FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd has a few qualms with the College Football Playoff committee and its latest edition of rankings.
“I love college football, but it is absolutely ridiculous,” Cowherd said.
Specifically, Cowherd takes issue with the lack of year-to-year consistency that goes into separating one team from another. It’s unclear which stipulations carry a greater weight than others.
“Once again, we’re left with this nebulous cloud, trying to decipher what matters,” he said.
For example, No. 12 Miami (10-2) and No. 10 Notre Dame (10-2) share the same record, and yet, the Hurricanes are ranked two spots behind the Irish despite defeating them 27-24 in Week 1 of the season. Moreso, the Hurricanes have no opportunity to improve their standing because the ACC’s tiebreakers favor Duke (7-5), who will face Virginia (11-1) in the conference title game on Saturday with a spot in the CFP on the line.
Cowherd also alluded to Texas getting similar treatment to Miami as the Longhorns opted to schedule No. 1 Ohio State (then-ranked No. 3) in their first game of the season. Texas won five of its last six games, stacked wins over three ranked opponents, and lost to No. 3 Georgia and Florida during SEC play. But because the Longhorns chose to play the Buckeyes, giving them a third loss, they will likely be held out of the CFP.
“I thought scheduling big, tough road games mattered,” Cowherd said.
In another conundrum dating back to last season, CFP runner-up Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois, but the shocking loss was ultimately inconsequential.
“I thought bad losses punished you,” Cowherd said.
Most high-level tournaments have a clear process for determining its field, but with this CFP, there tends to be no rhyme or reason.
“Have you ever watched the NFL playoffs and said ‘I like it, but I can’t quite figure it out?'” Cowherd posed. “Whenever anybody says, ‘College football is better than the NFL.’ No, it’s not.”
Why? Because, at the end of every season, fans are left questioning what it takes for their team to compete for a championship.
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