CFP Final Four?

This may be one of the toughest years for the committee to make a decision.

Neither Alabama or Georgia may make it but how can you leave out the SEC?

Agree I wouldn’t wanna be CFP committee right now !

Unfortunately FSU May be dropped. They’ll cite injured star player.

Texas, Bama rounding out Michigan & Washington.

Of the Power 5 conferences - one champion has to be dropped each year. This year FSU - unbeaten ACC.

Big 10, PAC 10, Big 12, SEC champions get the nod

Just stop with the 29-1 shit for Georgia. They're 12-1. Last year doesn't fucking matter.

Don't disagree with the rest, but I'm sick of people bringing up last year for Georgia and no one else. If you wanna include previous years records, do it for everyone.

Really, if we’re discussing last year we should be including TCU as a contender. Oh, that’s right they lost to Colorado who went 4-8.

Eh, maybe 29-1 is extreme, but it looks like the two time defending champ is being left out for losing to AL on a neutral site. Yeah, I know. If they deserved to be in, they should’ve won.

Georgia will be the #4 seed with their 29-1 record.

I can see Georgia dropping to #, however, Texas should get the nod. Alabama moving up four spots just doesn't seem right.

Next year the conference championship games (if they still play them) will be exhibition games in many cases because the top two teams from the conference will be in the playoffs anyway. The argument will then shift to which decent but not great teams squeeze into the #12 slot

I think this comes down to 2 things:

1. Do you knock FSU out and put in Texas AND Bama?

2. If you keep FSU who do you pick, Texas or Bama?

Sorry Georgia and OSU - you guys got hosed. Oh yes everyone already forgot about OSU.

Remember, Louisville stomped a Notre Dame team that a one loss OSU barely beat. A little more credit may need to come FSUs way after doing it with a 3rd string quarterback.


As for Bama or Texas, hmm I’m going to argue Bamas strength of schedule is slightly harder mainly because they faced Georgia, but neither team consistently blew out their opponents.

I’d bet the committee would take Bama if it comes down to 1 slot open. Auburn, you could have fixed this last week and the entire nation wouldn’t have to have this discussion today.

Michigan and Washington are locks as 12-0 power 5 conference Champs that are currently playing their best football.

I think Texas is a lock due to the head to head scenarios where they beat Alabama and Alabama beat Georgia. You can't really put Bama in and leave out a conference champion with the same record who beat them by double digits.

Florida St is the wildcard. As a 12-0 ACC champion they would normally be in, but that offense was difficult to watch with the new QB yesterday. I think if they would've looked at least decent with him they would've been in, but as bad as they looked I don't think the Committee can justify saying they are one of the 4 best teams in college football right now.

Because of that I think it will be Alabama in the 4th spot.

Georgia and Ohio State were the two teams that had been in the top spot all year but both will miss the playoffs. They both only once and only in a close game to a great team either in a neutral or road game. Unfortunately the way everything else worked out I don't see how the committee can justify putting either one in, unless they really just say "fuck the records ands championships, we want the 4 best teams in." If they wanted to do that I think it would be an all big ten and sec playoff with UM, Bama, UGA and OSU but everyone outside of the sec and big ten would go balastic.

This is not March Madness. There are no automatic bids for conference championships. Ask 2018 Ohio State.

The committee got it right. The best 4 teams are in the field.

^ most would agree unless you are a FSU grad, oh wait!!! Most FSU students didn’t graduate in the first place!

"The committee got it right. The best 4 teams are in the field."
I agree that the committee got it right, but I'm not so sure that they are the 4 best teams. I believe OSU and UGA are both better than Texas, but only slightly. Despite OSU and UGA being better than Texas I think the committee made the right choice by taking the fact that Texas won their conference championship and that both OSU and UGA lost their most recent game into account to put Texas ahead of OSU and UGA.

