Iowa football: A look at preseason predictions that aged quite poorly
By Matt Opad
The Playoff would pick a 2-loss Alabama over a 1-loss conference champion
From 2014 to 2018, Alabama was the one constant behind the College Football Playoff. It was natural to believe that one spot was reserved for Alabama.
I am actually still surprised that this prediction was wrong. Since USC fell from the list of elite teams, I have been hearing about how great the SEC was.
Most of the success of the SEC was driven by Alabama, so I made the assumption that Alabama would get a bit longer of a leash than anyone else.
That portion of this prediction is still true. Alabama was ranked fifth – ahead of every other one-loss team except Georgia – prior to their game against Auburn.
It seemed likely that a one-loss Alabama would be ranked above the one-loss Big 12 champion. The Crimson Tide lost their final game to Auburn, however, and dropped all the way down to number 12.
They would drop one more spot after the conference championship games.
Not only did a two-loss Alabama not receive consideration for the College Football Playoff, but they also dropped out of contention for a New Year’s Six Bowl. I am still shocked by this development.
Touché College Football Playoff Committee. That prediction did not age well.