Tag: CFP Committee

Griffin calls out CFP committee’s SEC bias

A former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and first-round NFL draft pick, and current ESPN analyst, chimed in via Twitter on the latest College Football Playoff rankings after they were released Tuesday night. Robert Griffin III called out the CFP …

A former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback and first-round NFL draft pick, and current ESPN analyst, chimed in via Twitter on the latest College Football Playoff rankings after they were released Tuesday night.

Robert Griffin III called out the CFP Committee for ranking a two-loss SEC team in LSU (No. 5) ahead of one-loss Southern Cal (No. 6) and also ranking another two-loss SEC team in Alabama (No. 7) ahead of one-loss Clemson (No. 8).

“The Committee really showing that SEC bias with 9-2 LSU over 10-1 USC and 9-2 Alabama ahead of 10-1 Clemson,” wrote Griffin III, an ESPN analyst who won the Heisman at Baylor in 2011 before being selected second overall by the Washington Redskins in the 2012 NFL Draft and playing quarterback for eight NFL seasons.

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

ESPN’s Dinich, Pollack discuss signals sent by CFP Committee with first rankings

ESPN’s Heather Dinich and David Pollack joined the network’s Get Up show Wednesday morning to discuss the first College Football Playoff rankings that were released Tuesday night. Dinich was asked what the most important signals were that the CFP …

ESPN’s Heather Dinich and David Pollack joined the network’s Get Up show Wednesday morning to discuss the first College Football Playoff rankings that were released Tuesday night.

Dinich was asked what the most important signals were that the CFP Committee sent with the initial rankings, and she pointed to Michigan being ranked No. 5 behind No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Clemson.

“Well I will start with Michigan,” she said. “I thought it was an indictment on their schedule, and if you look at the top 15 teams, Michigan has the worst schedule strength at 79. Their non-conference opponents Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn are a combined 8-18. So, what does that mean?  They better beat the Buckeyes or they are not going to get into the College Football Playoff.”

Pollack discussed how the CFP Committee valued Tennessee’s resume when slotting the Volunteers at No. 1 but favored the eye test when putting Ohio State ahead of Georgia.

“It is the same as we see every year. Sometimes they use the eye test and sometimes they use the script and the strength of schedule,” he said. “If you look at Tennessee, they are clearly No. 1. They beat LSU and Alabama, that is two top-10 teams. But then you look at Ohio State. What they have done so far is definitely not as impressive as Georgia. They thought Ohio State was better. Clemson is very interesting.”

As for TCU checking in at No. 7 in the first CFP rankings, Pollack thinks the committee sent a clear message to the Horned Frogs.

“How about TCU? TCU falling all the way down. That is a message to TCU,” he said. “Like, how far can they climb when you look at their schedule and what they have left? Baylor and at Texas, but it was a message to me that TCU, like you are not a complete football team.”

Dear Old Clemson is excited to announce a limited edition football and poster signed by Clemson’s Avengers.

Now there is a new way you can support Clemson student-athletes. Purchase collectibles from Dear Old Clemson and the proceeds with go to support Clemson student-athletes. Visit Dear Old Clemson to find out how you can help!

Where Texas lands in first CFB Playoff rankings

Texas cracks the first college football playoff rankings of the season.

The first College Football Playoff selection committee rankings were released on Tuesday.

Texas checks in at No. 24 in the initial rankings, marking the first time the Longhorns made the cut under head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Four Big 12 Conference teams made the CFP Top 25. No. 7 TCU, No. 13 Kansas State and No. 18 Oklahoma State join No. 24 Texas in the rankings.

The Horns have a tough slate in front of them as matchups against the Wildcats and Horned Frogs loom. The next couple of games can skyrocket Texas up the rankings or end their hopes of a Big 12 title run.

The last time Texas finished the season ranking inside the committee’s top 25 poll was back in 2020 after a 7-3 season and Alamo Bowl victory.

Here is a complete look at the playoff rankings through Week 9 of the college football season.

