13-1 under Nick Saban, entered the playoff as the No. 4 seed without winning its division, beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl semifinal and Georgia 26-23 in overtime in the CFP National Championship; No. 1 in the final AP and coaches polls and the FWAA-NFF Grantland Rice Super 16.
Alabama’s 2017 schedule2017 National Champion: And Who Else Claims It
MULTIPLEDISPUTEDAlabama wins the College Football Playoff title in overtime over Georgia while 13-0 UCF, left out of the playoff, declares itself national champion on the strength of a Peach Bowl win over Auburn and a No. 1 Colley Matrix ranking.
College Football Playoff National Championship
January 8, 2018 · Mercedes-Benz Stadium · Atlanta, GA
The case for each side
Claimed by the program: no recognized selector picked them
13-0 under Scott Frost, the only undefeated FBS team, beat Auburn 34-27 in the Peach Bowl and was ranked No. 1 by the Colley Matrix, an NCAA-listed selector; UCF's athletics department self-declared a 2017 national championship and banners it. Winsipedia keeps it as a school claim; no major poll or the CFP selected UCF.
UCF’s 2017 schedule