The college football regular season has concluded, and all eyes turn toward conference championship weekend and selection day. College football has become a cornerstone in the United States, and a lot of people are eager for the playoffs. The College Football Playoffs (CFP) is the ultimate stage for teams to showcase their best performance in the culmination of a rigorously long season. Every team works extremely hard with aspirations to make the playoffs for the opportunity to win the coveted National Championship Title. Each year there is new controversy, happiness and sadness among the teams and fan bases in contention. This controversy stems from the subjectivity of the process and how people perceive the technicalities. This year will undoubtedly be no different, even with a new format in place.
With Selection Sunday only four days away, and conference championship weekend coming up, the playoff picture is taking shape, but nothing is certain yet. This year, the playoff format has changed from a four to twelve team bracket. Basically, the change is based solely on expanding the playoff field with the same principles at play.
This change has brought new elements and similar points of controversy to the sport. Playoff time around college football can bring out a lot of different emotions from joy to anger and to confusion. The format this year is different, but the mixture of feelings people have will not change. Kirk Herbstreit, an American sportscaster, weighed in on the new format, “I think this is inevitable and I think it’s for the best, Herbstreit said.” The old format seemed too limited to four teams instead of a greater number of successful teams being able to have a chance to win the national title.
With selection day on December 8th let’s examine the playoff picture and the selection process. First, there is a committee of thirteen people with a collection of experience as coaches, players, athletic directors, college administrators, and journalists. While there is constant debate, their mission is to select and rank the best teams for inclusion in the playoffs. They are constantly evaluating each team followed by rounds of ballot voting until the final ranking is established. Some challenge the vagueness of the selection criteria, for example, Nick Saban, former head coach at the University of Alabama, “I think it’s not just, ‘I’m undefeated, or I lost one game,’ it’s, ‘Who did you lose to, who did you play, who did you beat?’ I like the way they do it in basketball, they’ve got this RPI rating … and you beat so many good teams, that means something. Well, we need to do that in football and not just look at the record.” The entire process is an indirect science, but the methodology has not changed yet.
How and what is the committee evaluating? The committee is evaluating the total body of work for each team in the regular season along with other factors. The committee uses this process to distinguish comparable teams through set principles. Some principles include, strength of schedule, head-to-head competition, comparative outcomes with common opponents, and other relevant factors. There is no single metric more important than the rest, rather the committee uses a wide variety of data and information when making their decisions. The selection process is entirely subjective, but there are strict principles that must be adhered to.
The entire process is complex but let’s examine two team scenarios: Oregon and Alabama. Oregon is the only remaining undefeated team left in FBS (Division 1 Football Bowl Subdivision). Oregon will make the playoffs based on their undefeated record and dominant total body of work during the season. For Alabama, it is more complicated. Alabama finished the season with a 9-3 record but is on the “bubble” mainly against the University of Miami. Miami finished with a 10-2 record, but Alabama holds a higher strength of record and schedule. Alabama also has more wins against the most recent CFP top 25 ranking than Miami. Some situations are messy and require intense debate.
Now that the selection process has been addressed, let’s examine the playoff outlook and highlight the new changes to playoffs. It is arguable to say there are sixteen teams still in discussions to get into the twelve-team playoff. Of those teams, there is a short list of “bubble teams” including Alabama, Miami, and SMU. Each team’s probabilities range and their resumes are worthy in conversation of debate.
The jockeying continues for one more weekend as conference championship games are impending. Under the new rules this year, the top five highest ranked conference champions receive an automatic bid into the playoffs. Of those five, the top four will be seeded 1-4 and receive a bye into the quarterfinals. The rest of the teams will be placed in accordance with their ranking in spots 5-12 as at large teams. For the first time in CFP history, the opening-round games will be held at the higher seed’s home stadium. Some teams must adjust to this new element in preparation of playing a “true” road game in the first round.
The essence of the CFP lies in its ability to create a high-stakes tournament to showcase the best teams in the nation. The new format with the added teams amplifies the intensity of every game, every play, and every moment in these do-or-die battles. Whether it is the rise of the underdog teams or dominance of perennial powerhouses, the drama of college football is arguably unmatched. May the best team be crowned national champion on Monday January 20th , 2025.
Update: On Sunday the official CFP bracket was revealed, follow this link for continued updates. Let the games begin!