Breaking Down the College Football Playoff

By: Andrew Romanella

The committee has spoken and the top-4 teams in college football have been chosen to compete in the college football playoff on New Year’s Day. As you could have guessed, this decision came with a lot of controversy and plenty of pissed off programs.

Let’s break it down.

Alabama remains in the number one spot after completing a shootout victory over Florida, 52-46 for their 9th SEC title under Nick Saban, and a perfect 11-0 season. Clemson landed the two spot after pummeling Notre Dame, 38-10 in the ACC Championship game. This is the second time this season these two teams have met, but the first with Trevor Lawrence. Clemson showed who they are and gave you hope that maybe, just maybe the CFP would feature a new team.

As you may know, that is not the case. Because Notre Dame only lost one game, to the Tigers, but, beat Clemson earlier in the season when they were #1, the committee felt they were worthy of being top-4. This left one spot for 6-win Ohio State, the most controversial of them all.

Yes, Ohio State won the Big Ten. Yes, they are a top team in the country, but why do we play the games if ZERO teams outside of a select few ACTUALLY have a chance to make the playoff?

Embed from Getty Images

I agree with Bama and Clemson, that’s easy. But plenty of teams outside of ND and Ohio State deserved the chance to be in the final 4. Some that played more games than OSU and equally, if not a harder schedule than both the Buckeyes and Irish.

Here are a few teams that I think may have been more deserving than ND and/or Ohio State:

First, Oklahoma. They finished 9-2 and as the Big 12 Champion. #6 seed. Lost to #10 Iowa State and unranked Kansas State early in the season. Beat #10 Iowa State, #20 Texas, and #21 Oklahoma State. Easily a better resume than ND. The argument for not being in? Honestly, there isn’t one. The committee just simply didn’t care what Oklahoma did after their second loss.

Next, Cincinnati. Finished 9-0 and AAC Champions, #8 seed. Lost spots because Covid canceled games. Defeated zero times. Beat opponents by an average of 23.3 PPG and beat #17 Memphis and #24 Tulsa. Did I say they never lost a game?

Lastly, Texas A&M. Finished 8-1. Beat #7 Florida and lost to #1 Alabama. The only reason why they aren’t in is that they lost to Bama by 28 points. Had that game been 10 or fewer points, they might be in over ND or OSU. Either way, with that record in the SEC compared to Notre Dame’s record in the ACC, with both teams not winning a championship, A&M wins my vote. Then again, they aren’t a brand like ND, so….

Essentially, what you’re telling us is Alabama, Clemson, and Notre Dame are allowed to lose games and be okay, but no one else is. Any team not playing in the SEC, ACC, Big 10, or Big 12, has no chance of making the playoff, even if they run their schedule and go undefeated. Oh yeah, AND we can change the rules for certain teams, cough cough, Ohio State, just because we thought at the beginning of the year they were good enough to be in.

The CFP is a joke and needs to be disbanded or changed.

Just think. SEC, ACC, Big 12, Big 10, and PAC 12 all get an automatic bid through winning the conference championship. Then, a committee selects 3 wild card teams to fill out the remainder of the 8-team tournament.

Embed from Getty Images

If this was the case, this would be my 2021 CFP:

#1 Alabama (SEC Champ) vs. #8 Coastal Carolina (Wild Card #3. Finished 11-0)

#2 Clemson (ACC Champ) vs. #7 Cincinnati (Wild Card #2)

#3 Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ) vs. #6 Texas A&M (Wild Card #1)

#4 Ohio State (Big 10 Champ) vs. #5 Oregon (PAC 12 Champ)

Now that is what you call a College Football Playoff!

Conference championships matter again, and you have the chance to give the non-power-5 school an opportunity to get in. Not only does that present a “March Madness” feel, which EVERYONE loves, but this gives schools outside the power-5 an opportunity to benefit from the financial earnings of making the playoff, and potentially, winning the National Championship.

IF a team exists in NCAA Division 1 football, then they should have EVERY chance to make the College Football Playoff. Just like NCAA baseball, basketball, soccer, field hockey, swimming, fencing, lacrosse, hockey, should I continue?

Of course, this is all up for debate. The CFP is here to stay, for now. And until further notice Bama, Clemson and OSU are going to be in. Can’t wait to watch a full season to see one spot change.

But hey, the one thing I know we can all agree on, this system is screwed, and it needs to be fixed, asap. By the way, I predict a Clemson vs. Alabama championship and a Bama victory.

Go sports!