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Did Texas’ decision to leave for the SEC impact the CFP decision?

SEC expansion impacted the CFP’s decision to remain at four teams.

On Friday news broke that the College Football Playoff committee opted to remain at four teams for the remainder of the contract.

This will put added pressure on teams to remain perfect throughout the season due to the limited number of spots. For the Big 12, their lone participant in the annual playoff has been the Oklahoma Sooners. However, they have stumbled in the last two seasons leaving them outside of the tournament.

According to Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic, the committee needed a vote of 11-0 to make changes to the current format. There were options on the table to change to an eight-team or 12-team playoff. Their latest vote was 8-3 with all three members of the Alliance (ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12) voting against the expansion.

When asked if the move of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC affected the decision, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson admitted it definitely changed the trajectory.

“It certainly was a factor. It changed the temperament of this particular situation. … Was it a breaking point or catalyst? I don’t know. It had an effect.” per Chris Vannini, The Athletic

The perception is that the decision to move to the SEC by the top two teams in the conference very much had a hand in these decisions. The three-conference alliance came together following that announcement during SEC media days back in July. It is difficult to spell it out otherwise.

For now, the four-team playoff will remain in play. Perhaps there will be a change when the next contract begins for the 2026 season. That all remains very much in the air.

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College Football Playoffs to remain at four teams per release

No playoff expansion as the committee sticks with four teams.

Whether you like it or not, the College Football Playoffs will not expand prior to the end of the contract according to a release from the committee.

There have been countless discussions about moving to an eight or even 12-team playoff recently. However, that seemed like a long shot from the jump. Not all of the Power Five commissioners seemed to be on the same page when it comes to the number of teams and who would earn automatic bids.

Over the history of the CFP that began in the 2014 season, the SEC has dominated. They have won the title in five of the playoffs. The SEC also has won the most playoff games (14) and the most appearances (10). They are also the only conference to have two teams make the final four, both times the teams met in the CFP Championship game.

“The Board of Managers has accepted a recommendation from the Management Committee to continue the current four-team playoff for the next four years, as called for in the CFP’s original 12-year plan. At the same time, the Board expects the Management Committee to continue its discussions of a new format that would go into effect for the 2026-27 season.

“Even though the outcome did not lead to a recommendation for an early expansion before the end of the current 12-year contract, the discussions have been helpful and informative. I am sure they will serve as a useful guide for the Board of Managers and for the Management Committee as we determine what the Playoff will look like beginning in the 2026-2027 season.”

The conversation will now be put on the backburner for the time being. This seems like a win for the SEC and Greg Sankey. Why expand when it has worked well for the conference? At least that is the perception for keeping it the way it is.

What the College Football Playoff Committee said about Ohio State after the final rankings

Ohio State is controversial the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff. Here’s everything the CFP Committee said about Ohio State.

Despite being on top of the College Football Playoff Rankings last week, the Buckeyes were jumped by LSU and finished the rankings at the No. 2 team and must now play No. 3 Clemson out in the desert at the Fiesta Bowl.

At least there wasn’t a whole lot of drama concerning the Buckeyes getting into the CFP this year, but moving them down after the body of work they have put together was not without controversy. Now, Ohio State must play the game as they say, and beat the best to be the best.

After each set of rankings, the College Football Playoff Committee holds a teleconference with select media members to be as transparent as possible, and to field questions about the ranking process.

We’re a part of those and we’d like to pass on what the Playoff Selection Committee Chair Rob Mullens had to say about Ohio State after the final set of rankings. So, here goes after the last one of 2019 …

Next … General remarks and the Ohio State vs. LSU debate

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What the College Football Playoff Committee said about Ohio State after the its penultimate set of rankings

The penultimate College Football Rankings are out. Here’s everything the College Football Playoff Committee said about Ohio State.

Ohio State stayed atop the College Football Playoff Rankings with the latest release, but there’s still plenty to discuss.

