- “Principles. The committee will select the teams using a process that distinguishes among otherwise comparable teams by considering:
- * Conference championships won,
- * Strength of schedule,
- * Head-to-head competition,
- * Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory), and,
- * Other relevant factors such as key injuries that may have affected a team’s performance duringthe season or likely will affect its postseason performance.”
(efootballplayoff.com/documents/2017/10/20//CFP_Selection_Committee_Protocol.pdf?id=23)
Listed above is the stated criteria of the College Football Selection committee, and it is all a lie. This year’s College Football Playoff included Clemson University, Oklahoma University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Alabama. The first three teams, yielded little, if any, surprise when the committee announced that these three teams were to be included in the final four. Each of the three teams had won their conference championship (check mark one), each team had a strong strength of schedule (check mark two) thanks to their status of a power five team, and all three teams also had a legitimate non conference win over a reputable opponent. (Clemson over Auburn, Oklahoma over Ohio State, and Georgia over Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Georgia’s wins both coming on the road which is another factor when evaluating strength of schedule) So far, everything seems to be in line. Where could the lie be? To find the lie, look no further than the fourth and final team to make the playoff, the University of Alabama. Did they win their conference? No, they did not even win their respective division. Did they have a tough strength of schedule? Not even slightly when comparing their schedule to that of other top teams.
Alabama only had on their schedule 11 division one FBS teams. One team Alabama scheduled is not even in their same league. This would be like an NFL team scheduling a college football team for an easy win. They played the Mercer Bears who finished 5-6 overall in FCS football. Alabama scheduled a team who could not even finish with a .500 winning percentage in a considerably lower level of football! Well maybe they needed an easy game since they would play such grueling conference schedule right? You would be wrong. Their best win in conference was an unconvincing win over Mississippi State 24-17, which, to anyone watching who was not a fan of the Crimson Tide, was not so much an Alabama win as it was the Bulldogs poorly managing a game and letting it get away from them. By the time the final CFP rankings were released, Alabama’s best win would become #17 LSU. LSU also played Mississippi State (who finished 23 in the final CFP rankings) and beat them 37-7. Gee, 24-17 does not seem so legitimate anymore does it? Again, you may ask, where is the lie? All these stats are great but why does it matter? That answer, will be found in the team who finished 5 in the final rankings, one spot away from having the chance to play for a national championship.
The number five team in the country was the Ohio State Buckeyes. I myself am no fan of them, far from it, I actually have a burning hatred for them, yet even I cry foul at the sight of seeing them left out. Unlike Alabama, Ohio State had a very tough strength of schedule. They played (according to the final CFP rankings) four teams in the top twenty five and three in the top ten. Of those four games, Ohio State won three over teams ranked 6,9, and 16. Who is Alabama’s best win again? Oh yea, 17. Ohio also had to play an additional game, the conference championship to prove their point and finish with an 11-2 record. Unlike the NFL, a loss is not so easily forgivable. One or two losses can derail an entire season. Should Ohio State be considered an inferior team since they have two losses to Bama’s one? Not at all. Ohio State could have just as well scheduled Mercer instead of non conference top ten opponent Oklahoma. I would bet my house on OSU to beat Mercer.
After laying out the facts, it should be a no brainer that Alabama be left out of the CFP. So why did they still get in? Because the whole system is a flat out lie. The committee states their mission is to select the best teams. That means they can select whomever they choose and hide under the cover of saying they chose “the better team”. Was Alabama the better team? No, they had the better coach. There is no denying that Alabama is a dynasty run by Nick Saban, but the rules state that every year is unique and no season but the current season is evaluated. Because of who he is, Saban was given the benefit of doubt, proving the CFP to be a sham, and nothing but a lie.