CFB Playoff Selection Notebook
The College Football Playoff selection committee arrived at its final decision on the 2018 field about an hour before releasing it publicly and that was after a spirited debate which stretched from late Saturday night into Sunday morning.
“It was as intense as any that I can recall,” committee chair Rob Mullens said during a media teleconference on Sunday afternoon. “We were in the room roughly 11 last night. We didn't leave the room until 1:30.”
After deciding to sleep on it, “very little sleep,” according to Mullen, they reconvened on Sunday morning.
And in the end, the committee voted to have Alabama (13-0) at the top spot, followed by Clemson (13-0), Notre Dame (12-0) and Oklahoma (12-1).
FOUR BEST OR MOST-DESERVING?: While fans and commentators often argue about whether it’s the four best teams or the four most-deserving teams who should be selected, for Mullen, there’s no debate.
“Our charge is very clear,” he said. “To pick the four best teams.
“Before we start every meeting, every time we gather in Grapevine, Texas, we do review a piece of the protocol. We're very clear on the charge, to get the four best teams. Obviously, reasonable minds can disagree on what that looks like, and that's why we have a protocol to make sure that we lean on when we have to make tough decisions.”
IRISH IN EASILY: Alabama and Clemson have been atop the Playoff Rankings all year, so there was no doubt they were both getting in after winning SEC and ACC titles respectively on Saturday.
However, there was some outside discussion about the possibility of the Irish being bounced down from #3 to #4 after being idle this past weekend and some even speculated about the chances of Notre Dame being bounced out of the top four altogether.
That was never a serious possibility, according to Mullen.
“There was little debate about Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame,” he said. “There was a lot of debate about Oklahoma, Georgia and Ohio State.
“The debate was deep, detailed, and occasionally contentious. There was division.”
Mullen later said Notre Dame was included in the debate with the Sooners, Bulldogs and Buckeyes for “a small piece,” but that the true discussion surrounded the teams right behind the Irish.
“12-0, impressive resumé, wins against a ranked Michigan, Northwestern and Syracuse, the committee felt they deserved the No. 3 slot,” he said of Notre Dame. “Then we went about really finding who that fourth team was going to be.”
DISSECTING THE DEBATE: Settling on that fourth team was not easy, according to Mullen.
“I can report to you that different people in the room made a case for a variety of different outcomes,” he said. “I don't think we left any combination off the field”.
Arguments were made for both Georgia and Ohio State to earn the spot over the Sooners.
“Boy, did we debate it,” Mullen said. “As we considered three teams for the No. 4 slot, the committee did not believe that any one team was unequivocally better than the next. That meant we went to our protocol.”
Oklahoma ended up winning out based on being a conference champion with a close loss to a ranked team, Texas, at a neutral site and because of its prolific offense.
Georgia landed at #5 based on its balance as a team and the way the Bulldogs held tough against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
Mullen said Ohio State’s inconsistency, including a blowout loss to Purdue, was the biggest reason why the Buckeyes finished behind the Sooners and the Bulldogs.
“We're looking at full resumés, so when you're doing the kind of debate that we're doing and the importance of that debate for that No. 4 piece, we're looking at every single game,” he said. “Of course, when there aren't very many losses on the board, we're looking at the wins, we're looking at the losses.
“A three-point loss to a ranked team on a neutral field is different than the only loss amongst that peer group to an unranked team, and obviously we did take note that Georgia's two losses were against the No. 1 team in our rankings and what ultimately ended up being the No. 11 team (LSU).”
UCF, THANKS FOR PLAYING: UCF fans probably aren’t going to be comforted much by Mullen’s words after finishing unbeaten in the regular season for the second straight year without truly being considered for a spot.
Mullen was asked what he would say to UCF’s players.
“I'd say congratulations on a great season, congratulations on a conference championship,” he said. “Impressive second half against Memphis. Obviously, we spent some time talking about UCF. Again, another great year, a great opportunity to play an LSU team in the Fiesta Bowl, but in the committee's eyes, the strength of schedule just didn't hold up when you look at that peer group of 7 and 8.”
Mullen declined to speculate on what it will take for a non-Power Five program to break through and reach the Playoff.
“I think the protocol is pretty clear. When you look at how we're supposed to evaluate picking the four best teams, conference championship is one of them, strength of schedule is one of them, results against common opponents is one of them. Again, I would just point to the protocol. I think it's laid out pretty clear.”