While I feel bad for FSU not getting in despite being a 13-0 Power 5 conference champion, the committee had no choice but to leave the out. Without Jordan Travis they simply are the same team, much like my beloved Bengals simply aren't the same without a healthy Joe Burrow. It sucks for their players, coaches and fans but with a 4 team playoff someone is going to feel they got royally screwed and this year it is Florida State's turn. OSU and UGA both deserved to be competing for a national championship as well, but with only 4 playoff spots not every deserving team gets that chance. In the end the right 4 teams are in the playoffs.

We'll never know if the committee got it right or not, because this format isn't really a playoff it's more of a political decision, it would have been fairer with less second guessing if they actually had a playoff. I'll bet that this method of selecting playoff teams is changed and don't be surprised if Florida files a lawsuit and gets these games delayed.

Wait, Deon Sanders went to Florida State and he graduated with a bachelors degree, in 2021….

Maybe he wanted To show his kids that or could be done, after 35 years.

@25

It's already changing - the field expsnds to 12 next season.

And no lwasuit will be filed. FSU wants to leave the ACC anyway.

Sidenote: ACC was on the side of blocking the expansion for THIS season. Had they not blocked it, FSU would be in.

^ I hear ya, but still my own feeling is FSU earned that spot, isn’t that what sports are really about, nobody deserves the privilege and how many times have the supposedly best teams have lost on the field.
I’m just saying that if this holds there will be a well deserved asterisk next to the name of the team that wins this year.

Also changed for next year, the top 6 most highly ranked conference champions get automatic bids to the playoff. They might need to rethink that number with the demise of the PAC 12, but more invites to the party will solve a lot of the griping.

And it does serve FSU right that they voted against expansion. It cost them and the ACC a lot of money and prestige to be left out. They will likely get smoked by UGA. I don’t see how FSU will score.

25, there are already major changes to the college football playoffs scheduled for next year when it moves to a 12 team playoff.

What grounds would Florida State have to sue on. The rules for this version of the playoff have been in place for a decade and Florida State knew them and those rules were followed. There have always been conference champions left out each year since there are more than twice as many conference champions as there are playoff spots. Besides Florida State already accepted an invite to play in the Orange Bowl against Georgia so if they tried to challenge things now they would be the ones in breach of that contract.

Was the 4 team playoff system perfect? No, absolutely not. Was it better than the BCS system that was in place before it that only had the top 2 ranked teams play for the national championship? Yes.

Even the BCS was better than the system that was in place for nearly 100 years before that where there was no game played head to head for the championship. It was just up to some associated press sports writers to vote in a poll to determine the champion.

I hear what everyone is saying but it still feels like FSU got snaked, if we’re going to pretend that sports are a meritocracy then merit is supposed to carry the day, else it’s just a coronation and a smack in the face to the system, proving that the governing body is just a hypocritical organization

As for FSU having earned that spot, it is no more true for them than it is for Liberty who also went 13-0 and won their conference championship. After all Cincinnati made the playoff when they went 13-0 in a non-power 5 conference. So I guess by your logic Liberty should be in instead of Alabama or Texas making it Michigan, Washington, FSU and Liberty in the playoffs.

It has never been set up for the 4 teams with the best record to get in. It has always been stated that it was the committee's job to select the 4 "best" teams in CFB. Right now FSU isn't one of the 10 best teams without their star qb, let alone one of the 4 best.

^ Like I said I hear you, here’s another point if you want to use that best team argument, they won without their star quarterback, that’s another reason why that best team argument just doesn’t hold up.

The fact is you can't just look at the W-L record in college like you can professional sports because the opponents are no where near equal. Otherwise independent teams like Notre Dame would only schedule games against teams like Akron, Eastern Kentucky or Chattanooga and go undefeated and make the playoffs each year.

Did you watch that game against Louisville? It was pathetic with virtually no offense out of either team. They clearly did not look like a top team in that game.

^ so what’s the point of a playoff might as well let the sportswriters select a winner, and skip the game, just like the other awards like The Heisman Trophy, this to me just proves that the playoffs aren’t about winning.

My guess you won’t watch the Orange bowl after all UGA is a lock, so why bother?

I couldn't give a shit about the teams.
I like looking at the hot girl cheerleaders!

