SMU lost to Clemson on a walk-off 56-yard field goal in the ACC championship game to secure the Mustangs' second loss of the season. Alabama had three losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma and missed an opportunity to play for an SEC championship.

If we don't take strength of schedule into consideration, is there any benefit to scheduling really good teams in the future?'

Nick Saban, wearing a red tie and blazer, made a passionate argument on ESPN around the potential consequences to leaving Alabama, a school that still pays him a half-million annually, out of this year's 12-team College Football Playoff field.