Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said he is upset to see Alabama jump ahead of the Irish in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, adding that he disagrees with the selection committee.
Alabama moved to No. 9, while Notre Dame dropped one spot to No. 10 entering conference championship game weekend. The Irish are done with their regular season, while the Tide play Georgia in the SEC championship game.
The final CFP rankings will be released Sunday, but Tuesday night's one-spot drop potentially puts the Irish at risk of missing the 12-team playoff, depending on the result of all the conference championship games.
During an appearance Wednesday on NBC's "Today" show, Freeman was asked how he felt when he saw the ranking unveiled Tuesday night. Alabama beat Auburn 27-20 this past Saturday, while Notre Dame handled Stanford 49-20.
"We're never always going to agree, especially when your program is the one that's getting dropped after winning by 20-something points," Freeman said.
"There are as many Notre Dame fans that are upset, including myself, as there's going to be Alabama fans that are happy. I don't always understand it, personally. I'm sure [the committee] gave a legitimate reason, but that doesn't mean we agree."
Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said Tuesday night the debate between Alabama and Notre Dame the last three weeks has been "one of the strongest debates we've had in the room for the past two years that I've been a member of the committee."
"Notre Dame went on the road, had a strong win at Stanford," Yurachek said. "But Alabama went on the road, in a rivalry game, and looked really good, especially in the first half."
Alabama may have had a good first half, but had to sweat it out until the end, only securing the win after Auburn fumbled while driving for the tying score with 33 seconds remaining.
This is the first time Notre Dame was dropped in the weekly rankings since the first edition was released in early November. The Irish lost their first two games to teams ranked in the top 12, a big reason why they have remained in the top 10.
"We have to make sure our strength of schedule is challenging enough to if you do happen to lose a game or two, you can still make the playoffs," Freeman said. "For me, being a competitor, I want to play teams that are going to challenge us.
"You want to play against the best. And you know what? This year, unfortunately, we lost the first two games by four points. But I wouldn't change that."
Freeman also said he was in favor of playoff expansion because "more is better."
"The more teams you give an opportunity to play in the playoffs, the better," he said. "That's just how I feel personally. Everybody can have their own opinion, but I always favor more."