The NCAA Football Playoff Fiasco

[Geezoh]

I typically don't get too involved in any sort of football. It's CTE central and nobody seems to care about that. But anyway, I find this recent situation on the naming of the final four by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee which, for the first time, has not included an undefeated major conference champion, Florida State University, in the final playoff round. The Committee says they did this because without their first string quarterback, FSU is no longer one of the top four college football teams. Well...

Let's go back to the 1968 NBA playoffs and just for shits and giggles let's change the scenario...it's the last game of the 1998 semi-final Bulls vs. Pacers, Bulls win but with only a couple of minutes to go Michael Jordan breaks his leg. So even though the Bulls have won the semi-final and should be going to the NBA final, the NBA decides that since the one Bulls player who gives them a chance to win the final can't play, that they are no longer one of the best teams, and they will be replaced in the NBA final by the Pacers.

Never would happen. The CFP Selection Committee decision sucks. A decision that will cost Florida State University as much as $2 million. There is no legal barrier to FSU suing the CFP. FSU could sue CFP, arguing its decision is illegal. A legal claim might rest in antitrust law—FSU could correctly assert CFP is led by university and conference leaders from competing schools.

[Lovie777]

1. It sucks. Florida should be there, they have the record..............................

kinda reminds me of decisions that non-medical experts and non doctors make when a patient need approval through insurance companies.

[gab13by13]

3. Sounds like Medicare Advantage,

I pick my doctor, pick my surgeon and am on Medicare.

[EYESORE 9001]

4. Until insurance company decides something is too expensive & denies coverage

Don’t think they won’t.

[Blue Owl]

35. Ron DeSantis' fantasy meatball league

[gab13by13]

2. Yeah, going by the rules

Florida State should be in the final 4.

At least getting screwed they won't be embarrassed on national TV by Michigan, but now they will be embarrassed on national TV by Georgia.

Maybe the coach can inspire them with his locker room speech, Us vs the World.

[Ferrets are Cool]

5. College football is an entertainment business. Financially, it makes more sense to put in the teams that will draw more

attention. The powers that be have decided that THIS lineup will bring the most eyes to the games. AND, most importantly, it will not matter next year.
It's not worth losing a moments sleep over.

[Docreed2003]

7. Exactly this

Their decision was based on nothing more or less that what would bring in the most revenue.

[NCIndie]

10. It doesn't matter now to anyone but the FSU and Alabama football players.

The emotional investment by the "impacted" fans is, as always, 50% adrenaline, 50% alcohol, and 10% rational thought (give ore take 10%).

[Ferrets are Cool]

22. It matters a LOT to the advertisers.

If you were an advertiser for the 1 vs 4 game, would you rather have paid for a close game or a blowout? When a game is a blowout, they lose a lot of eyes.

[NCIndie]

24. You misinterpreted my post.

FSU in the playoffs would be an early exit after a total rout. So, they are staying home.

I think we agree.

[Emile]

6. They are punishing the whole team

over one player on an injury list. This is bullshit.

[calguy]

9. Injuries are part of the game.

Unfortunately, when a team loses it's best player to injury, that team is no more a national contender. Last year, the 49ers were arguably the best NFL. Based on how they destroyed the Eagles last Sunday, they would have easily won last year's conference championship game and probably the Super Bowl as well.
But that didn't happen, because when their quarterback was injured, the 49ers were no longer a championship team. Same thing with FSU. They are nowhere near a championship contender without their quarterback, and shouldn't be playing for the national championship.
It sucks, I know, but that's just how it is.

[Geezoh]

17. Really??? Just imagine...

If Magic Johnson had been injured and the NBA decided the Lakers couldn't be in the NBA finals without him in 1987, or...
If Patrick Kane had been injured and the NHL decided the Blackhawks couldn't be in the NHL finals without him in 2013, or...
If Tom Brady had been injured and the NFL decided the Buccaneers couldn't be in the Super Bowl without him in 2021, or...
If Sandy Koufax had been injured and MLB decided that the Dodgers couldn't be in the World Series without him in 1963.

The governing organizations would have been sued into the ground.

