"It is once again time to get mad about a college football playoff bracket. Every year ESPN and its TV show, made by a committee that talks ball while on break from planning the human instrumentality project, design a 12-team playoff seemingly beholden to no rules, no standards, nothing that could pin them down with any consistency beyond a love for good Q ratings."
"This time around Notre Dame got the short end of the stick. In years past it has felt like they have benefitted from being independent. This year was the first time they were seemingly punished for it. The committee can say they put Miami in because of the head-to-head win over the Irish, but it sure feels like the Canes got in to keep the ACC happy by not completely shutting the conference out."
"But Notre Dame wasn't alone in griping: BYU also got a raw deal for the crime of apparently not being better than Texas Tech. Meanwhile a three-loss Alabama doesn't even budge in the rankings after getting drubbed by Georgia. The argument that teams shouldn't be punished for playing in conference championships apparently doesn't apply to BYU. In the aftermath of it all, we still can't even say that the committee has gathered the 12 best teams in football this year."
The college football playoff selection process operates without consistent rules, producing subjective and controversial brackets. ESPN's committee annually selects a 12-team field with apparent arbitrariness and priority given to TV ratings and conference appeasement. Notre Dame was denied a spot despite past independence advantages, while Miami benefited from a head-to-head win and perceived ACC favoritism. BYU was overlooked in favor of Texas Tech despite playing a conference championship, whereas Alabama retained ranking status despite a loss to Georgia. The committee's opaque decisions undermine confidence that the chosen teams represent the 12 best in college football and fuel calls for playoff expansion.
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