The College Football Playoff is a Joke – With Supporting Facts and Opinions
The Alabama Crimson Tide is this year’s winner of the Participation Trophy
Before we get started, I just want to congratulate Alabama and its fans for getting their automatic bid based on previous accomplishments under the previously flawed BCS and “playoff” system. With that out of the way, let’s talk about this absurd committee decision that took place yesterday and what needs to be done going forward.
First of all, I know what everyone is saying out there in college sports land.
“It was a bad decision to have to make either way.”
“Neither team was impressive, so they had to look at other metrics.”
“This is why we have a committee – to make the tough decisions.”
I hear your platitudes and I raise you actual statistics...from this season. These are not entirely arbitrary numbers and the rankings are based on the committee’s own final rankings that were released yesterday. So here’s how the two teams stack up.
| Category | Ohio State | Alabama |
|---|---|---|
| Wins | 11 | 11 |
| Losses | 2 | 1 |
| Against Ranked | 3 – 1 | 2 – 1 |
| Final Rank of Wins | 6, 9, 16 | 17, 23 |
| Final Rank of Losses | 2 | 7 |
| Last Game | Win, 27 - 21 | Loss, 26 - 14 |
| Conference Champ | Yes | No |
Ohio State has three wins against opponents that are ranked higher than any single win Alabama had this year. They have also won their last four games, including wins against a ranked Michigan State team, a win against their rival on the road at Michigan, and a win on a neutral site against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship (with a running quarterback coming off of an arthroscopic knee surgery six days prior, no less).
Like it or not, the Buckeyes have a much better resume when it comes to games played and games won, according to the committee's own rankings. Alabama's resume could have been comparable if they had beaten Auburn.
The Second Loss
Before anyone starts screaming about the above statistics, let me add that Ohio State did take a bad loss at Iowa on November 4th. It was a 55-24 loss with lots of turnovers and not-stellar performances, from both the coaching staff and players on both sides of the ball. Quarterback J.T. Barrett threw four interceptions, including a pick-six on his first offensive play of the game. There’s no excuse for their performance. It should have never happened. It was embarrassing. It’s a really ugly scar on an otherwise great season.
However...I will say this: The Iowa game was a bit of a trap game for Ohio State.
They had a huge game the previous week against the then number two team in the country, Penn State. They won that game 39-38 in dramatic fashion in the fourth quarter after being down by multiple scores. The week after Iowa, the Buckeyes would be facing Michigan State, which was another ranked opponent and that had played them very well the last few seasons, including destroying hopes for a back-to-back conference championship and playoff run a couple of years ago. It should be noted that after taking a beating in Iowa, Ohio State bounced back immediately and thrashed the Spartans, 48-3.
Yes, it was a very bad loss at Iowa. Yes, it was their second loss of the season. But after that loss, they annihilated Michigan State and Illinois, then traveled to the biggest rivalry game in sports and won, then capped off the season by beating the CFB committee’s fourth-ranked team to take home the Big Ten championship.
The CFB committee had originally emphasized the importance of a team’s performance at the moment – not how they performed in a previous season or even early in the year. This had been a point of emphasis in previous selections, including the first playoff when Ohio State was selected, despite an early-season loss to Virginia Tech during the 2014 season. Ohio State went on to completely destroy opponents late in the year and even made the country’s “best defense” (Alabama) look like a MAC pretender. They then went on to win the national championship.
But Ohio State also won their conference championship that year, so it wasn’t really a tough decision to make. Oh, right...conference championships. Remember when those were supposed to matter?
The Ol’ Bait-and-Switch
If there’s one thing that college football presidents, ADs, commentators, and prognosticators are really good at, it’s the ability and eagerness to demand one thing from teams and athletic programs and then reward and praise another. It has been “recommended” for the committee to put a lot of weight on conference championships and strength of schedule. They wanted to encourage teams to play tougher opponents out of conference but still make a conference championship mean something. And it appeared to be working, as many big-name schools were scheduling other big-name schools. College football’s FBS division was heading in the right direction.
