Why was Alabama invited to a bowl game?

Should have been Georgia

Should have been the FSU team that went 13-0 (not the JV team that lost to Georgia).

It’s 13-10 at Halftime. Maybe there’s a reason Alabama beat Georgia.

A handful of lint has more pocket awareness than Alabama's QB.

I'm a delusional LSU fan but even I know Georgia is the best team in the nation.

Nah.

Agreed. They were so good they lost to Alabama in Atlanta.

The question is why was Michigan given a spot in the playoff?

Bear with me...

If you can keep a team out because of an injury to one player (even though they won a rivalry game and a Conference Championship without him), why can't you keep a team out for 1) cheating this season (the coach did get suspended, after all), or 2) for having a coach with a 1-6 Bowl record at his current school?

And if the answer is that "those things aren't disqualifying," why is having one injured player?

And if the answer is "they went undefeated in a Power Five Conference" then FSU should have gotten in too.

Any case that puts Michigan in should have put FSU in.

Having a star player injured makes your team worse than its record. Having a cheating coach and prior year results do not.

I've watched football my entire life and I don't understand how this seemingly incompetent offense becomes difficult to handle as the game wears on. It's really weird and I'd think more defenses would spy the QB for runs. Then again, maybe they are... I honestly don't know or understand it.

You can keep one team out of a playoff (both were undefeated, Power Five champions):

A) A team with one injured player (out of 100+) that beat a rival and won a Conference Championship without him.

or

B) A team that cheated to win several games this season, for which the coach was suspended. The university threatened to sue until the evidence was made available to them, and then they immediately dropped that threat. They fired coaches in the wake of the scandal.

If we had asked that question before the season started, not even knowing what teams we are talking about, I would really, really like to think that we would all agree to keep team B out of the playoff. That seems a no-brainer.

NCAA football is rigged for Alabama 1000 different ways. There is no way their joke offense scored 17 legit points.

There is no way that Michigan guy dropped that punt on accident.

It baffles me that your top running back can average 8 yards a carry and not get the ball more than 12 times in a game you've been leading the entire time.

No doubt it baffles you. You said that Bama would steamroll Michigan. A lot of things baffle you.

I can guarantee you Alabama wouldn't have beaten FSU by 60

The FSU team that went 13-0 would have easily been competitive in this game. Who knows whether they would have won, but they deserved the chance to try.

Alabama gave us nothing that FSU wouldn't have.

The Committee blew it.

Why not? They beat the team that did.

This loss is 100% on Saban. Not giving McClellan the ball when he's averaging 8 yards a carry is crazy.

Oh stop.

Alabama beat the team that beat FSU by 60...

Any team with a competent defensive line could. Alabama's offense might as well have been made of paper.

Is this the real secret to the legendary SEC defense? Noone has an O line

Anyhow, so much for that. What is the Rose Bowl even about anymore, with the Pac-12 gone