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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Jelani Scott

Dick Vitale Has a Strong Opinion on Ohio State-Alabama CFP Debate

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Count Dick Vitale among the growing number of college football fans who believe Alabama (10–2) still has a case to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.

The legendary college basketball analyst took to Twitter on Saturday to weigh in on of the CFB world’s hottest ongoing debates: Does No. 6 Alabama or No. 5 Ohio State (11–1) deserve to get in over the likes of No. 4 USC (11–2) and No. 3 TCU (12–1)? The Trojans saw their CFP chances take a big hit after falling to Utah in the Pac-12 title game Friday night while the Horned Frogs narrowly fell to Kansas State in overtime for the Big 12 championship on Saturday. 

In Vitale’s estimation, neither TCU, who struggled against KSU before climbing back from a 21-10 deficit to tie the game, or USC has done enough to solidify their claim. In fact, Vitale said during TCU-KSU believes there’s not a single person who could convince him that Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide don’t deserve to join No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Michigan in the final rankings. 

“I am no expert but no one can convince me that @AlabamaFTBL isn’t better than these teams I have been watching despite 2 heartbreaking L’s .If rule is BEST 4 for playoffs BAMA should be in .Hey they didn’t get beat at home by 3 TD’s REWARD THE BEST / just watch @SEC football,” Vitale tweeted.

While Alabama clearly has another strong supporter in Vitale, someone in the 83-year-old’s close circle may want to remind him that the CFP committee has not selected a two-loss team since the tournament began in 2015. Nevertheless, that fact, as well as a strong case from both OSU and TCU, might not be enough to change Vitale’s mind, or the opinions of those debating the topic on TV and in barbershops around the country.

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