Until this season.
The SEC’s top teams have been notorious for scheduling really bad out-of-conference games late in the season. Alabama seems to enjoy scheduling teams like Chattanooga and Mercer in the final couple of weeks of their season. They get a late-season tune-up and can rest players before their final rivalry game.
On the other hand, Ohio State almost never schedules any “cupcakes” late in the year. They get the warm-up games over early in the season, then focus on winning the conference. This year, they even played an extra conference game in addition to their scheduled home-and-home series against Oklahoma.
Despite the Mercer tune-up game for Alabama, they lost the next week to their rival and ended up missing their conference championship game as a result. They didn’t even win their division in their conference.
Despite the tougher end-of-season schedule for Ohio State, they actually beat their rival and went on to win their conference championship.
If games and championships are supposed to mean something, then why would the committee reward failure and punish success, especially after claiming that late-season successes are supposed to carry more weight? Why punish a team that has two losses, simply because they have two losses, especially after claiming that scheduling tougher opponents and occasionally losing those games shouldn’t be the defining metric for playoff teams?
There’s no reason why a conference champion should be sitting out of a playoff while a team that couldn’t even win their division of their conference is chosen for it. If you consider the other numbers, Ohio State has better wins, more wins against ranked opponents, a better schedule both in and out of conference, and their conference title.
The Buckeyes did what college football commentators and the committee has demanded from teams for years. They beat three teams in the final top-16. They played a top opponent out-of-conference and played an extra conference game – and they picked up a second loss for doing it. And for that, they have been punished.
Alabama didn’t have the opportunity to pick up a second loss from teams like Florida State, Fresno State, Colorado State, or Mercer. They scheduled their late-season cupcake, played their eight conference games, and had one team to beat to put them in contention for their conference title and a playoff bid. They couldn’t do it. And for that, they have been rewarded.
The committee has sent the message loud and clear to FBS schools: Just have a better record at the end of the season. It doesn’t matter who you schedule or beat, as long as the loss column is less than 2. Because if we have learned anything at all about this process, there are no “tough decisions” being made. There are safe decisions – and the safe decision has been to simply reward better records.
And Alabama.
For the record: This precedent was set last year when Ohio State failed to win their division in their conference, but was selected to participate in the playoff anyway. The statistics were a little different and a lot more clear-cut for why Ohio State was chosen, but it opened the door for more arbitrary criteria to take precedence.
How About a Real Playoff?
College football’s top division has always been a bit of a disappointment for me. It’s the only major sport where championships are not decided on the field. Yes, they claim to have “championship games” in the FBS division but the teams playing for those “championships” have always been selected by people or computers, or both.
Imagine if the NFL’s Super Bowl match-up was decided every year by a vote from a group of people like Jerry Jones, Bill Cowher, John Elway, and Bob Costas. The games are still played all season long. Division winners are still decided on the field, but instead of putting them in a playoff against each other, this Super Bowl committee simply picked two teams and declared them “the best.”
Would anyone believe that this was a good or even a fun method for determining a football champion? What if they chose four teams from the eight divisions? What if they chose teams that didn’t even win their division? Would this add more or less legitimacy to the process and the ultimate “champion?”
If we can see how much of a farce it would be for the NFL to select champions this way, why is this the default method for college football? Oh, wait...it isn’t.
Did you know that every other division of NCAA football has a playoff? And that these playoffs are actually sanctioned by the NCAA?
You read that correctly. The NCAA backs the legitimate playoff for the other college divisions, such as the FCS – which, humorously enough, is called the Football Championship Division. Why is that funny? Because the headlining division, the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) obviously lacks a true championship and the current “playoff” format is not sanctioned by the NCAA. The FBS has been unable to figure out what the FCS has been doing for decades, which is to pit conference champions against each other in a playoff to determine a national champion.
With a legitimate playoff system, there’s virtually no guess-work. If you win your conference, you’re in. It’s pretty self-explanatory. It’s how every other sport with a conference setup works. There’s no room for complaints or claims of unfairness. There’s no dispute about who is “more deserving.” There’s no contradictory nonsense about several teams being essentially the same caliber one week and one of them magically becoming “unequivocally better” the next, without even playing a game...because they lost the opportunity by losing on the field.