Each week, after the rankings are revealed, the College Football Playoff Committee holds a teleconference for select media members to answer questions about the discussions and process used to rank the teams into their respective slots.

We’re a part of those and we’d like to pass on what the Playoff Selection Committee Chair Rob Mullens had to say about Ohio State. So, here goes after the penultimate rankings …

On the overall comments from the selection committee on the Buckeyes:

Our next-to-final rankings are done. As you have seen, the committee ranked Ohio State as the No. 1 team in the nation, LSU as No. 2, Clemson as No. 3, and Georgia as No. 4. The top four teams did not change. There are many other changes that did take place, and I would be happy to discuss the committee’s thinking with you for all the teams that we ranked. Obviously this weekend’s conference championship games will be crucial to determining the final rankings. I, along with my fellow committee members, look forward to returning do Dallas in just a few days to watch those games and complete our work.

On how the committee measures performance on the field versus margin of victory.

Question from the media: You’ve talked before about how the committee
doesn’t incentivize margin of victory. The number one thing on the list is always performance on the field. How do you reconcile those two things? The best way to show a really strong performance on the field is to win by a lot of points. How does the committee figure that out?

ROB MULLENS: Watching how a team plays. Whether somebody has a big lead and keeps pouring it on late in the game is irrelevant. It’s really how you perform up until that point.

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On measuring teams that play in conference championship games:

Question from the media: Having gone through this the last few years, on that last set of rankings, when you have to handle teams that lost, played an extra game and lost in their conference title games, are you mindful of how far they fall relative to teams that aren’t playing that week, or is it handled pretty much the same as any other week?

ROB MULLENS: Good question.

We are very mindful because they’re all division champs. It is an honor to play in the conference championship game. So we are mindful of what they’ve accomplished during the regular season.

On the committee’s different perception of LSU and Ohio State than the traditional polls:

Question from the media: What does the committee see is the difference between Ohio State and LSU that the writers and the coaches and the polls don’t?

ROB MULLENS: Two really, really good teams, first of all. That’s what the committee sees. Ohio State now with their impressive win over Michigan on the road has four wins over top-25 teams. LSU has three very impressive wins over top-25 teams. As we’ve talked in past weeks, both really have dynamic offenses, both have good defenses. Ohio State’s is just a little ahead at this point.

On comparing resume vs. the eye test:

Question from the media:You mentioned last week the committee thought Ohio State has more of an eye test compared to LSU, which had been No. 1 the week before. This week it sounds like the résumé in terms of top-25 wins accounts for a lot. As you get closer to the end, does résumé begin to count for a little bit more in terms of where you rank these teams?

ROB MULLENS: No, it all counts. I don’t think we said last week that one thing was more than another. I think, again, we said both those teams were very good teams. Obviously we recognize the wins against ranked opponents, the overall schedule strength, as well as how they’re performing on the field, offense, defense and special teams. Two great teams.

Next … Rankings timing and Ohio State vs. LSU

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What the College Football Committee said about Ohio State after the 4th set of CFP Rankings

Ohio State is the new No. 1 team according to the fourth release of the College Football Playoff Rankings. Here’s what the committee said.

The latest College Football Playoff Rankings are out and there’s a new No. 1, your Ohio State Buckeyes. It’s the second time OSU has topped the poll after it was the top ranked team during the first release of 2019.

Each week, after the rankings are revealed, the CFP Committee holds a teleconference for select media members to answer questions about the discussions and process used to rank the teams into their respective slots.

We’re a part of those and we’d like to pass on what the Playoff Selection Committee Chair Rob Mullens had to say about Ohio State. So, here goes after the fourth release …

On the overall comments from the selection committee on the Buckeyes:

Ohio State has been a complete team all year, and their win against Penn State impressed the committee. They are ranked No. 1.

On what tells the committee Ohio State is a more complete team than anyone else:

Question from the media: You mentioned a couple times now about the
idea of the complete team that the committee sees Ohio State being. In what way is the committee sort of quantifying that? What is telling this committee
that Ohio State is a more complete team than anyone else?

