Rather than compete for a national championship, Alabama was instead matched up with Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl, a game which they were widely expected to win given their status as a CFP snub.
The two programs met in the 2015 CollegeFootball Playoff national championship game in a ... No. 4 Ohio State beat No. 1 Oregon and Marcus Mariota 42-20 for the first-ever CFP national title.