Why some top college football programs were rejected and what they’re doing instead

CNN
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The College Football Playoff season has finally arrived, and over the next four weeks, the best teams across America will battle it out to determine the nation’s best college football team.

But while it is the most wonderful time of the year for the 12 teams selected to participate in this season’s climax, for those who have been rejected from the new playoff system, it came as an unwelcome, early lump of coal.

As always, the selection process at this time of year is met with expected controversy. Who were the biggest teams to miss this time around, and how will they spend their offseason after being left off the board? Let’s take a look:

For many, the biggest exclusion from the playoffs is ‘Bama.

The Tide finished the season with a 9-3 record and are the only team ranked in the top 12 of the CFP Selection Committee’s final rankings not to make the playoffs.

The committee chose the 11-2 SMU Mustangs, citing the ACC team’s undefeated regular season conference record as the deciding factor.

“We looked at the number of wins that Alabama had against ranked opponents. We looked at SMU’s schedule and they were undefeated in the conference. Their losses were to ranked teams, but we also looked at Alabama’s losses to unranked teams,” said Warde Manuel, University of Michigan athletic director, who serves as chairman of the committee.

“We value strength of schedule. That’s why Alabama as a three-loss team is ranked ahead of other two-loss teams,” Manuel explained.

“We just felt that in this particular case, SMU still had the nod by 10 over Alabama, but that’s no disrespect to Alabama’s strength of schedule.”

The powerhouse is missing the playoffs for just the third time since the CFP began in the 2014 season, and the Crimson Tide could now change how it selects its future opponents after this year’s rejection.

“I want to play competitive games, we want to play the best games,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer said after missing out.

“It certainly wasn’t rewarded, it felt like, with our schedule and the wins we had against teams that were ranked or now ranked or even ranked at the time.”

The Crimson Tide will instead have to settle for playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl and face last year’s champion, the Michigan Wolverines, in Tampa, Florida.

Despite the disappointment, DeBoer said his team will make the most of the final game of their season.

Another team on the edge of the CFP was Miami.

Led by Heisman Trophy finalist and star quarterback Cam Ward, the team finished with a 10-2 record on the season, but finished as the No. 13 in the final CFP rankings.

In the rankings on December 3 (week 14), the Hurricanes were ranked no. 12, behind the Crimson Tide, which ultimately ended their hopes of clinching a playoff spot – much to the dismay of Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich.

“Really?? ….What put Bama over the top of Miami for the last spot is that Miami went 1-2 in their last 3 games (by an average of 4.5 points, to a ranked Syracuse and GT team that just took UGA to 8OT), “he published on X after the rankings were revealed. “Bama went 2-1 (to 5-7 Auburn, destroyed by OU, and beat FCS Mercer).”

Radakovich has since suggested that the timing of the final rankings be changed for future years after Manuel said some teams were “locked in” after Week 14’s rankings.

“It was a really, really tough four or five days for the players, both at Alabama (and) with us,” Radakovich said, per ESPNprior to Miami’s bowl game.

“They’ll do a ranking before Thanksgiving. You probably just leave it at that and then you have the championship games and then the committee gets together that weekend and they do their final rankings,” Radakovich added.

While the Hurricanes missed the playoffs, they have the small silver lining of playing in the now iconic Pop-Tarts Bowl.

The Hurricanes will take on the Iowa State Cyclones for a chance to get their hands on the brand new Pop-Tarts Bowl trophy, which features a fully functioning toaster to prepare the winners’ post-game treats.

It wouldn’t be the College Football Playoff if a local public figure didn’t weigh in on their team’s performance, and Daniel Rickenmann – the mayor of Columbia, South Carolina – certainly made his feelings known.

“The Gamecocks should be in the college football playoff,” Rickenmann submitted to Facebook before saying he would take the decision further.

“The CFP Committee’s latest ranking is a mistake. For this reason, I am introducing a resolution of support for the Gamecocks to be in the College Football Playoff at the next City Council meeting. The Gamecocks deserve a playoff berth and we have been excited because of their hard work all this season.

“Columbia is proud of our flagship university and its positive impact on our state. This team deserves recognition and the committee made its decision behind closed doors without a clear process. Throughout the season, the Gamecocks have consistently exceeded expectations and fought through adversity.”

The mayor went on to question how the committee selected the playoff teams.

“Clearly strength of schedule, losses to unranked teams and margin of victory were not considered. The committee’s decision will result in lost benefit to our community, which will be detrimental to Columbia. The Gamecocks are a top-12 team. Forever to you.”

The Gamecocks finished with a 9-3 record on the season and caught fire with a six-game winning streak to finish their 2024 campaign. Head coach Shane Beamer was equally convinced that the team deserved a spot in the playoffs.

“Winning is hard, and whether you win eight, nine, 10, it’s really hard to win football games, but it’s really, really hard to win football games in this league,” Beamer said on The Paul Finebaum Show before describing the difficulty of his team’s schedule.

While Beamer admitted his team lost to ‘Bama and Ole Miss, he said the committee has taken injuries into account in the past and should have done so again this year, when his team lost close games with key players missing.

After failing to reach the postseason, the Gamecocks will instead be in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., against the Illinois Fighting Illini on New Year’s Eve.

There will be no Travis Hunter in this year’s CFP as the Heisman Trophy recipient’s Colorado Buffaloes failed to make the postseason tournament.

Hunter had a season for the history books in 2024, playing both wide receiver and cornerback.

The Colorado stand-out is averaging a barely believable 118 snaps per game, per PFF. These are spread evenly across both of his roles, with Hunter playing 709 offensive snaps on the season along with 713 defensive snaps.

Hunter led the Buffaloes in receptions and receiving yards this season, amassing 1,152 yards on 92 receptions. Not surprisingly, he also led the team in touchdowns with 15, including a rushing touchdown, while also locking down wide receivers when playing on defense.

Hunter’s season won’t end with a shot at a national championship, but instead with 9-3 Colorado taking on the BYU Cougars in the Alamo Bowl.