The point of the playoffs is to at least have a few of the top teams go head to head to determine the championship. Is it possible to include all of the good teams no. Even March Madness has some teams left out of the field that have a better record than some teams that make the field.

The only way a pure merit system would work in college would require a complete restructuring of the conferences. They would need divide it into only about 40 teams in the division and divide those teams up into 4 conferences. Each team would play the 9 other teams in their conference and one randomly selected team from each of the other 3 conferences. Then the team with the best record from each conference gets into the playoff.

Of course that system would leave out nearly 100 smaller schools from being able to ever compete at the top level against the big programs. It would also eliminate a lot of traditional rivalries since some of those rivals wouldn't make the cut. But I guess since we are allowing NIL money into college sports we may as well just get rid of all of the other traditions and treat it like a minor league for the NFL.

In the 10 years since they’ve had 4 teams in the playoffs, no undefeated Power 5 school has not made the playoffs. So I feel bad for FSU that a couple of one loss teams got in.

This is a Power 5 school - not Liberty or Cincinnati or Central Florida.

It just doesn’t feel right - I’m glad I’m not on the committee but ultimately I think they got it right. It’s in their guidelines they can consider injuries or missing coaches.

Which I don’t think has always been the case for the NCAA basketball tourney. They’ve considered injuries for around 10 years on a year by year informal decision but not sure if it’s in the written guidelines like football

@whodey
Good point about NIL Schoolboy money now the top teams will have the majority of the talent after all why would anyone with high earning potential play anywhere they won’t get exposure.

@ motorhead

Also, in the 10 years since they’ve had 4 teams in the playoffs, the SEC champion has never not made the playoffs. And the number 1 in the penultimate rankings had never missed a playoff (that was Georgia - typically, with a loss, the number 1 team would drop no lower than 4).

So, with all those "nevers", SOMETHING had to give!

Far as I'm concerned, if any other conference doesn't beat a SEC team on the way to a championship, they ain't no champ...lol!

I don’t think FSU should be in, but to add one other factoid … for as down as the ACC is perceived to be, every champion since 2006 has come from the SEC or the ACC, except Ohio St in 2014.

I still say Florida State got hosed. They went 13 and 0 in a power five conference becoming the conference champion. They scheduled and beat LSU and the Gators from the SEC. They beat Clemson, Miami, and Louisville. Maybe not the hardest schedule in the country, but certainly respectable. Football is a team sport. To eliminate an undefeated team because the quarterback got injured is a really poor standard to establish. Hypothetically, if Michael Penix Junior pulls a hammy in practice and is unavailable for the playoffs, are they going to eliminate Washington and bump up Georgia?

^^^ Timing is everything.

2014 FSU was undefeated and was ranked 3 behind two 1-loss teams.

They were easily dismantled in the semi by Oregon.

I agree they got screwed but I also agree with the committee decision to leave them out. No one want to see FSU smacked by Michigan or Washington. Better to see them smacked around by Georgia!

I get it and you guys should too. It will never be fair even when they go to 12 teams next year. Next year teams 13-16 will be complaining about why was so and so included and we were left out?
It will never be fixed or fair, the only reason for the expansion is more tv money and revenue for the schools but there will always be debates and complaints.
Expanding it to 16 or 20 won't fix it either because others will still complain.

Not a solution but IMO 12 teams is too many anyway, a compromise of 8 teams would be plenty but that won't happen because of future money that would not be made.

NO solutions!

^^^ But at least with 12, there wouldn't be an argument for the school with a true chance at a title.

As you mentioned 8 would be enough. Always will those claiming unfair if they don't get into a 12 team field, but then you are getting into 3 loss teams, so will cry over it.

I agree - no matter the number there’s going to be teams complaining. Look at basketball - you have 68 teams and schools and fans still complain. But football is different - no one outside the top 12 (or even top 8) is likely to pull a Cinderella championship.

Echoing what others said but stating a little differently, so what if schools complain they don’t make it into a 12 team playoff? Those complaints are soon forgotten or ignored. What you do get with a 12 team playoff and in most years in a 4 team playoff, just not this year, is confidence that the best team in the country is in the playoffs and has a chance to prove it.