[calguy]

20. That's not how it works in professional sports.

College ball has an entirely different system to determine who plays and who doesn't. You may not like that system, but it's the system we have this year. A lot of fans, and I'm one of them, disagree with that system. The NCAA has responded with a different system that takes effect next year, and under the new system, FSU would have made the playoffs.
Unfortunately for FSU, we have the current system for this year, and thank God that we don't have to watch Michigan wipe out a weakened opponent.
That's the way it goes... like it or not.

[jmowreader]

38. They need to expand that 12-team bracket to a 16-team bracket

The bracket I have seen gives the top four teams a bye into the second round.

The ideal bracket would look like the NHRA Ladder: the 16 cars that make it to Sunday are all in the first round, then 8, then 4, then 2. Seeding would be the ten conference champions plus the six best teams that weren't conference champions.

[Ferrets are Cool]

23. You cannot not logically compare pro vs amateur. They are run by different organizations and interests.

[NCIndie]

25. Not just any player.

Look at the offensive productivity in his absence.

[Emile]

30. Each player on the team are important. The

quarterback wouldn't be shit without a good receiver or running back or offensive line. I'm sure the team has another player to fill the quarterback position. It's not fair to punish the entire team. They earned it and deserve to be there!

[NCIndie]

31. They aren't going.

[Emile]

33. Seriously? I point out injustice and you are

calling me a crybaby. WTF

Edited to add:

I'm a Purdue fan with no stakes in this decision.

[NCIndie]

36. Sorry. That was pretty offensive on my part.

I have no pony in this race, either. I would still be giggling if either UT or 'Bama had been excluded. But, the money quest by the NCAA demands eye candy for these games.

[303squadron]

8. The selection committee used Samuel Alito's definition of precedent

Alito's definition? Stare decisis can be purchased because its all about money.

Selection Committee's definition? Fuck precedent! Gotta have an SEC team for ratings/money.

[NCIndie]

11. Unlike the Supreme Court, the NCAA is in the entertainment business.

So, yeah, fuck precedent. They made the correct decision.

[303squadron]

21. The committees decision was wrong

Last edited Tue Dec 5, 2023, 08:59 PM - Edit history (1)

They are penalizing a whole team because one player got injured.

Funny, I thought football was about team play. FSU has got a hell of a defense. The best a top 15 team could do was kick two field goals and FSU's defense intercepted the ACC's leading passer.....in the end zone!!

In 25 years no undefeated power 5 conference team has been shut out. Rodemaker is a hellofa qback as the bull dogs will find out.

"I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so ya'll could see that this team is much more than a quarterback." ~ Jordan Travis

[Wounded Bear]

12. Strength of schedule had something to do with it as well...

Washington beat 4 or 5 top 10 teams on their way to the PAC-12 Championship, including in the championship game. They're the team that usually gets screwed in these committee choices due to the East Coast bias in sports.

Sorry Florida. Better luck next time.

[NCIndie]

13. The committee's decision is 100% correct. They executed their charge to the letter.

That's not to say the decision doesn't suck for FSU and those misguided souls who are emotionally invested in the decision.

But your comparison the the NBA has no meaning. The NBA has a clear playoff structure that includes every game played during the season. The NCAA has five power conferences and five lesser conferences vying for four playoff slots. A minimum of 6 conference champions will be getting hosed because a committee is being charged with the selection. It was a bitter twist of fate that FSU lost their QB, and they played valiantly in the face of adversity. They also passed for less than 60 yards in an excruciating, offensively inept game against a lesser opponent.

Next year will be better with a 12-team field, but still no structure leading into the playoffs other than the committee. At this time next year, someone will be grousing because some team with an 8-4 record was slighted.

[House of Roberts]

14. The selection committee had to make a tough call.

They base rankings on on-the-field performance and Alabama beat the undefeated number one team in a conference championship game. Florida State won their conference, but what were their quality wins? They didn't beat Louisville considerably better than Kentucky did the prior week. Kentucky. The ACC was down this year compared to recent seasons overall. The SEC wasn't down as five teams finished ranked in the CFP top 13, and Bama beat three of them, not playing Missouri.

[Silent Type]

15. Next year, number of teams in CFP increases. That will help avoid this. But Fla State and Georgia playing in

a bowl game is a decent solution.