Now, before anyone starts complaining about how many more games would be needed for an actual six or eight-team playoff, let me remind you once again that this has already been happening for years. In fact, the FCS playoff currently includes 24 teams and five rounds. They’ve had at least a 16-team playoff format since 1986. For over 30 years, these schools, coaches, and athletes have figured out a way to make it work and they apparently like it.
The FCS schools that worry about academics (the Ivy League) simply choose to not participate in the playoff. Is that not ideal? If you don’t want to play, you don’t have to. It’s beautiful. Allowing the schools to choose whether or not they want to participate in an extended season seems like the best option. I don’t see how that could be considered unfair in any way. As a matter of fact, if an individual player wants to choose to not play more than the regular season games, they should be free to make that decision as well.
This isn't a valid excuse for not wanting an actual playoff format. It can be done, and it can be done easily.
So what would a legitimate playoff for the FBS look like this year with an eight-team format? The committee could still exist, but their role would be changed to one that is similar or identical to the FCS committee that chooses the playoff participants that are not conference champions.
If the rules were simple, the playoff teams could be selected as follows:
- Power-5 conference champions
- Highest-ranked conference champion outside of the Power-5
- Two wild-card teams based on committee rankings
If these rules were applied this season, these are the match-ups that we would see for the FBS playoff, based on the final committee rankings.
(1) Clemson vs. (8) Wisconsin
(2) Oklahoma vs. (7) Alabama
(3) Georgia vs. (6) Central Florida
(4) Ohio State vs. (5) Southern California
As a fan, those would be some pretty interesting and fun match-ups and would make for an exciting semi-final round as well. I'm pretty sure most college football fans would agree.
The only arguments that can be made would involve rankings and the selection of the two wild-card teams. But with the conference champions already in, there would be very little to criticize. The obvious answer to any gripes would simply be: “Win your conference.” If you can’t do that, then you’re at the mercy of arbitrary rankings, and I don’t believe that this would be a major cause of concern.
This system would still have the element of subjectivity and the impact of rankings, and the surrounding discourse, but it would also have the integrity of pitting actual conference champions against each other, as sports championships should be. Those conference titles will actually mean something and great out-of-conference match-ups during the season could become the norm.
It’s the best of all worlds, so it’s surprising to me to see this option never entertained. There are solutions everywhere, including in the college football division one step lower from the FBS. It’s time to pick one that makes sense. And a true playoff makes sense.
And one last thing, which is probably the most important for school presidents and athletic directors alike...
Did I mention that an eight-team playoff would include more games...which would also include more sponsorships, more exposure, and...more money?
I’m sure this will happen at some point. I just can’t figure out why the FBS powers-that-be think that their coaches and athletes are such special little snowflakes that they can’t handle deciding national champions on the field.
But if enough money is there – that eight-team playoff will be coming soon.
In the meantime, we’ll see what Alabama does with their participation trophy this year. Because truth be told, no college team is invincible. Anyone in the top-20 could probably beat anyone else in the top-20 in any given week. Alabama doesn’t have more championships recently because they’re “unequivocally better” than any other school. They just happen to be selected to play for national titles more often.
Let’s reward on-field victories, not last season’s or last decade’s best teams. Play your season. Win your games. Claim your conference title. Play against others who have done the same.
That’s how true champions are decided.
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I agree fully that there was a lot of bias in this years picks. Seems as if they went with the safe pick. Ohio State deserved it more with a great season. One game doesn't and shouldn't make a season and thus they shouldn't be disqualified (essentially) for it. They should have made the fourth position for their skilled team. Also, Ohio State would have been more fun to watch in the bracket.
P.S. I had to bump all the agree comments up past tucks.
hahaha, take that Tuck!
