Not really cousins anywho...probably closer...after all the best selling greeting card in alabama this December was Merry Christmas Uncle Dad...just sayin
If you look at ND's season you'll see where the issue lies. Had a bunch of close wins (two in OT) and, in my opinion, one quality win (not counting the Stanford one that was questioned) against Oklahoma. Otherwise it took 3OTs to beat Pitt, beat Purdue by 3, Michigan by 6, and bigger wins against the likes of MSU, USC, Wake Forest, BYU, Miami, BC, and Navy. What of those teams are elite? Stanford, who *probably* should've won? Oklahoma who got wiped across the floor by A&M? Michigan, a 4 loss team somehow in the top 25? That said...Bama's schedule isn't that much tougher.