schedule and recognize there were two games in particular that we did not perform as well as we should have.”
“We have said that we would need to see how strength of schedule would be evaluated by the CFP. With this outcome, we will need to asses how many P4 non-conference games make sense in the future to put us in the best position to participate in the CFP. That is not good for college football.”
“With that said, we do not need to hang our heads and now need to finish this season strong. We have a great group of young men who have led us with Coach DeBoer through the last year and we look forward to our opportunity in the ReliaQuest Bowl.”
During the 2024 season, Alabama played a total of four non-conference opponents, only one of which came from a Power 4 conference – Western Kentucky (CUSA), South Florida (AAC), Wisconsin (Big Ten), and Mercer (FCS level). Of those four, only Wisconsin was the lone team to not finish with a record either at, or above, .500.
Next season, Alabama’s non-conference schedule is headlined by a trip to Florida State, while the Crimson Tide will host ULM, Wisconsin, and Eastern Illinois. The year after in 2026, Alabama will travel to West Virginia, as well as host South Florida and Florida State.
In the future, Alabama also has notable home-and-home matchups set with the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2027-28, as well as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2029-30.
So, will Alabama’s way of scheduling non-conference opponents change going forward? Time will ultimately tell.
Disappointed with the outcome and felt we were one of the 12 best teams in the country. We had an extremely challenging schedule and recognize there were two games in particular that we did not perform as well as we should have.
We have said that we would need to see how…
— Greg Byrne (@Greg_Byrne) December 8, 2024