What was the difference maker for Alabama?

The Crimson Tide had a couple of arguments as to why it should be selected to the final four-team College Football Playoff: four top-25 win and an SEC Championship over the then-No. 1 team in the country, to name a few.

But no matter what, in the final year of the four-team field, a precedent was set to be broken with either the sport’s toughest conference championship or an undefeated ACC title-winner Florida State team being left out. According to the committee, its job was to name the four best teams, not the most deserving.

The debate started shortly after Alabama was revealed as the final team on ESPN’s reveal show. Pundits immediately cited their principles of why the Tide and Seminoles had the better argument. As Kirk Herbstreit said when asked why one team was more worthy of a shot at a national title, you should ask Boo Corrigan, the selection committee chair.

“I think in looking at it, again, that was a decision with Alabama at 4. Florida State is a different team than they were through the first 11 weeks,” Corrigan said. ” … You can lose a running back, you can lose a receiver but when you lose a quarterback as dynamic as Jordan Travis, it changes their offense in its entirety and that was a really big factor.”

Travis suffered a season-ending leg injury on Nov. 18 against North Alabama. His backup, Tate Rodemaker beat Florida but was concussed, leading to true freshman Brock Glenn making a start in the ACC Championship win, a slog over Louisville. That sounded like a difference-maker for the committee.

“The questions we do ask from a coaching standpoint is who do you want to play and who do you not want to play,” Corrigan, who’s also North Carolina State’s athletic director, said when further pressed on the seeding.

That was the same rhetoric Saban used to justify Alabama’s case in 2022. In 2023, it worked.

This post will be updated.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].