My Thoughts On the CFP Prior to Conference Championship Weekend.
By Derek Lee
Emily Rice
Texas doesn’t belong in the College Football Playoff, flat and simple. You cannot lose 3 games and get into the playoff. You especially can’t lose to a 3-8 Florida team and to Georgia by 25 and expect to get in. I do not care if Texas beat Texas A&M. What about Texas A&M’s schedule proves that they’re any good? Because they beat Notre Dame? That week 2 result is not indicative of either team. Or maybe it is, and both teams are far inferior than the committee wants us to believe.
Sark begging to be in the CFP is a bad look. Any playoff where begging, brand bias and threats get you in, is not a playoff. It’s an invitational. This was already known though, ESPN hand picks who gets into they playoff and they can spin whatever narrative they want in order to get the best TV ratings. They control the college football playoff, they in turn determine the rankings, allowing themselves to award teams “ranked” wins to improve their strength of schedule. This isn’t new and has been happening since the start of the 4 team playoff in 2014.
But if this committee, this year, allows Texas into the playoff, it sets a dangerous precedent in years to come. It gives way for teams to use propaganda (they already are), threats and bribes to essentially force their way into the playoff. I do not care who Texas has beaten, I do not care if they played Ohio State close, I do not care that they are in the SEC. If you lose 3 games, YOU DO NOT BELONG IN A TWELVE TEAM PLAYOFF.
Another team in Texas however does deserve to be in the playoff. And I’m not talking about Texas A&M even though they do deserve it. Texas Tech belongs in the playoff, and they belong in one of the top 4 seeds. They have two of the more impressive wins in the country this year. They beat Utah on the road by 3 scores. The committee’s own number 15 team in the nation. They followed that up later in the season by beating the committee’s number 11 team by double digits as well. Their only loss this season was with their backup quarterback to an Arizona State team who has been ranked on and off all year.
Georgia did not look impressive against a ranked Georgia Tech team. Texas A&M lost. What did Texas Tech do this weekend? Oh, just beat West Virginia by damn near 50. Yes, Georgia Tech and Texas are much better than West Virginia. But the difference is, Texas Tech looked the part. The other two didn’t to the same extent.
Speaking of teams who took care of business recently, Miami has proven that they deserve to be in the playoff this year. They just casually went on the road to #22 Pitt, and beat them by 31. They controlled the game from the opening kickoff and never wavered. Miami knew that they needed a convincing win and they absolutely ragdolled Pitt. Since their 6 point overtime loss to SMU, Miami has outscored their opponents 151-41. They are playing incredibly well down the stretch and have the ranked win to close it out to back it up. Miami has no business being ranked behind Notre Dame. The committee is directly going against their previously stated logic, reasoning and decision making. But we all know why this is happening. Notre Dame is a national brand, so is Miami if we are being honest, but Notre Dame is possibly the biggest brand in college football. They want eyes on the television. They want money. Because who picks the committee members? ESPN.
Another team being screwed by ESPN is BYU. BYU is 11-1 with their only loss being to the number 4 team in the country, on the road. The committee has grouped together teams by record. All the undefeated teams are together, all the one loss teams are together and all the two loss teams are together for the most part… except for one. That one is BYU. BYU has a win against the number 15 team in the nation (who dropped in this weeks rankings for absolutely no reason except to prop up Texas). BYU has just casually taken care of business EVERY SINGLE WEEK and the brand bias of the committee is screwing them over. If they do not make the playoff they seriously should consider boycotting or suing. There is plenty of anti-trust precedent to win them a lawsuit. If they keep it within 2 scores of Texas Tech, they deserve to be in and there is no way around it. They have the number 6 strength of record in the nation, higher than Alabama, Oklahoma, Ole Miss and even Texas Tech. They are 2-1 against top 25 teams and are playing in a conference championship. There is absolutely no reason for them to be ranked 11th in the nation, no reason for them to be ranked below Notre Dame, no reason for them to be ranked behind Ole Miss, no reason for them to be ranked behind Oklahoma and no reason for them to miss the College Football Playoff.
The College Football Playoff has been a broken system since its inception. People complained about the 4 team playoff and now there is even more complaining about the 12 team playoff. Let’s just be honest about this. It is ESPN’s invitational. No way around it, it is funded by ESPN and Disney, the teams are chosen by ESPN for TV ratings and the money goes straight to ESPN. The NCAA does not make a single dollar off of the College Football Playoff. It should not be allowed to happen, it lacks integrity and it is disingenuous to the sport. But until ESPN is stripped from the stranglehold it has over college football this will never change. It makes me worry about the future of the sport that I love and makes me wonder if it will ever have the same magic that it used to.