PASADENA, Calif. — It's an old phrase, but it's still accurate. "You are what your record says you are.''

Alabama is the only team in the 12-team College Football Playoff that has three losses. Their record? They are 11-3.

And what does that say about them? Beauty, in many ways, is in the eye of the beholder. There were a lot of people that didn't think they belonged in the playoffs, that their invitation was more of a lifetime achievement award than a pick based on 2025 results.

They lost to Florida State in Week 1, a bad loss to be sure. They also lost to Oklahoma in November, but avenged that last week in Norman in the first round of the playoffs. Their third loss was in the SEC Championship Game to Georgia, but they did beat the Bulldogs — in Athens, no less — back on Sept. 27. 

You can't erase losses, but you can avenge them. So it begs the obvious question? Are they good enough to continue to win games in this College Football Playoff? They get another chance on Thursday when they take on No. 1 seed Indiana in the Rose Bowl. 

What's that record say? We went to Alabama quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator Nick Sheridan for some answers.

““It says 11 times we did a great job. It’s the nature of college football and relative to the strength of schedule that you play. That’s the great thing about the playoffs though, too, in that you’re sort of starting over,'' said Sheridan, who coached at Indiana from 2017-21. "Those three losses don’t matter any more. And two of them, don’t forget, were against teams that made the playoffs (Oklahoma, Georgia) and one team (Georgia) that won the SEC and is a top-four seed.

“And you give credit to the teams that beat us, too. They all just played better than we did those days. But we also beat Georgia in Athens, which is very hard to do, and then we beat Oklahoma last week. So what’s 11-3? I think it’s pretty good. We beat a lot of good teams this year, and played well doing it. I’m proud of the fight in this team, and we were able to do enough to be sitting here today.''

Alabama has struggled to run the ball most of the year, averaging just 109 yards per game. That ranks 118th in the country out of 134 teams and dead last among playoff teams. In their three losses, they averaged just 54.7 per game. Jam Miller, their leading rusher with 504 yards, had only one game over 100 yards all season.

But Sheridan again reminds us that there was much more to their season than just those three losses. Take the Auburn comparison, for instance. They Tigers had a losing record but were great against the run all year. Missouri, for instance, led the SEC in rushing but only had 91 against Auburn. Alabama had 158 yards in the Iron Bowl win. They also had 117 at Georgia and 146 in a big win against Vanderbilt.

So, yes, they have had their moments.

“One of the strengths of this group, coaches and players alike, is the ability to adapt and find ways to win, because in the end, that’s all that matters. Just win the game,'' Sheridan said. "We’ve had moments where we’ve played against really stout run defense and still had over 100 yards. We’ll take that. That’s doing a good job. Auburn has one of the best front in our league, and we rushed for 158 yards. Missouri, who has the best run game in our league, didn’t do that against them. Same at Georgia, we ran for 117 that day in Athens when we beat them.

“We've had our moments running the ball. Not enough of them, of course, and we definitely need to be better against Indiana. But this group has a lot of belief in itself, and we know we're capable of getting it done. Our process is ongoing when it comes to that. We’re always looking to get better.’’

Alabama has won 11 games because of their passing attack. Redshirt junior Ty Simpson has had a good year and was in the Heisman Trophy talk earlier in the year. He'll share a field with the actual winner — Indiana's Fernando Mendoza — on Thursday, and Alabama will need Simpson to play well.

“I’ve been impressed with Ty’s toughness all year. Even last week at Oklahoma, we were down 17-0 so fast, but he never flinched. He just kept playing, just kept finding a way,'' Sheridan said. "Look, he’s been here for four years, but he really hasn’t played a lot of football. This is really his first year of playing, and he’s handled a lot of situations well. I love the kid.

“I know Ty has a lot of respect for Mendoza, but they really aren’t matching up together against each other. Ty is just the kind of kid who’s focused on his job at hand, and that’s figuring out ways to move the ball against Indiana’s defense. That’s his priority. We’ve seen this before with big quarterback matchups, but it’s not like they’re going against each other. He’s not out there tackling him. We know Ty is going to make some big plays for us.’’

The quarterfinal game starts at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The winner advances to the Jan. 9 semifinal in Atlanta, against the winner of the quarterfinal game between Texas Tech and Oregon.

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