Saban: No SEC team in CFP would be ‘disrespect’
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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
Should Alabama upset No. 1 Georgia on Saturday in the SEC championship game, the conference could be on the outside looking in when the four College Football Playoff teams are selected Sunday.
Alabama coach Nick Saban said Thursday that it would “be a disrespect to the SEC if there isn’t an SEC representation in the [CFP].”
Speaking on the SEC championship game teleconference, Saban first said his focus was on Saturday’s game, but when pressed on the issue, he reiterated what he said on “The Pat McAfee Show” earlier Thursday: An SEC team should be in the playoff despite the Crimson Tide-Bulldogs outcome.
The SEC has won the past four national championships (Georgia twice, Alabama and LSU), and six of the nine titles overall during the CFP era. Twice, two SEC teams have played for the championship: Alabama beat Georgia for the 2017 title, and Georgia topped Alabama for the 2021 title.
“I think the SEC is one of the best conferences in the country,” Saban said. “I think Georgia is one of the best teams in the country. I think they’re one of the best four teams in the country. I think if we beat them, we’d be one of the best four teams in the country.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he didn’t “want to get into it” when asked about the possibility of the SEC being left out of the playoff.
“I want to focus on what we have to do to win this game,” Smart said Thursday.
Naturally, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey believes the playoff should include at least one of the teams in Saturday’s title game in Atlanta based on the overall rigor of the conference schedule.
“Starting with the simple facts that there are three teams currently ranked in the top 10 with three or more wins over top 25 teams as the rankings currently exist,” Sankey said. “Two of those teams are Georgia and Alabama.”
Sankey also noted the unparalleled success of the SEC in the playoff.
“It’s envied by everyone else,” Sankey said. “We’ve lost the semifinal once to a nonconference team, to a nonconference team twice in the championship game. The only other losses we’ve experienced are to ourselves in the national championship game.
“The entirety of our record is a basis for the assurance that we will have a team in the CFP for the 10th consecutive year.”
The worst scenario for the SEC likely would be the fourth playoff spot coming down to a one-loss Alabama team and a one-loss Texas team, both conference champions, particularly with the Longhorns having beaten the Crimson Tide 34-24 in Tuscaloosa in Week 2. Texas plays Oklahoma State in Saturday’s Big 12 championship game.
“With teams, there’s a transformation that goes through the season,” Saban said. “How are you playing now? Where is your team now? How good are you now? I think all those things come into play.”
No team ranked lower than No. 6 in the penultimate CFP rankings has made the playoff.
Texas is No. 7 and Alabama No. 8 in this week’s rankings.
Ohio State is No. 6 but will not play in a conference championship game this weekend after losing to Michigan last weekend. No. 3 Washington and No. 5 Oregon play Friday in the Pac-12 championship game.
SEATTLE — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.
Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning.
“That’s a very big accomplishment,” Rodríguez told reporters, according to MLB.com. “I know my family’s very happy, and I’m sure they’re thinking of all the things I had to do to be able to get here. To be able to do it with this team and this organization is awesome. I’m just excited to see where things are going to go from here.”
Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second, and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings Sunday.
The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but tallied only one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MIAMI — Kyle Stowers hit a three-run homer and the Miami Marlins defeated the New York Yankees 7-3 on Sunday, completing their first-ever sweep of the Yankees in a series of three or more games.
The Marlins (55-55) reached .500 for the first time since April 15, when the team was 8-8. Since June 13, the Marlins are 30-14; that’s tied with the 2003 team for the most wins in a 44-game span in franchise history, according to ESPN Research.
The 2003 Marlins went on to beat the Yankees in the World Series in six games.
Marlins starter Edward Cabrera (5-5) pitched six innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts and one walk. His only blemish came against the first batter he faced. Trent Grisham drove Cabrera’s 98.1 mph four-seam fastball to right-center.
Miami rookie Jakob Marsee, who made his major league debut on Friday, was 2-for-4 and finished a single short of the cycle.
Stowers made it 6-1 when he connected on an 0-2 fastball from Brent Headrick, who entered in the fourth with two on after starter Luis Gil (0-1) was lifted 3⅓ innings into his season debut.
Gil, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, struck out three and surrendered five runs and five hits while issuing four walks in his return from a high-grade lat strain. He threw 77 pitches.
Gil’s shaky debut comes at a rough point in the season for the Yankees, whose inconsistency has prompted a rash of criticism, the latest coming from former Yankees stars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez on Fox’s pregame show Saturday night.
“They make way too many mistakes,” Jeter said. “Way too many mistakes, and you can’t get away with making that number of mistakes against great teams.”
Added Rodriguez: “Where’s the accountability?”
Boone addressed those criticisms before Sunday’s game, saying it comes with the territory of being the Yankees, but he added after the loss that it’s “gut-check” time for his club.
New York’s weekend series at Miami included the Yankees blowing a six-run lead in a wild 13-12 loss on Friday, before a 2-0 loss on Saturday.
The Yankees had a seven-game lead in the AL East in late May. By July 2, the lead was gone and the Yankees have been looking up at Toronto in the division ever since. The red-hot Boston Red Sox, who were more than 10 games behind the Yankees about two months ago, have overtaken their rival for the second spot in the AL East and AL wild-card lead.
“It’s getting late,” Boone said. “And it’s certainly not too late for us. I am confident that we’re going to get it together. But that’s all it is right now is, you know, it’s empty until we start doing it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
SEATTLE — Julio Rodriguez homered to become the first player in major league history with 20 or more home runs and 20 or more stolen bases in each of his first four seasons, and the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Sunday.
Rodriguez hit a two-run shot in the third inning — his 100th career homer — and the slugging and speedy center fielder also added his 21st stolen base of the season after singling in the fifth inning.
Jorge Polanco added a solo shot in the second, and shortstop J.P. Crawford smacked a two-run blast in the fourth against Rangers starter Jacob deGrom (10-4), who became the fastest pitcher in major league history to reach 1,800 career strikeouts by games and innings Sunday.
The Rangers kept things close by pushing across three runs against Mariners starter Logan Evans (5-4), but tallied only one run against the Mariners bullpen before closer Andrés Muñoz locked down his 25th save of the season.
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