Nick Saban’s Final Coaches Poll Ballot Had Alabama Ahead of TCU
The CFP National Championship game came and went in shocking fashion with one of the biggest blowouts of all time. The Georgia Bulldogs were crowned back-to-back national champions following Monday’s 65-7 routing of TCU, the first team to win back-to-back national championships in the playoff era.
With talk all season long about which teams deserve a ticket to the CFB Playoff and which programs don’t make the cut, the final coaches’ poll ballot of the season is in, and Alabama head coach Nick Saban had some interesting placements for the top teams.
College football insider, Brett McMurphy, reported that Nick Saban ranked his squad second in the nation behind Georgia, leap-frogging TCU, Michigan, and Ohio State. While Saban has been vocal since the conclusion of the regular season that his team deserved a playoff spot, the voting panel disagreed and sided with TCU, Michigan, and Ohio State accompanying the Georgia Bulldogs.
Kirby Smart, Georgia’s head coach also disagreed with Saban as his list included Georgia at one, TCU at two, Michigan third, Ohio State in fourth, then followed by Tennessee, and finally Alabama at number six.
Alabama’s performance against Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl is one that many point out as an example of the Crimson Tide’s upside this season but it is hard to evaluate if they are actually a top-four team in the nation, or if Alabama just hit a hot streak.
With a standpoint performance from projected number-one pick Bryce Young the Crimson Tide took down the ninth-ranked Wildcats 45-20 in a game that saw 35 unanswered points scored for Saban’s bunch.
The coaches’ poll more than likely isn’t going to change many opinions, especially at this point, however, it does propose an interesting question for the conclusion of the season. If Alabama snuck into the playoff this season, how would they handle the likes of Kirby Smart and Georgia?
