The network doesn’t suffer from recency bias like the committee will, nor conference politics. It also doesn’t treat conference championship games as special. For the network ranking, beating an undefeated Georgia team is an equally important piece of information for the network as losing to Texas A&M.
Looking at just the cumulative quality of the wins, Alabama’s are less impressive than Notre Dame, Michigan, Cincinnati, and Georgia (in that order). Their loss to Texas A&M is worse than Michigan, Georgia, and Notre Dame’s losses (in order of most to least bad), and of course Cincinnati is undefeated.
Thusly, if we wanted to send the 4 teams with the best total body of work, treating all games equally (which is not what the committee will do), Alabama doesn’t deserve to go. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good or that they won’t win, only that their body of work is inferior, even if they won the SEC. Nick Saban of course know this is how the system works, which is why he schedules Mercer, New Mexico State, and Southern Miss in the same season. Sorry Notre Dame!
Top 25 (Explanation; Full Ranking):
Cincinnati (+2)
Notre Dame (-1)
Georgia (-1)
Michigan (nc)
Alabama (+1)
Ohio State (+1)
Oklahoma State (-2)
Ole Miss (nc)
Michigan State (+1)
Baylor (+2)
Oklahoma (nc)
Iowa (-3)
Arkansas (+1)
Oregon (+1)
BYU (+1)
Texas A&M (+3)
Houston (+1)
Wake Forest (-5)
Wisconsin (+1)
San Diego State (-3)
Kentucky (+1)
UTSA (+1)
Pittsburgh
Clemson (-3)
Louisiana (-1)
What would the bowls look like if the Network Ranking decided?
College Football Playoff 1: Cincinnati v Michigan
College Football Playoff 2: Notre Dame v Georgia
Sugar Bowl: Alabama v Oklahoma State
Rose Bowl: Ohio State v Oregon
Citrus Bowl: Ole Miss v Michigan State
Alamo Bowl: Baylor v UCLA
Cheez-It Bowl: Oklahoma v Wake Forest
Outback Bowl: Iowa v Arkansas
Independence Bowl: UTSA v BYU
Liberty Bowl: Texas A&M v Kansas State
Fenway Bowl: Houston v Pittsburgh
Las Vegas Bowl: Wisconsin v Utah
Idaho Potato Bowl: San Diego State v Western Michigan
Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Kentucky v Clemson
Bahamas Bowl: Louisiana v Northern Illinois
Music City Bowl: Purdue v Tennessee
Pinstripe Bowl: Penn State v NC State
New Mexico Bowl: Appalachian State v Air Force
Texas Bowl: Iowa State v Mississippi State
Armed Forces Bowl: Army v Texas Tech
Gator Bowl: South Carolina v Louisville
Birmingham Bowl: LSU v SMU
Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl: Boise State v Arizona State
New Orleans Bowl: Coastal Carolina v Western Kentucky
Gasparila Bowl: Florida v UCF
Arizona Bowl: Fresno State v Central Michigan
Hawaii Bowl: Utah State v East Carolina
Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Maryland v West Virginia
Military Bowl: Miami v Tulsa
Holiday Bowl: Virginia v Washington State
RedBox Bowl: Minnesota v Oregon State
CureBowl: Nevada v Auburn
Sun Bowl: Boston College v Texas
First Responder Bowl: North Carolina v Missouri
Myrtle Beach Bowl: Memphis v Eastern Michigan
Boca Raton Bowl: Wyoming v Virginia Tech
Camellia Bowl: Toledo v Georgia State
LendingTree Bowl: Miami (OH) v Florida State
Frisco Bowl: Ball State v TCU