Why Alabama football feels it deserves College Football Playoff spot

AUBURN — Kalen DeBoer didn't hesitate. Yes, Alabama football is a College Football Playoff team, something secured after the Crimson Tide's road 27-20 Iron Bowl win against Auburn Saturday, Nov. 29.

Alabama has seven wins in eight SEC games, DeBoer said. Alabama has a plethora of ranked wins, including ranked wins on the road. Alabama won its rivalry game as an SEC championship spot against Georgia and that CFP spot hung in the balance.

What else is there to ask for?

"We got more than a playoff-caliber team," DeBoer said. "There's not a question in my mind."

Alabama did what it needed to do to return to the conference championship game for the first time since 2023. But it's a game that puts the Crimson Tide's status in the CFP in jeopardy. A win brings Alabama another trophy and a secured place in the 12-team bracket. A loss, though, puts Alabama in unprecedented territory. The Crimson Tide would be at the mercy of a committee that has never put a three-loss team in its CFP bracket.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson doesn't think the question surrounding the Crimson Tide's place in the CFP is if it "should" make the 12-team bracket. It's why isn't Alabama already considered as a CFP team?

"With the gauntlet of a schedule we have gone through. People don’t play in the SEC. They don’t play the schedule like we do. We’re the most resilient team in the country," Simpson said. "If I had my way, I think every SEC team should be in the playoffs because basically every SEC game is a playoff game. That’s not up to us. What’s up to us is how we play. Our job is not to leave it up to anybody else. That’s kind of our mindset."

Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Horton said "the schedule we've had already and the resilience we have" gives the Crimson Tide enough of an edge in the CFP race.

Alabama safety Bray Hubbard said the Crimson Tide has "proven we can go and play with the best" and have "beaten the best."

And Alabama linebacker Deontae Lawson sees CFP-caliber play from within the Crimson Tide locker room.

"I know we can compete with anyone in the country," Lawson said. "That's all phases in the game."

Alabama is not straying from what has worked for the majority of the 2025 season. The Crimson Tide takes 24 hours to relish in the victory that just occurred. Then it's onto whatever is directly next.

In this case, that's an SEC championship berth against Georgia.

But DeBoer is excited to see what comes next from Alabama. He can sense a spirit that looms in and around his players even after a pinnacle win such as one inside Jordan-Hare Stadium.

"Even this celebration in here, I mean, it's exciting, but it's very business-like," DeBoer said. "They are kind of stuck in this mode where it's like, 'OK, we got another one. We got to go do it again.'"

Alabama will face Georgia in the SEC championship game Saturday, Dec. 6, in Atlanta.

Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Alabama feels it deserves CFP spot after Auburn win