OSU shouldn't even be in the discussion. FSU over Alabama. Arguably, Alabama has a tougher schedule and conference, but they didn't win as convincingly and FSU is undefeated. That's a lot of weight in my book, and ACC is power 5. Yeah, so FSU got hosed even though I think they got luck on at least two games.

'But at least with 12, there wouldn't be an argument for the school with a true chance at a title.'

Do you really think a school rated 11 or 12 has a realistic chance to be national champ? If your answer is yes then why not a team rated 13 or 14?
Yeah lightning can strike and a #12 rated team can get lucky or a higher ranked team can suffer injuries to important starters but the reason teams are rated out of the top 10 is because their chances of winning a championship are fractional compared to higher rated teams.

^^^ Not at all. At best, maybe the 6th or 7th ranked team may have a realistic shot.

Probably why the 8 team model was a popular consideration. However, they wanted to give a G5 school an opportunity and provide an incentive for the power conference schools to want to earn their individual championships and receive a first round bye. That pushed it to 12.

Whether 8 or 12, it's more than enough spots to capture any school with a realistic chance plus provide an opportunity to a potential cinderella.

I think 12 is the perfect number even if all 12 teams likely don’t have a shot. At least it somewhat silences the critics.

With 12, there’s the opportunity to have two teams from most P5 conferences. Plus a couple of spots for non-affiliated (Notre Dame) schools and an awesome undefeated group of 5 school.

Next year, isn’t it a power 4? Moot point, as the conferences are so big you’ll need at least 2 schools from each of the power 4 conferences to feel good about the pool. Or, 8 bids across the power 4 regardless of whether it’s 2 per.

As much as I would have liked seeing FSU get in, let's be realistic. They were already handicapped by strength of schedule vs. Bama. Then add the loss of their starting QB and that's all she wrote.

Did any of you see FSU's last regular season game against Louisville? It was a shit show. For the Orange Bowl FSU is now a 14 point dog to Georgia, who also didn't make it in. Bama, OTOH, is only a 2 point dog against Michigan in the playoff game. Did anyone really want to watch a completely lopsided playoff game with an FSU team that wouldn't stand a chance? People would have been shutting their TVs off by halftime.

^^^ LOL! Most of the spots will be filled by SEC and B1G.

If we were to use this season as precursor, the teams would be: Michigan, Washington, Texas, Alabama, FSU, GA, Ohio State, Oregon, Missouri, Penn State, Ole Miss and Liberty.

Moving the PAC teams (and Texas) to the conference they join next season results:

SEC - 5 teams
B1G - 4 teams
B12 - 0
ACC - 1
G5 -1

And this is the type of mix its going to be most seasons - the SEC and B1G will get 7-9 spots and the remaining divided to ACC, B12 and the single G5 spot. The ACC should manage to get at least 1 spot, if not 2 and new B12 will be fortunate to even get 1.

Math was off - B1G with 5 teams, too

I obviously was disappointed with the Dawgs losing to Bama. It would be easy to blame the refs, injuries, etc... but losers blame. We lost because we fumbled inside our 20 yard line and we had more penalties than any other game, one of which forced the miss FG. So we lost and I am ok with being 29-1 over the last 30 games and 48-2 over the last 50.

For the committee I would not want to have made those decisions. I think you either go with most deserving or current best teams.

Most deserving
Washington, FSU, then choose two one loss teams... Alabama has the best win, Georgia and Ohio State have the best loss, Then there is Texas. An argument can be made for or against each team. I would probably put Texas and Bama since they won their conference. I know I left out Michigan however I believe Michigan cheated to get where they are. They were punished by the big10 and accepted that punishment (admission of guilt). Cheaters do not deserve to get in.

4 best teams
Texas, Bama, Georgia, and either Washington or Ohio State
again Michigan cheated and does not deserve to play in my opinion.

I believe they have fucked this up to the point that I am not planning on watching the playoff games, the CFP made a joke of the playoffs this year by not committing one way or another. I love college football too much to watch this shit.