Haha! So, you’ve made up a scenario that doesn’t exist and replaced it with one that already exists? Go look at who Alabama has actually played in the first game of each season.
Duke Louisville Florida State USC Wisconsin West Virginia Virginia Tech Michigan Bama Season openers since 2012. Just stop.
Fair enough for Bama, but my point wasn't limited to just Alabama. A lot of teams still play an out of conference game that really has no bearing on the season. Still around 80 Div-1 teams with a zero % chance of a national title. There are plenty of out of conference games that could be eliminated to add a week to the playoff system.
On the one hand, Dabo is an idiot for giving a good team hungry for revenge some pretty easy bulletin board material. On the other hand, I don't disagree with your point. The NCAA really should have thought through the possibility of a team playing considerably less games than everyone else getting into the playoffs. Granted, had the Big 10 not changed things just for OSU, it likely wouldn't have been a problem.