Ahhhh.... the debate of the FBS. I grew up the son of an Ohio State Alumn, so I am right there in the disappointed chair. Although I will admit after watching the boys get beat into the dirt last year I don't know how disappointed to be. Having a Cotton Bowl matchup with USC isn't a terrible consolation prize.
I think last year's results are being held against the Big 10, and the overarching opinion of the SEC as THE Power conference for years I'm sure came in to play.
We'll see how it plays out. I was encouraged last week to see that the young guy stepping in at QB can run Urban's offense. It's a young team, so they will be back.
I imagine they likely would have put a 2 loss Alabama in over a 2 loss Ohio State as well if they could legitimately find a way to do so. Alabama is the golden child.
Don't know that the system will ever be corrected. Don't hold your breath!
The notion that the SEC was the “best conference in college football” was simply a self-fulfilling prophecy reinforced by idiotic pre-season rankings of SEC teams that was fed into the computer algorithms that computed the BCS rankings. All it took was a couple years of SEC teams winning the BCS “championship” game and the next six or seven years after were heavily slanted in their favor from preseason to post-season. And that lunacy is what led lot of the big schools to support the current “playoff” format.
What we’re seeing now is just a repeat of that same mentality from the committee. Alabama got in this year because they’ve been in the playoff the past three years. So far, they’re 1-2 at winning the playoff and no other SEC team has been good enough to be in consideration until now. And the only reason Georgia is in is due to the SEC East being absolutely horrible and them not having to play Alabama.
The SEC hasn’t been a good conference for several years now. To claim that Alabama must be heads and shoulders above anyone else is absurd. They couldn’t even win their damn division, losing to an Auburn team that was beat by Troy. They lost to Troy. At home. But the committee was willing to put a two-loss Auburn team at number 2 in their rankings just last week.
Meanwhile, Ohio State loses to a conference opponent and the number 2 team in the final CFB rankings, and they’re suddenly not worthy of being a playoff team. They did what Auburn couldn’t do. They won their conference. If Auburn had beaten sixth-ranked Georgia, they would have been in with two losses - one of them to Troy.
And that was the team that beat Alabama and kept them from winning their division in their conference ten days ago. Then Auburn lost. And that somehow meant that Alabama was “unequivocally better” than Ohio State. None of that makes any sense.
Anyway - I also like the future quarterback at OSU. When he came in against Michigan, it reminded me a lot of what Cardale Jones was able to do back in the 2014 national title run. Urban’s offense works a hell of a lot better when you have that deep passing threat. But a lot of that also has to do with play calling, which has been mostly bad since Tom Herman left.
But the new QB looks good so far. He’s more of a pocket passer than Barrett, but still has some wheels if he needs to run. And in Urban’s offense, he’ll be doing plenty of that. Dobbins though...that guy is impressive. They have a ton of young, top talent at the skill positions. Next season will be fun to watch.
I agree with your point about about the FBS playoffs needing a complete overhaul. Let's face it, the national championship has always been a joke since the time it was still decided by polls. Championships are won the field, not by popularity contests. This abbreviated playoff is still a popularity contest. I graduated from a FCS school, Lehigh University. Lehigh has two undisputed national championships that were won through playoffs. Playoffs that were wrapped up by Christmas, so not really a lot of extra strain on student athletes.
Sorry Ohio State, the same BS that put them in the playoffs last year came back to bite them in the ass this year. Full disclosure, I am a Penn State fan. Last year Penn State beat Ohio State and won the Big Ten Championship and were still left out. The precedent was set. Head to head victories and conference titles mean nothing to the committee. Ohio State gets to enjoy the same consolation prize, a bowl game against USC.
Penn State screwed this all up by blowing the game against Ohio State. Buckeyes certainly have a better resume than Alabama. They beat a Penn State team that should kick Bama's ass. Bama beat nobody.
Let's all hope and pray Clemson and Oklahoma bury the SEC chumps to expose the damn carnival sideshow known as the FBS playoffs.
This is about money not about sports, has nothing to do with stats nor sportsmanship. This decision was purely monetary, selecting Alabama will generate more revenue.
