Finebaum isn't wrong though. It's easy to say that a 1-loss team should get in ahead of a 2-loss team. But is the goal truly to put the best 4 teams in CFB in the playoff? If so, Alabama is one of those 4.
I mean, if we all know that Alabama would whip Notre Dame or Oklahoma State, what's the real argument for not putting them in the playoff and having two legitimate semifinal games vs. leaving them out "because they have 2 losses" and having a 1 vs. 4 blowout in the semifinal? That's happened too many times.
Bama lost to a three loss Texas A&M team and nearly lost to Arkansas and a terrible LSU team at home. If Bo Nix was healthy they might very well be capable of losing to Auburn today but I think with Bo out they lose. Uga might very well blow them out. They should not be in the playoffs with two losses, period, dot.
Besides the WLs, its worth pointing outbthat there is significant bama fatigue and the optics of a bama uga rematch are horrible.
I could perhaps throw in the politics of spreading the money around, but surprisingly yhos has not seemed to matter in past selections, or less than one would expect.