The NFL Wild Card games further prove the College Football Playoff committee got it right by keeping out Alabama and Ole Miss
Over the last two months, we have heard incessant complaining from some in the media about how the College Football Playoff committee made their decision on the 12-team field. We'd heard about strength of schedule, EPA/play, and strength of victory to both prop up the likes of the Ole Miss Rebels and Alabama Crimson Tide […]
Over the last two months, we have heard incessant complaining from some in the media about how the College Football Playoff committee made their decision on the 12-team field.
We'd heard about strength of schedule, EPA/play, and strength of victory to both prop up the likes of the Ole Miss Rebels and Alabama Crimson Tide while tearing down the likes of the Indiana Hoosiers and SMU Mustangs.
What we ended up getting was a playoff that has been mostly great with competitive games, but the wild card round of the NFL playoffs is proof that the committee got it right.
NFL playoffs prove the CFP committee got the field right
Over the course of the four-team playoff, we saw blowout after blowout in both the semifinals and the national championship game. However, there were some that believed that this would immediately provide great games across the board.
That hasn't happened.
The first round of the playoff had all four games be decided by 10+ points and the second round had just one game that was within one score, with the Texas Longhorns beating the Arizona State Sun Devils by eight points in double overtime.
The NFL doesn't use a committee to choose who makes the playoffs, they simply use win/loss records to decide who make the playoffs. In essence, they choose who is more deserving of the playoff spots, just like the committee did.
What the first five wild card games have shown us is simple: playoff games separate the men from the boys and are difficult to win, especially when you have two really good teams facing each other in a win-or-go-home scenario.
In the first five playoff games, four favorites won decisively with one underdog, the 12-win Washington Commanders, advancing. In those four games that the favorites won, the closest game was decided by 12 points with the Philadelphia Eagles beating the Green Bay Packers.
The reality is this: playoff games are a different breed. They are played differently and that can cause games to have different results than they would have if they were played in the regular season.
Blowouts happen because of the pressure of the playoffs, not because teams aren't good. The brand of football changes, therefore teams also change. You'll never eliminate blowouts from playoff games, especially in the college game where there is more volatility.
Every pro organization in the United States uses a merit-based selection process that doesn't have a committee, but rather with their record. College sports are a different breed because they have conferences which are like different sub-leagues all under the NCAA banner.
The committee's job is to pick the most deserving teams for the playoff and let the games play out. Just because a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers or Indiana Hoosiers gets blown out, doesn't mean they don't deserve it. The games are what decide it, not spreadsheets.
There have been plenty of jokes that the SEC is undefeated in hypothetical matchups, and being that the only complaints about the field were with SEC teams, it's an important aspect of the discussion.
In the postseason, the SEC teams that both made the playoff and were argued to be in:
- Texas: 2-1
- Georgia: 0-1
- Tennessee: 0-1
- Alabama: Lost to Michigan in ReliaQuest Bowl
- South Carolina: Lost to Illinois in Cheez-It Bowl
- Ole Miss: Beat Duke in TaxSlayer Bowl
It's important to know that hypothetical games don't mean anything and the deserving teams deserve the right to win or lose, including getting blown out by their opponent.
It works in the pros and the proof continues that it's the way to continue going in the College Football Playoff. We have the seven-seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish taking on the eight-seed Ohio State Buckeyes in the National Championship Game because they earned their way to play for the National Title.
The actual games matter, and you better win the games you should if you want to make the College Football Playoff. Blowouts are going to continue happening in every sport because it's just how the playoffs are.It matters in the NFL, and it should continue mattering in college football.
