Legendary Alabama head coach Nick Saban sat at his home and talked on ESPN‘s College Football Playoff selection show about SMU snagging the final spot in the inaugural 12-team playoff.
There had been a number of reminders throughout the year but that visual was the ultimate reminder— welcome to your new reality Alabama.
After a decade and a half of dominating both the SEC and college football as a whole with the greatest dynasty the sport has ever seen, the Crimson Tide went 9-3 (5-3 SEC) and missed the expanded 12-team playoff in their first season under head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Alabama had an incredibly topsy turvy season. They made a statement early in the year with a marquee victory over Georgia before stumbling in the Volunteer State at Vanderbilt and Tennessee in October. The Crimson Tide regained their footing with ranked wins over Missouri and LSU.
More From RTI: Kickoff Time, Broadcast Details Set For Tennessee At Ohio State In College Football Playoffs
Deboer’s first Alabama team was not only going to make the playoffs but was in line to host a playoff game before they suffered a terrible loss at Oklahoma in late November. Even then, Alabama was the last team in the playoffs entering conference championship week.
But when Clemson narrowly upset SMU in the ACC Championship game, the Tigers claimed an automatic bye and SMU remained ranked ahead of Alabama despite adding an extra game. The Crimson Tide had a case to make the playoffs due to quality wins and strength of schedule but their losses against 6-6 Vanderbilt and Oklahoma kept them out of the playoffs.
Alabama will almost certainly continue to be a good program under Kalen DeBoer and will likely find themselves in the 12-team playoffs in recent years. But the Crimson Tide got a reality check of what life after Nick Saban is like in 2024.
The Crimson Tide are no longer the best program in the country. They’re no longer elite. They’re simply another good SEC program.
