The zombie tide is alive! Alabama is on the same path to the CFP after controversial second-to-last placings

The man isn’t known as a “legend” for nothing – because of his legendary rants about Alabama football on the “Paul Finebaum Show.”

Just two Mondays ago, he called for coach Kalen DeBoer’s firing after a terrible 24-3 loss at Oklahoma by telling the story of an aunt who was married “about eight” times. Her explanation for having many husbands? “You can’t fix stupid things,” Legend said. “But you can divorce it.”

The legend had just begun.

“Man, I’ve never been so ashamed in my life,” he continued, lamenting that Bama had not only lost three times that season but, in his opinion, had been eliminated from the playoff hunt.

Well, Legend and the rest of the Alabama fans (and Alabama haters) who understandably buried the flood after that disaster in Norman… not so fast.

Call it the “zombie tide,” or call it the reality of a 12-team playoff that someone has to get into, or just trust in the strength of (some) SEC schedules, but it’s not quite over yet.

In fact, it looks pretty good.

The College Football Playoff committee ranked Alabama at No. 11 on Tuesday night, which would make them the last open team in the playoff field. Opinions and rankings may change before Sunday’s final decision, but with neither the Crimson Tide nor any of the other teams hoping to sneak into the field yet to play, there should be good cheer in Tuscaloosa.

DeBoer’s club is about to take out an Undertaker and jump out of his coffin again.

Of course, there are still pitfalls. No. 17 Clemson could still gain a lead by beating No. 9 SMU in the ACC title game, which could lead to the committee leaving SMU in the field anyway. In this case, Alabama would be skipped. The same might be true if No. 20 UNLV won the Mountain West and the committee would stick with No. 10 Boise State anyway.

However, Alabama has to be elated with its place, considering its 9-3 record includes two terrible (and, according to radio talk, apoplectic) losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. On the other hand, the Tide benefits from a schedule full of quality wins (No. 5 Georgia, No. 14 South Carolina and No. 19 Missouri).

“It really came down to Alabama being 3-1 against top 25 teams, Miami being 0-1,” committee chairman Warde Manuel said on ESPN. “Alabama is 6-1 against teams over .500. Miami is 4-2. When we evaluated their work, we concluded that Alabama had the edge over Miami.”

Should that be enough? Does losing to two unranked .500 teams matter?

This doesn’t appear to be out of reach for the selection committee, as Alabama was ranked just ahead of Miami at 10-2 – where there are “better losses” but no wins over a top-25 team. Then there’s No. 13 Ole Miss (9-3), which has two wins over top-25 teams (also Georgia and South Carolina) but no third.

Also of note: Indiana is ranked No. 9. The Hoosiers are comfortably in the field, but at 11-1, they also have no win over a top-25 opponent and are behind Georgia (5th), which has suffered two losses. , Ohio State (6th) and Tennessee (7th).

Make no mistake, cries of protest and political lobbying are coming.

Some will say that Alabama only got in because it’s a big brand. Others will assume that Alabama was only in it for the television ratings. Alabama only got in because the committee had to prioritize the SEC and accept a fourth-tier team.

Miami will point to the losses against 6-6 teams Oklahoma (24-3) and Vanderbilt (40-35) and call foul. Ole Miss will note that it defeated both Georgia and South Carolina by more points than the Tide. Analyzes, statistics, etc. are cited by everyone.

Maybe it can influence the committee by then, but it seems unlikely.

“It depends on how we think they go into the final week,” Manuel said. “Nothing will change.”

That means the Zombie Tide may be back just two weeks after everyone – even its most die-hard supporters – gave up on it.

“You’re not going to the playoffs and every true Alabama fan doesn’t care because there’s nothing at stake!” The legend raged at the time. “…We care about national championships in Alabama. I couldn’t care less about beating a weak Auburn team! It’s about playoffs and championships! It’s just pathetic!”

Alabama’s fans buried her that day.

However, it turned out that they were not dead.