The man is known as “The Legend” for a reason — his legendary rants about Alabama football on “The Paul Finebaum Show.”
Just two Mondays ago, he called for the firing of coach Kalen DeBoer after an ugly 24-3 loss at Oklahoma by telling the story of an aunt who had been married for “about eight.” Her explanation for why she has many husbands? “You can’t fix stupidity,” Legend said. “But you can elaborate.
The legend was just beginning.
“Man, I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life,” he continued, lamenting that Bama had only lost three times this season, but in his opinion, it was out of playoff contention.
Well, Legend and the rest of the Alabama fans (and Alabama haters) who understandably buried the tide after the disaster in Norman … not so fast.
Call them the Zombie Tide, or call it the reality of a 12-team playoff where someone has to make it, or just add in the strength of (some) SEC schedules, but it’s not quite over yet.
It actually looks pretty good.
The College Football Playoff committee ranked Alabama 11th on Tuesday night, which would make them the last at-large team in the playoff. Opinions and standings may change before Sunday’s final decision, but with no more games to play for the Crimson Tide or any other team trying to sneak into the field, it should be something to smile about in Tuscaloosa.
DeBoer’s club is on the verge of pulling the undertaker and jumping out of his coffin.
Of course, there are still pitfalls. No. 17 Clemson could still steal the bid by defeating No. 9 SMU in the ACC title game, which could cause the committee to keep SMU in the field anyway. In that case, Alabama would skip. Maybe the same if No. 20 UNLV wins the Mountain West and the committee sticks with No. 10 Boise State anyway.
That said, Alabama has to be excited about where it is, given that its 9-3 record includes two wince-worthy (and apoplectic talk-radio) losses to Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. On the other hand, the Tide benefits from quality wins (No. 5 Georgia, No. 14 South Carolina and No. 19 Missouri).
“It really came down to Alabama being 3-1 against top 25 teams, Miami being 0-1,” committee chairman Warde Manuel said on ESPN. “Alabama is 6-1 against teams over .500.” Miami is 4-2. In evaluating their work, we felt Alabama had an edge over Miami.
Should that be enough? Does losing to unranked unranked teams matter?
That didn’t appear to be a deal-breaker for the selection committee, as it put Alabama just ahead of 10-2 Miami — which has “better losses” but zero wins over a top-25 team. Then there’s No. 13 Ole Miss (9-3) with two wins over top-25 teams (also Georgia and South Carolina) but no third.
Also notable: Indiana is ranked 9th. The Hoosiers are comfortably in the field, but at 11-1, even they don’t have a win against a top-25 opponent and trail two-loss teams Georgia (5th), Ohio State (6th) and Tennessee (7th) . In that scenario, that should mean first-round playoff home games in Athens, Columbus and Knoxville.
Make no mistake, the howl of protest and political lobbying is coming.
Alabama only got there because it’s a big brand, some will say. Alabama only made the TV ratings, others will suggest. Alabama only got in because the committee had to prioritize the SEC and get a fourth division team.
Miami will point to those losses to 6-6 teams Oklahoma (24-3) and Vanderbilt (40-35) and call foul. Ole Miss will note that it beat both Georgia and South Carolina by more points than the Tide. Analytics, statistics and so on will be cited by everyone.
Maybe the committee can change it between now and then, but it doesn’t seem likely.
“That depends on how we see them going into the final week,” Manuel said. “There is nothing that should change.”
That means Zombie Tide can return just two weeks after everyone – even their die-hard supporters – have given up on them.
“You’re not going to the playoffs and every real Alabama fan doesn’t give a damn now because it’s not about anything!” The legend screamed then. “… This is a national championship in Alabama. I don’t care if I beat some weak Auburn team! It’s about the playoffs and championships! It’s just pathetic!”
Alabama fans buried them that day.
But it turns out they weren’t dead.