Orlovsky Challenges Alabama’s Playoff Legitimacy with Pointed Critique

ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky certainly did not sugarcoat his comments regarding the College Football Playoff selection committee’s decision to place Alabama in the playoff instead of Notre Dame.

The former quarterback made an appearance on First Take to discuss what he believes is a mistake in the playoff lineup announced Sunday.

These remarks came following Alabama earning the ninth spot in the tournament after they were utterly dominated 28-7 in the SEC Championship game over the weekend by Georgia. Miami claimed the last at-large spot with the tenth position, moving ahead of Notre Dame.

This move has ignited an immediate debate within the college football world, with Orlovsky being one of the most vocal critics regarding how the committee handled this case.

His appearance on First Take featured a thorough explanation of why he feels Notre Dame should have received the spot ahead of the Crimson Tide.

Orlovsky presented his argument against Alabama’s selection in the First Take portion. Host Molly Qerim asked if the Notre Dame snub was the largest in College Football Playoff history.

The analyst went on to respond that it may not be quite that bad, but it is certainly a serious error on the part of the committee. “Notre Dame should be in above Alabama,” Orlovsky said.

He added that he had laid out certain conditions before the weekend started. “Going into the weekend, I said I think Alabama’s in unless they get whooped. Alabama got whooped. That game wasn’t that close,” he said to the panel of the show.

The SEC Championship Game has revealed issues which have been festering at Alabama for weeks. Orlovsky identified one particular instance in the third quarter with Alabama down 21-0 and about three minutes left in the quarter.

Facing fourth down and one from about their own four-yard line, Alabama opted to punt. “It’s very clearly thinking, ‘Alright, as long as we don’t get smoked, we’ll get in,'” Orlovsky said during the appearance.

Alabama had lost two of their last four games before entering postseason play. These losses were suffered at the hands of Oklahoma and Georgia, with both games being won convincingly. In addition to these losses, Alabama experienced difficulties even in victories.

“They didn’t look good against LSU about five weeks ago, they did not look good against Oklahoma, they did not look good against Auburn,” Orlovsky explained.

Orlovsky: Conference Championships Have Lost Significance in Selection Process

Notre Dame finished the season 10-2 without playing in a conference championship game because the Fighting Irish are an independent team.

Alabama made it to the SEC Championship game, but they lost by a wide margin.

BYU had lost the Big 12 Championship game and had fallen in the rankings because of that. However, Alabama was still ranked ninth after the shellacking loss. “Conference championships don’t matter anymore. They don’t matter anymore,” Orlovsky said.

He described the whole episode as a joke and said that Notre Dame ought to have received the invitation. The committee seemed to reward Alabama for simply making the championship game, even though they were dominated once they got there.

This, according to Orlovsky, is the wrong message to send about what is important in the selection process.

Whether or not Orlovsky’s evaluation will prove true is to be seen in the coming weeks of playoff play.