Nick Saban Says Alabama Deserves CFP Playoff Berth Despite Loss to Auburn

Following the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide's 26-14 loss to the No. 6 Auburn Tigers in Saturday's Iron Bowl, Bama head coach Nick Saban expressed his belief that his team deserves a place in the College Football Playoff.

According to ESPN.com's Alex Scarborough, Saban talked up the Tide's accomplishments and laid out his rationale for why they should be one of the four CFP teams:

"I think this team deserves an opportunity to get in the playoff by what they've been able to accomplish and what they've been able to do. Certainly not maybe in this game, but I think the team we played tonight is a very good football team, probably one of the best teams in the country. They won 11 games, and not many teams are able to do that. I really don't know what all the scenarios might be where we'd have an opportunity to do it, but I'd certainly like to see this team get an opportunity to do it."

Alabama fell to 11-1 in Saturday's loss, and it missed out on a chance to play in the SEC Championship Game, which will feature Auburn and the No. 7 Georgia Bulldogs.

Despite being the No. 1 team in the nation for most of the season and remaining undefeated until Saturday, Alabama is in danger of missing the CFP.

If undefeated Wisconsin wins the Big Ten Championship Game, and one-loss Clemson and Oklahoma win their respective conference championships, it could force the CFP committee to choose between Alabama and the SEC champion in Auburn or Georgia.

Bama doesn't have an overly strong resume to fall back on, as its only victories against teams currently ranked in the CFP Top 25 are a 24-10 win over LSU and a 31-24 win over Mississippi State.

Alabama has been part of the CFP every season since its advent three years ago, and it has reached the national championship game in each of the past two seasons.