Alabama has been eliminated from the College Football Playoff

Alabama’s playoff bubble burst Sunday as the College Football Playoff committee did not include them in this year’s 12-team field. The Crimson Tide was ranked No. 11 in the final rankings, but was edged out for the playoff spots by No. ## Clemson and ## Arizona State, which had secured an automatic bid as one of the top five ranked conference champions.

SMU (11-2) beat Alabama (9-3) to secure the final spot in the playoffs. The Mustangs suffered a 34-31 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday night, losing on a 56-yard field goal at the end of regulation.

Alabama has three wins over top 25 teams. Meanwhile, SMU doesn’t have a ranked win on its resume and has lost to the only two ranked teams it has played. Alabama is ranked No. 16 in the strengths of schedule rankings, while SMU is ranked No. 60.

“Strength of schedule matters,” Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne wrote Saturday night on X. “Not all schedules and conferences are created equal. Six of our eight wins came against bowl-eligible teams and against some of the top teams in the SEC, including SEC champion Georgia.”

Alabama will learn its postseason fate later Sunday. Most bowl exhibitions have the Crimson Tide playing in the Citrus Bowl, which takes place on December 31st in Orlando, Florida.

This article is being updated.