ROB MULLENS: Competing consistently and really highly ranked on offense and defense, performing at a high level in both.

Follow Up Question: Do you guys correct that for strength of schedule, too? Is it relative to who they played? How are you guys measuring that?

ROB MULLENS: Sure, we see it all. We see the full resume, and there are relative statistics, as well.

Another Follow Up Question: Just to follow up on that, what was the difference, though, this week about Ohio State that put them over LSU because you have said that they’ve been a complete team all season.

ROB MULLENS: They have, but they added their third win against a ranked opponent over Penn State, who we have ranked No. 10.

On comparing teams despite the difference in strength of schedules:

Question from the media: You’ve got a few comparisons throughout the poll of teams that clearly don’t have as many good wins, top-25 wins as somebody that’s fairly comparable, but they’ve been much more dominant
than the teams that do have those quality wins. How do you gauge and judge that dichotomy, where you’ve got a team that’s played maybe a better schedule but has not been as dominant to the team that maybe didn’t?

ROB MULLENS: Well, it’s never just one factor. That’s the beauty of having 13 football experts in the room who watch the games, who study it. That’s exactly the kind of conversation that you would have. Who are the wins against, who are the losses against, and then what do you see when you watch the games.

On the committee’s evaluation of offense vs. defense:

Question from the media:You were just speaking about complete teams and using offensive and defensive statistics as a way to measure that. I was just wondering, does the committee look at offensive statistics and defensive statistics any differently? Do they favor one or the other? Do they view if a team has a weaker defense more favorably than a weaker offense, if you follow what I’m saying?

ROB MULLENS: No, we look at them all equally. And again, that’s just one piece of what we look at. We do watch the games. We see the full resume. We understand who they’ve played, the results. That’s just one piece of it. But no, we don’t favor one or the other.

On how the committee views rivalry games:

Question from the media: How does the committee view rivalry games? Do
you look at them through the same contest that you would just a regular game or do you take that into account when you’re grading a team based on performance in one of those?

ROB MULLENS: No, we look at it as a regular game. Obviously we understand where it’s played, whether it’s home or on the road.

Next … Rivalry games and Ohio State vs. LSU

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What the College Football Committee said about Ohio State after the 3rd set of CFP Rankings

The third release of 2019 College Football Playoff Rankings are out. Find out what the CFP Committee said about Ohio State after the reveal.

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The latest College Football Playoff Rankings are out and Ohio State has held steady at No. 2 according to the committee that decides these types of things.

Each week, after the rankings are revealed, the CFP Committee holds a teleconference for select media members to answer questions about the discussions and process used to rank the teams into their respective slots.

We’re a part of those and we’d like to pass on what the Playoff Selection Committee Chair Rob Mullens had to say about Ohio State. So, here goes …

On the overall comments from the selection committee on the Buckeyes:

Ohio State is strong on both sides of the ball. They’ve made a statement all year long.

On the importance of the final score of games:

Question from the media: You were asked a question last week about the
importance of final score versus what happens in a game. I’m just curious, Ohio State was up I think 42-0 on Maryland at halftime and pulled its starters. They were up 42-7 early in the 3rd and pulled the starters against Rutgers. When the committee is evaluating those games, does the evaluation kind of end there? Is that sort of a punctuation mark? How do you look at those?

ROB MULLENS: We watch the entire games. We certainly do not incent margin of victory, but we understand those were all convincing wins for Ohio State.

Follow Up Question: I think they’re winning by an average of 40 something to 6 or something over the first three quarters of games this year. How much is a statistic like that factoring in to where the committee sees Ohio State right now?

ROB MULLENS: We don’t evaluate that statistic, but again, we watch the games and we’re very aware of the flow of the game and the score.

On the separation between teams near the top:

Question from the media: I wondered if you could provide some insight in
terms of the gap between the three unbeaten teams at the top and maybe just 1 through 3 and between 4, 5 and 6 and beyond, is there a big gap in your mind between those groups?

