Alabama somehow ended up at No. 5 in the first CFP rankings release, despite losing twice already to Tennessee and Georgia. Notre Dame, despite only losing one game so far to No. 9-ranked BYU, was at No. 11.
The Crimson Tide's resume is buoyed by beating No. 6-ranked Kentucky in Week 2 and No. 21-ranked South Carolina in Week 4.
The Fighting Irish have wins over Wisconsin, North Carolina, and a slew of unimpressive squads resume-wise.
ESPN's Alabama bias is obvious, though not so much because Notre Dame was ranked so far below them.
The Gamecocks being ranked at all justifies such a high ranking for the Tide. South Carolina didn't deserve to be ranked that high. No shot. Not over Northwestern.
Meanwhile, for the Crimson Tide, being ranked No. 5, above Kentucky and undefeated UCLA gives Alabama leeway if it suffers a third loss.
It seems like the fix is in for the Crimson Tide. This is not the first time ESPN has shown a bias for Bama.
I mean, who can forget Kirk Herbstreit's glee after the 4th-and-31 play during the 2023 Iron Bowl? Who can forget the CFP selection last December?
Notre Dame people sense that ESPN has an Alabama bias
Several Notre Dame people I spoke to over the past year came to the conclusion that ESPN has an Alabama bias after it made the 2025/2026 CFP despite three losses and a 28-7 loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship.
Long-time former NFL quarterback/T.V. analyst Joe Theismann told me that the tea leaves were evident during ESPN broadcasts last December that the Crimson Tide would be charmed.
“I mean, Alabama was a three-loss team. We saw what happened in the playoff. Alabama really didn't look like a team that deserved to be there either. So from my perspective, I think that (Tulane and James Madison), the way it was set up, earned the right to be there. I think with three losses, you don't earn the right to be there," Theismann said.
“They were pushing for it. I mean, you could tell through the broadcast that they were pushing for them to be there. That's the thing about broadcasting, and I spent 23 years doing it, is that you can sense, in listening to different announcers, you can sense the direction that they want things to go. It's almost like they're trying to will certain situations out there."
Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jerome Bettis noticed a similar pattern in the way the CFP selection commiteee was moving.
"I think the voters knew…there was some movement that they were trying to create to make sure Alabama got in because it wasn't going to be a good outing in the SEC championship (against Georgia). They were trying to support the SEC in that. They wanted both teams to get in…because the year before, Alabama got snubbed, so they didn't want it to happen a second year. They wanted to protect the SEC and move Alabama up before the SEC championship game," Bettis told me.
NBC Sports President of Acquisitions and Partnerships Jon Miller remarked that ESPN's "SEC friends" would come after them had the Crimson Tide been snubbed.
"I certainly didn't have any problem with Miami getting in. I saw Notre Dame play Miami. That game was very close. Notre Dame lost at the end, but Miami certainly deserved to be there, as did Notre Dame. I think you had a selection committee filled with guys who were predisposed to favor SEC schools, and I don't think they wanted to suffer the outrage that would come from their SEC friends and whatnot if they didn't give Alabama the nod," Miller told me.
If the shoe fits, as they say. ESPN seems to be clinging to Alabama still deserving to be at the top.
Ball don't lie. We'll see how the rest of the season unfolds.
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