Kalen DeBoer Makes Final Pitch to CFP Committee After SEC Championship Loss

Alabama fell to Georgia in Atlanta on Saturday, and the large 28-7 margin of loss could impact the Crimson Tide's spot in the College Football Playoff.

Dec 6, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer looks on before the game against the Georgia Bulldogs during the 2025 SEC Championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

ATLANTA — No. 9 Alabama football fell to No. 3 Georgia 28-7 in the SEC Championship on Saturday evening.

If a team is in the College Football Playoff field, a small-margin loss in the conference championship shouldn't make much of an impact. But the Crimson Tide, now 10-3 on the season, lost by three touchdowns and didn't score its first points until the fourth quarter.

Selection Sunday for the 2025-26 College Football Playoff is tomorrow at 11 a.m. CT. Only 12 teams make it, and Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer made his final pitch after the loss.

"I think you look at the games we played throughout the season, but if you're really looking at this game, it was a 14-point game with 7 1/2 minutes to go, and we had the ball," DeBoer said. "You can look at things that didn't go well, four short fields. And again, I don't want to take anything away from what Georgia did. It's a field position battle. But getting four short fields, that's a testament to our defense being resilient.

"...But I'm here to win an SEC championship. If you lose by one or you lose by more, it's still a loss," DeBoer continued. "That's what I was caring about. We're here to win an SEC championship. We can't get worried about how much we'd lose by or 'What was that was what it was about?' We're here to win. That's how we play.

"Again, it was a 14-point game and we had the ball with 7 1/2 minutes to go against a really good team that knows us well and we know them well. I thought our defense did a heck of a job going against them. The thing we didn't do was take the ball off. The one turnover they got, helps with again, short fields.

"That's football, but that's the way I looked at this game. And if this game applies to and takes away from our resumé, I don't think that's right. I really don't. I think the precedent has been set. I don't know how you can go into a conference playoff game when you're the No. 1 seed and did all these things throughout the year, and playing in this game, against one of the top teams in the country as well, how that can hurt you and keep you out of the playoff when we've done what we've done all year."

This isn't the first time that DeBoer has made his pitch to the CFP committee. On Nov. 30, during the SEC Championship teleconference, DeBoer shared why his team deserves a spot, regardless of whether or not Alabama beats Georgia.

"We're in the championship game with a 7-1 record," DeBoer said. "We won four conference games on the road in the toughest conference. The toughest conference in the country. For us to be in this spot and to do what we needed to do, we won 10 of our last 11 games.

"You can get into a lot more details on it, but if you're really trying to have a playoff, you need your best teams in there, and there's no doubt in my mind we're one of the best teams. And I don't say that arrogantly. I just really believe that's what it is.

"There's a ton of metrics I know people look at — strength of record, FPI, strength of schedule — and we're right at the top. Especially if you're considering us to be a bubble team, we are definitely above those teams in that bubble realm."

"Playing in your conference championship in the SEC shouldn't be something that we're worried about as far as what that would do to our playoff hopes. We got here by earning it."

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