ROB MULLENS: Well, we’re very thorough in our conversations 1 through 25 and even beyond, and so the committee does spend considerable time on 1 through 3. Obviously those are the three undefeated teams, and after last week, with LSU’s win, Ohio State’s win and Clemson’s win, the committee felt that was the order. LSU 1, Ohio State 2 and Clemson 3 through week 12.

On the evaluation of teams:

Question from the media: I just have a similar question to the last one. Do
you guys look at teams and say and evaluate and credit them when they are complete and they do seem balanced offensively and defensively compared to teams that are stronger on one side of the ball?

ROB MULLENS: Well, results are the most important thing. Let’s start with that. But sure, when you dig beyond the results, we’re looking at the how, and so we are looking at offense, defense and special teams.

On the Tua situation being similar to Cardale Jones in 2014:

Question from the media: Kind of following up on the question regarding
Tua, this is a relatively unique situation. I get Cardale Jones is the only comparable situation like this before. Has there been any talk in the committee room or was there any talk about how Alabama will be evaluated moving forward knowing that Tua Tagovailoa is not going to be there?

ROB MULLENS: No, we do not project, we do not look forward. Our charge is to rank the teams based on their body of work through week 12, and that’s what we did. Obviously we’ll watch the games moving forward and evaluate them after that.

 

 

Ohio State gets leapfrogged by LSU in latest CFP Rankings, but is that the right call?

The CFP Committee is supposed to rank the best teams, not the teams with the best resumes. Ohio State drops to No. 2 and it’s not right.

We all saw it coming from a mile away. By way of its win on the road against Alabama, the LSU Tigers have moved ahead of Ohio State and grabbed the No. 1 spot in the latest College Football Playoff Rankings. The Buckeyes checked in at No. 2.

So much for looking at things objectively and railing against the national narrative. It’s one thing for it to happen with the narrow-minded AP and Amway Coaches Polls, but it’s another for the so-called smartest minds in football to do it with an unbiased eye.

I agree that there’s something to be said about the resume the Tigers have put together with four Top 25 wins and all, but at some point it seems like a bit of a cop out. Do you reward the most deserving team, or the better team? Ohio State has been more dominant than any other team out there, yet it drops to LSU because of the Alabama and SEC curve yet again.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Teams that play well against Alabama are given preferential treatment time and time again. A two-loss Georgia team appeared ahead of a one-loss Big Ten Champion Ohio State in the last set of CFP Rankings last year. And now, simply for beating the Tide, LSU gets the benefit of the doubt and leaps over the Buckeyes for the No. 1 spot.

The advanced metrics for Ohio State have been setting records.You couple that with the Buckeyes’ total domination on the field, and it feels like the CFP fell in line with popular opinion because LSU being better than Alabama means it’s better than anyone else.

Hogwash.

It’s time to ask the question of whether this Ohio State team, if having an SEC logo on the front of its jersey, would have dropped. If Alabama would have been this dominant in recent years, I’d bet the farm that there’s no way, no how, it would drop from the No. 1 slot unless it lost. I mean, Ohio State put up 73 freakin’ points against Maryland, hasn’t played a game close yet, has the nation’s best defense, and a top five offense.

Better yet, Ohio State leads the country in yards allowed per game, points per game given up, points scored per game on offense, and yet it still gets leapfrogged because a team from the SEC beat Alabama. OSU looked utterly dominant against a Power Five opponent last game despite missing its best player.

There’s not one thing Ohio State could have done better than what it has to date to be the No. 1 team in the country other than by drinking sweet tea and having grits and bologna sandwiches for breakfast.

It’s a good thing we have four teams that make this playoff because it’ll take a little of the SEC bias out of the equation. Or so we hope.

You have to do better College Football Playoff Committee and quit drinking the SEC Kool-Aid. Just you wait though until the SEC gets two teams in all the fun yet again.

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