For the past decade, the college football playoffs have consisted of the four best teams meeting in two national semi-finals. However, in one of the many changes coming to the sport in 2024, the most notable will be the expansion of the playoffs to include 12 teams. The hope is that the expansion will include several different fan bases as opposed to teams like Alabama Crimson Tide, Georgia Bulldogs and Clemson Tigers dominating the competition.
While the SEC and Big Ten will still make up the majority of the teams in the field, the Big 12, ACC and the Group of 5 will have an automatic bid as well.
Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports released his post-spring top-25 after getting to see all transfers and spring games finalized and CBS released their own projected playoff field based off his rankings. Dodd has the Crimson Tide ranked No. 5 in the country following spring ball behind Georgia, Ohio State Buckeyes, Oregon Ducks and Texas Longhorns. So, if the season ended tomorrow the Crimson Tide would finish No. 7 in the final playoff rankings behind those four teams as well as conference champions Clemson and Utah despite being ranked higher.
In this new era, the top four teams get a first-round bye, so the Crimson Tide would host No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Tuscaloosa. The winner would then go on take on Ohio State in the Rose Bowl according to this simulation.
Despite the coaching change in Tuscaloosa, Alabama will be in the thick of the playoff hunt as they are every year. [autotag]Kalen DeBoer[/autotag] has already proven he can win at the highest of levels, and Jalen Milroe is arguably the best player in college football. It’s going to be an absolute blast of a season, that is for sure!
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