If you've ever wondered what it would be like to be hated as much as a computer, ask the College Football Playoff Committee. These 13 lucky soles have spent the last five months watching every football game played by every team from every conference. Or at least that is what we are lead to believe (I mean they were given magical iPads to help them watch all these games). With this blessing comes the curse of facing each fan base whose team lies outside the fabled final four which are selected weekly by these 13 individuals. The committee will be announcing its final poll and hand selecting its four-team playoff on Sunday, December 8, and much like the computers of the BCS system, they will make some people unhappy.
It's not these 13 people's fault though, allowing only four teams into a playoff when there are at least eight deserving isn't entirely fair. The playoff was a sensational idea for college football, but why not go all the way and allow eight teams right away? I mean at least the NFL (and now the MLB) allow six teams into its playoffs. The NCAA has 120 teams competing for four spots and like the previous post on this site says, they don't all have the same chances. But those are debates for a different day and state of mind. This writer is here to solely focus on the fact that the committee is in a tough position, but an easy out has been awarded these individuals.
Alabama is THE best team in college football because the Crimson Tide won THE best conference in college football (12 of 14 teams are bowl eligible and two were No. 1 at one point this season). Blake Sims has led Alabama through the gauntlet that is the SEC and culminated that feat with a win over Missouri in the championship game. Sims completed 23-of-27 passes for 262 yards and two touchdowns. The Crimson Tide should be the top seed in the playoff (slight bias).
Oregon followed up a 31-24 loss to Arizona on Oct. 2 with eight consecutive victories, averaging 48 points per game and allowing just 22 points per game, including a 51-13 thumping of the previously mentioned Wildcats in the Pac-12 Championship. Heisman front-runner Marcus Mariota has the Ducks firing on all cylinders and in the playoff as the No. 2 seed.
Here is where things get a little trickier.
Florida State can be either the No. 3 or the No. 4 seed in this inaugural college football playoff. Because the fact remains that the Seminoles are undefeated for a second-straight season and the defending champions of college football (despite what Dr. Pepper Larry says, I think the past seasons matter). You may or may not want FSU in the playoff, but the final undefeated team deserves to be in. This football enthusiast believes that Florida State is the No. 4 team, but could understand it as the No. 3 team.
This final entry is the committee's gift, as it is the ultimate aspirin to the massive headache they would have until January. Ohio State unleashed its third-string quarterback in the Big Ten Championship and handed Wisconsin a whooping on national television. Cardale Jones led the Buckeyes to a 59-0 throbbing of the untested Badgers on Saturday night. Ohio State has won its last 11 games since falling to Virginia Tech by two touchdowns at home (a devastating loss). Ohio State winning 59-0 over a 10-2 Wisconsin team catapults the Buckeyes into the remaining playoff spot (I'll let them decide which seed they deserve) and giving the committee an out from the Baylor and TCU hole that they dug.
Ohio State has given the committee a fourth team to compete in its playoff and it's even a sole conference winner. I believe the Big 12 has ultimately ruined its chances by allowing co-conference champions and not playing a conference championship game. The committee can take this moment and prove the point to the Big 12 Conference, while also getting the fiasco of allowing a TCU team that lost to Baylor in the playoff (that would've been bad).
But don't blame the committee disgruntled Big 12 fans from Waco and Fort Worth, they are just working with what was given to them. The real problems lie with the restriction to four teams when it could easily be expanded to eight. Think of Alabama playing Michigan State, Oregon playing Mississippi State, Ohio State playing TCU and Florida State playing Baylor with the winners advancing. It would create a seven-game playoff and give the world one extra week of football. Isn't that what we all want?
Wing Man out.
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