CFP National Championship

Alabama rallied from a 17-point deficit once in the College Football Playoff against Oklahoma, but there would not be a repeat performance against No. 1 Indiana in a quarterfinal at the Rose Bowl. The Crimson Tide tried everything possible to stage a historic comeback on the site of so many memorable moments for the program.

Last weekend's first round of the College Football Playoff averaged 9.9 million viewers on ABC, ESPN, TNT, TBS and truTV, according to ESPN and Nielson. That is a 7% drop from last year. Alabama's win over Oklahoma was the exception.

Alabama and Indiana couldn't have more different football histories. This Indiana team couldn't be more unlike the program's painful past. Alabama will play No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 in a national quarterfinal matchup between a blue blood and the ultimate upstart. Alabama is one of the most successful programs in college football, with six national titles this century. Indiana has never won a New Year’s Six game and has no bowl victories since 1991.

Alabama’s football season may come down to one game tonight. The Crimson Tide will play Oklahoma before a hometown crowd in Norman. The winner will face number one ranked Indiana in the Rose Bowl during the championship quarterfinals. The only playoff game tonight is considered a toss-up, and that’s generating interest among sports bettors in what looks like a lackluster post season for Las Vegas oddsmakers.

Alabama’s loss to Georgia during the SEC Championship did not cost the team its shot at the championship. The College Football Playoff Committee put the Tide at number nine against Oklahoma.

Alabama is forcing the committee that will set the College Football Playoff bracket to revisit an old question: Should a 12-team tournament to determine the national champion include a program with three losses? And Duke is bringing up a new head-scratcher that nobody really thought of before: Could a team possibly make the playoff with five?

Gunner Stockton threw three touchdown passes as No. 3 Georgia solidified its position for a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff and beat Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game for the first time, pounding the 10th-ranked Crimson Tide 28-7 on Saturday.

That “pins and needles” feeling for fans of the Crimson Tide may not end with today’s SEC Championship against Georgia at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta. On Sunday, the teams who will compete in the playoff games for a shot at the championship will be announced. The world of college football is also remembering the man who that system going.

The Crimson Tide is practicing for the New Year’s Eve ReliaQuest Bowl before heading home for Christmas. Head Coach Kalen DeBoer will be facing Michigan with fewer star players.

Alabama is out of the first ever twelve team playoffs. The Tide will play Michigan at Raymond James Stadium for the ReliaQuest Bowl. The Tampa venue is where the Tide suffered a painful loss to Clemson in 2017. It was also the Tiger's weekend performance that helped seal Alabama's fate in this year's postseason.