FUMBLE! — The Weekly Opine

Nuts and bolts

When it needed to put its best foot forward and operate like a tight spiral football thrown by a Heisman candidate, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee instead functioned like a wobbly football tossed by an assistant coach at spring practice. Look no further than the debacle last Sunday when the committee fumbled its responsibility at the goal line.

What we are left with – well, what the CFP honchos are left with – is college football’s credibility tarnished further. Trying to make sense of what the Selection Committee just did is like driving on a country road on a foggy morning.

What is immediately apparent is the undefeated, previously ranked #4 Florida State Seminoles got screwed.

Follow the directions

Seriously, this was not difficult. Let’s start with the final CFP rankings prior to the conference championships. The last regular season poll reflected the following teams, with their won-loss record:

1. Georgia 12-0

2. Michigan 12-0

3. Washington 12-0

4. Florida State 12-0

5. Oregon 11-1

6. Ohio State 11-1

7. Texas 11-1

8. Alabama 11-1

OK, so what happened on the field during conference championship games? (On the field is all that matters.) Georgia lost to Alabama. Michigan beat Iowa. Washington beat Oregon. Florida State beat Louisville. Ohio State did not play. Texas beat Oklahoma State. Alabama beat Georgia. (Notice I did not include the scores. The scores don’t matter. This is about who won and who lost, as easy to follow as the Yellow Brick Road.)

Figuring out the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s decision is like driving through a dense fog. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Now, here are the final CFP rankings and, in parenthesis, how they should have been ranked:

1. Michigan 13-0 (Michigan 13-0)

2. Washington 13-0 (Washington 13-0)

3. Texas 12-1 (Florida State 13-0)

4. Alabama 12-1 (Texas 12-1)

5. Florida State 13-0 (Alabama 12-1)

6. Georgia 12-1 (Georgia 12-1)

7. Ohio State 12-1 (Ohio State 12-1)

8. Oregon 11-2 (Oregon 11-2)

What shouldn’t matter

It should not matter that Florida State’s star quarterback was hurt a couple games ago and is out for the season. It shouldn’t matter that FSU’s backup QB suffered a concussion in the last game of the regular season. It don’t even matter that the Seminoles started a freshman in the ACC championship game. None of that matters. What matters is the team, led by a spirited coach and anchored by a resilient, tough-minded defense dominated 14th-ranked Louisville in the ACC title game.

This conference is really good at football. But that shouldn’t grant them the privilege to participate in every college football playoff. (Photo credit Southeastern Conference)

You see, Selection Committee, the games don’t all have to feature wild scores like 49-21. Sometimes, 16-6 can be a thing of beauty and inspiration. Florida State’s defense knew their offense was hamstrung with a 3rd-string freshman quarterback at the helm. The “D” knew the “O” would not score much. So, the “D” rose to the occasion and overpowered Louisville. In doing so the defense carried FSU to the completion of a perfect season. Undefeated. More than worthy. More than deserved. Florida State earned the right to play in the 4-team tournament, with a shot at the national championship.

Southeastern Conference Invitational?

Some say Georgia should not have dropped from #1 to #6 after losing to Alabama. However, to use a legal term, there is “precedent.” Over in men’s college hoops, pre-season #1 Kansas occupied the top spot for three weeks but dropped from 1st to 5th after suffering their first defeat. So, the narrative that Georgia should have remained in the top four is off base.

Also, off base (actually, absurd) is the notion that a team from the Southeastern Conference must be selected for the playoffs. Who cares how many prior years’ playoffs included SEC teams? It. Doesn’t. Matter. This year, Geogia played a relatively weak schedule. And Alabama only survived to play in the SEC title game by beating mediocre Auburn thanks to a rare Hail Mary touchdown pass. Meanwhile, Florida State accomplished a 13-0 won-loss record.

Furthermore, there had never been an unbeaten Power 5 team that did not qualify for the championship playoff (more precedent). In the end, the Selection Committee succumbed, opting to please the SEC and the TV gods a.k.a. ESPN (the exclusive broadcaster of SEC football starting in 2024). The thinking must’ve been that Michigan of the Big Ten vs. Alabama of the SEC is more appealing than Michigan vs. Florida State (ACC).

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee just put the ball on the ground, i.e., fumbled. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Florida State’s athletic director, Michael Alford, blasted the Selection Committee saying the decision “rendered the [regular] season irrelevant” while “significantly damaging the legitimacy of the College Football Playoff.” Alford also said the committee “changed the way success is assessed from a tangible metric to an intangible, subjective one.” Alford continued, saying, “the committee chose predictive competitiveness over proven performance; subjectivity over fact” and had become a “committee of prognosticators.”

What the committee did was presume Florida State cannot win with a backup quarterback. Yet, we’ve all seen teams win big games without their star player. Fans will never forget 1980, when the Los Angeles Lakers, playing without injured superstar center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, won Game 6 and the NBA title with rookie point guard Magic Johnson going off for 42 points and 15 rebounds against Julius “Dr. J” Erving and the Philadelphia 76ers.

There’s a reason they play the game because you just never know. Shamefully, the CFP Selection Committee wrongly took it upon themselves to decide who can and cannot win games.

Normally, I’d give FSU AD Alford the last word. But there is an elephant in the room not being addressed in the who should be in, who should be out, debate.

How is it that Michigan, whose head coach was suspended twice for violating NCAA rules, is even allowed to participate in the playoffs? Coach Jim Harbaugh missed his team’s first three games of the season, suspended due to recruiting violations (and potentially lying to investigators). Then Harbaugh missed Michigan’s final three regular season games, suspended due to a cheating scandal involving illegally scouting and stealing opponent’s play signals.

Call me old-fashioned but Michigan should not be allowed to compete for a shot at the national championship.