I’m sure the playoff format they chose is about money. But as far as the games are concerned, Ohio State has a much larger fan base and also travels extremely well. There’s no shortage of sponsorships and TV deals there.
Living in the south in SEC country I am of full belief the SEC bias is real.
Yes, that blowout loss to Iowa was a hit to the resume, but it seems like Ohio State has been playing better football now at the end of the season.
I think there is some thinking around the decision makers that because of the disappointing performance last year against Clemson, Ohio State has gotten penalized.
I think your idea of the 8 team playoff makes a lot of sense. This year, I would have been fine with Alabama and Ohio State dueling it out in a 4/5 matchup with the winner playing the # 1 seed.
I'm sure that factored into their decision-making. But this would mean that their objective of finding the best teams in the country this year isn't being met. As with any subjective format, it still leads to committee bias. The problem with the BCS wasn't necessarily the formulas - it was the entirely subjective/biased input for those formulas.
I think most people would have been OK with that...except Nick Saban. The last time they met, OSU put up 500+ yards of offense on their "best defense in the country." The score really didn't reflect just how impotent Alabama's defense was, thanks to a couple of really bad turnovers and fumbling issues.
I hate how these "experts" are the ones who choose the teams and they change their criteria from week to week. Game control.... Quality of Losses....
Nothing says "true champion" like, "We think this team is better, so they're in the playoff!"
And they can't even decide or be consistent about what "better" means. They just know that it's "unequivocal."
Absolutely agree. The whole thing is a joke. I'm not an Ohio state fan but they got screwed so hard. The committee is so far up Alabama's ass that they just couldn't possibly have a playoff without them. I just don't understand why they're too damn stupid to make it 8 teams. Season is too long? Shit it's one extra game, take away a cupcake game and it's the same. Too much money in bowl games? Uhh just make bowl games part of the playoff. This isn't rocket science. I know I repeated some of what you said but you got me all fired up.
Yeah. I mean, they already have a blueprint for a real playoff format for college football. And they already incorporated traditional major bowl games into the current three-game format. Just extend the playoff game locations to bowls like the Cotton or Gator Bowls.
There’s absolutely no reason why an eight-team playoff can’t happen. The problem is that these ADs and presidents don’t want it to happen. They’re a bunch of old guys stuck on their power brokering and the “old tradition” of voting for “champions.”
It’s just a stupid, archaic system. I’m surprised that the athletes and coaches are OK with this. If I were them, I’d be demanding a legitimate playoff.
Exactly. It's all politics and old guys with power. I wonder if the players/coaches don't do more because they are afraid of backlash. They would need a majority of the big schools to stand together so they're not worried about being singled out during the next 'playoff' talk. Someonee who is well known needs to grow some balls and start raising hell and getting people behind them.
Ah, if Wisconsin could just recruit a QB, we wouldn't have had any debate this year. Horni is good when he has time in the pocket, but as soon as he has any pressure, his non-existent mobility is tough to watch.
I would definitely love to see an 8 team playoff. The first round should be hosted by the higher seed, the second round can be the bowl games, then do the same thing they are already doing with the National Championship.
I also agree that Alabama getting in over Ohio State is bullshit when they didn't play (because they didn't make their conference championship game), and Ohio State won; but I hate both teams, so it sucks either way.
I didn't realize that the SEC scheduled these weaker teams at the end of the season like that. That is weird. The PAC-12 and Big10 never seems to have that going on from what I have seen.
Great post. I'm tired of seeing year after year these big schools beating up on no-name programs and reaping the benefits of soft schedule to get in. Bama ain't that good of a team, it's name recognition only. Real bummer and hard to follow.
It was especially frustrating to watch them eke out some of those wins. I thought with their loss against a respectable team that would be it and I wouldn't have to watch them and pretend they are a top 4 team in the nation.
So wait. This is an awfully long post for someone who suddenly disappeared from chat, just sayin'! ;)
It’s Tuck’s fault. I’m a gaming addict. And he made me buy a new Xbox. :(
Did you really? He made me buy one too. When are we gonna play?
You know the answer to that question.