Mark Ingram says Alabama should miss CFP, be behind Notre Dame, Miami
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Alabama football laid an egg in the SEC championship game against Georgia on Saturday, Dec. 6, falling 28-7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Former Alabama Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram said the Crimson Tide should miss out on a College Football Playoff bid after the performance.
And while the CFP committee hasn’t punished teams in recent years for losing their conference championship – like TCU in 2022 and SMU in 2024 – Alabama’s disappointing showing could potentially open the door for other at-large teams like Notre Dame and even Miami to jump Alabama.
“Bama – you played Georgia in the SEC championship, you lose by 21,” Ingram said on Fox’s pregame show prior to the Big Ten Conference championship. “I got too much Bama in me, but you’re out. Now, Miami and Notre Dame should both get in, in my opinion. I think that’s the decision the committee is going to have to make because when you have two bad losses (entering) the championship game, you have to play well in the championship game.”
Alabama brings up an interesting case for the CFP committee. A three-loss team has never made the CFP, although the committee typically hasn’t left out teams that lost to another highly ranked team in a conference title game.
Miami and Notre Dame were both idle this weekend. Miami failed to reach the ACC championship due to tiebreakers and Notre Dame is independent.
Ingram, who won the Heisman in 2009 before leading Alabama to its first national championship under Nick Saban, was a first-round pick to the New Orleans Saints in the 2011 NFL Draft. He was selected to three Pro Bowls before retiring after the 2022 season and is now an analyst for Fox and on their “Big Noon Kickoff” show.
Ingram’s opinion will certainly be unpopular with Alabama fans, and it’ll be wait-and-see for the Crimson Tide until the 12-team bracket is revealed on Dec. 7.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Mark Ingram says Alabama should miss CFP, be behind Notre Dame, Miami
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