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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Blake Silverman

Alabama to Face Big-Name Opponent In NYE Bowl Game After Missing Out on CFP

Alabama Crimson Tide head coach DeBoer is upset with officials after a Tide player was called for a personal foul against Auburn. | Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff committee decided to leave Alabama out of their inaugural 12-team field in favor of SMU. The No. 11 ranked Crimson Tide finished their regular season 9-3, while SMU (11-2) lost the ACC championship game to Clemson on a last-second field goal Saturday.

Since Clemson received an automatic bid with the win, the committee had to decide between Alabama and SMU. The committee gave the last at-large spot to SMU, which CFP chairman Warde Manuel said was the result of "quite a debate."

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