I wonder when Dave is getting fired from eSECpn?
Written by ESPN writer David Hale:
“In the olden days, we had a beauty contest. The top team in the nation was decided entirely by the voters.
Then we moved to a better system, one determined in part by computers that at least added some math to the abstract rationalizing while also allowing two teams to decide it on the field.
Then we moved to a four-team playoff, and the whole point was to eliminate the hypotheticals and let a champion be crowned by the actual results on the field. If you won your games, you had a chance to win a national title.
Turns out, all of that was a charade. None of it mattered. The games are pointless. What happens on the field is less important than what a committee thinks might happen in a future matchup.
It is an absolute slap in the face to every player who has ever put on a helmet, laced up cleats and marched onto the field to battle for a victory, because a bunch of folks in a conference room in Texas decided their sacrifice was not as important as the Las Vegas line on a potential playoff matchup.
Yes, Florida State is without starting QB Jordan Travis, meaning it would have to play with a quarterback who wasn't its opening-week starter in order to win a national title, and of course that couldn't happen. After all, only 2014 Ohio State, 2017 Alabama, 2018 Clemson and 2021 Georgia did that. What are the odds that something that's happened 44% of the time would happen again?
And sure, FSU's passing game was a mess in the ACC championship game. No argument there. Funny thing though: FSU won its title game by more than Alabama did. In fact, FSU has won its past two games by more than Alabama has. And since Travis got hurt in Week 12 against North Alabama, the Seminoles have thrown for just 8 fewer yards than Michigan has in that same stretch, but there was no debate about Michigan.
Oh, and this is probably irrelevant in the face of such a poor quarterback performance against Louisville, but there's also the small matter that the QB who started that game, Brock Glenn, wouldn't be the QB starting a playoff game (since Tate Rodemaker would be out of concussion protocol by then).
The committee cared about one stat when making this decision: FSU's 55 passing yards against Louisville.
Here are the stats it ignored: Seven sacks, 14 tackles for loss, 10 passes defended, 189 rushing yards against a stacked box, a 10-point win over a top-15 team with a QB making his first career start.
Let's be real about what happened here: The committee members couldn't leave the SEC out of the playoff. They didn't care that Alabama needed a miracle to avoid a loss to 6-6 Auburn two weeks ago. They didn't care that Georgia's own injuries -- playing with a banged-up Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers -- likely played a large part in why the Tide won Saturday. They didn't care that the ACC has a winning record, head-to-head, against the SEC this season. They didn't care that Alabama beat 2023 Georgia, not 2021 or 2022 Georgia. They cared that Alabama and the SEC had to have a spot in the playoff by birthright. And as a result, they sent a message that what happened on the field -- the blood, tears and sacrifice that players made all season to win every game on their schedule -- was less important than getting the most compelling TV matchup.
But hey, there'll be a 12-team playoff next year, so all is forgiven, right?"
Breaking down FSU's snub and the other teams that got the short end of the stick from the CFP committee.
www.espn.com
