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Kirby Smart name-drops the Alabama Crimson Tide as an example of what everyone is missing about the SEC in college football

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Rob Gregson | Last updated May 28, 2025 12:02 AM ET

The Alabama Crimson Tide have no one to blame but themselves for the way their 2024 season went.

That being said, there were more than a couple of teams who made it to the College Football Playoff with schedules and wins that didn't hold a candle to Alabama's.

Kalen DeBoer took exception to that, and so did his rival Kirby Smart...

Kirby Smart goes to bat for Alabama

"It blows me away [in other sports] when the SEC can end up with 13 of 16, 14 of 16 [teams in the playoff formats], and they're larger pools–but when you look at what they're able to do and there's no outcry, Smart said at the SEC spring meetings on Tuesday. "There's nobody beating the drum saying that it's completely unfair. They do a lot of things based on RPI. A lot of things based on strength of schedule, and they reward teams for that. I have a hard time seeing Ole Miss, Alabama, South Carolina not being [considered] among the best [college football] teams last year. And to me, that's a big part of the SEC."

Smart's statement is very similar to that of Kalen DeBoer's, where he challenged the other teams that made last year's College Football Playoff: "You wonder what would have happened if other people would have played our schedule," DeBoer said on Tuesday via Brett McMurphy on Twitter-X.

Beating the Georgia Bulldogs, shutting out a top-25 ranked Missouri Tigers. Embarrassing an LSU team that had playoff expectations before the season. Taking down a South Carolina team that was one of the best in the conference by the end of the season, those are all the wins that went on Alabama's resume.

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Guess who didn't have to play that schedule? Oh, I don't know, Indiana, Arizona State, Boise State and SMU, teams who were all awarded playoff spots in the 12-team playoff.

That's who DeBoer and Smart were referring to.

This idea that the SEC is some big bad wolf that is bad for college football is asinine. College football, with all its changes in recent years, is closer to two super conferences than they are to having parity.

So yeah, Smart is living up to his name regarding his take on the SEC.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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