[rurallib]

16. I was running errands yesterday and was listening to a sports call in show for a bit

Man the whining sounded like a Trump greatest hits show. It got really old really fast.

Unless there is an all in tournament, somebody is going to cry about the selection process, whether it is the #69 NCAA basketball slot or the #5 FCS pick.

Next year it will be the #13 team - I think there is 12 next year.

Florida State has a great chance to end the season with a victory over a very, very good Georgia team. Hope they don't screw it up by feeling sorry for themselves.

[Geezoh]

18. Defense still wins championships...

And here's the story on team defense for the schools in the running for the four spots.

The only team that had a better defense than FSU rated #4 was Michigan, rated #1 in the nation.

The rest?

Georgia #8
Texas #13
Alabama #17
Washington #50 (that's right the 50th top defensive team)

If any school should have gotten one of those last four spots it should have been Ohio State #2 in defense behind Michigan. The second best college team in the country was OSU 12-1.

Alabama and Texas? My ass.

[gratuitous]

19. I quit watching football a few years ago

For precisely the reason stated in the OP.

That being said, if Florida State is mad at anyone for not being selected, it should be Oregon. If Oregon had beaten Washington in the last Pac-12 game, the NCAA would have happily selected Florida State for Washington's slot. The NCAA wasn't going to slight Texas or Alabama and their stellar 1-loss seasons; they're football royalty (as is Michigan). But if Washington had lost to Oregon, neither one of them would have been selected because they're not in the club.

[Different Drummer]

26. I have no quarrel with Michigan. Washington, and Texas being 3/4 of the CFP bracket.

I do have a problem with Florida State being excluded, given that they were undefeated during the regular season and went on to win the ACC Championship.

Another problem I have is with Alabama being included and I am not saying this because they beat my alma mater, Georgia, in the SEC Championship. For the record, I do not feel Georgia should have been considered for a slot in the CFP. Yes, they were undefeated during the regular season. However, they failed to win their conference so that disqualified them, as it should have.

To get back to Alabama for a bit, they lost to Texas by ten points early in the season and barely beat their in-state rival, Auburn, which finished with a .500 record. So, was Alabama the most deserving of the fourth spot in the CFP? My feeling is no and that fourth slot should have gone to Florida State.

The CFP Committee, I believe, had as part of their mission to make sure a team from the SEC got into the playoff and they were counting on giving that slot to Georgia. When that didn't go as planned, they had to choose Alabama to get a team from the SEC in the playoff

[Chainfire]

27. Of all the problems that the nation and world is facing today, whether FSU goes to the playoffs is

way down my list of things to care about, hovering around the decision of if I want pizza for supper tonight. Having worked at FSU for the final few years of my career, doesn't affect that very much.

[brewens]

28. I say they ruined New Years Day for this shit. That was for me the greatest sports day of the year. I never cared if

they had a playoff. For what amounts to a huge league, you can't make it like the NCAA hoops tournament.

[Tom Kitten]

29. Ohio State in 2014

Ohio State in 2014 won it all starting their third string QB. Their starting QB broke his ankle in the next to last regular season game.

[Emile]

34. +1

[Jeebo]

32. You can't do better than winning ALL your games.

I think the top four should be Michigan, Washington, Florida State and Texas. I didn't even have to think about that. Michigan, Washington and Florida State are 13-0 Power 5 conference champions, and it isn't possible to do better than that. What more could Florida State have done? That leaves one spot for the other two Power 5 conference champions, both 12-1. Texas wins the head-to-head and gets the number 4 spot. That is an objective way to settle the issue. All of those other considerations are subjective and therefore unreliable judgment calls. Full disclosure, I am an Alabama Crimson Tide fan. I grew up in Alabama, went to the University of Alabama when Paul "Bear" Bryant was the coach, and love the Crimson Tide. I'm 'Bama through and through. But, I'm trying to be objective and impartial and FAIR here. If I were a Florida State fan, I would be seriously pissed off. I think they have a legitimate beef. But, with four spots for five Power 5 conference champions, SOMEBODY was going to be screwed. Obviously.

-- Ron

[retread]

37. At least we will be spared seeing that tomahawk chop and the hohoho crap.