It wouldn’t be the end of the college football regular season without some controversy.
First ranked SEC champion Georgia and second ranked Ten champion Michigan are both unbeaten and considered locks for two of the spots but the rest of the four-team field was thrown into chaos after unbeaten TCU and USC, whlch were ranked 3 and 4 in last week’s CFP poll, both lost in the Big 12 and Pac-12 championship games. Utah blistered USC, 47-24, on a neutral site in Vegas. Three loss Kansas State defeated previously unbeaten TCU, 31-28, in overtime at Alrington, Tex.
f the final evaluation is based on the four best teams, how do you leave 5 and 6– one loss Ohio State and two loss Alabama– out of the mix. Neither are conference champions but both could win the national championship.
If it is based on resume, then 12-1 TCU was undefeated in the Big 12 regular season with a win over K-State.
The CFP has never had a two loss team, but both of Alabama’s losses came in the final seconds to Tennessee and LSU in the SEC, arguably the toughest league in the country. The 10-2 Tide has a shot to win it all if quarterback Bryce Young is on the field.
We’ll learn Sunday night how this plays out when the selection committee makes its announcement.
Until then, all we have is lobbying from TCU coach Sonny Dykes and Alabama coach Nick Saban.
“We went through the Big 12 undefeated,” Dykes said. “We’ve been able to figure out how to win games all year, and today we werent able to do that. /but I think we are certaininly deserving. I think this league is one of the best leagues in
the country and we went undefeated. I don’t think we should be punished for coign to the Big 12 championship games. I don’t think that’s how this is desiggned I don’t thik it’s designed to punish teams and prevent them from getting
in the playofff.”
TCU had a chance to control their own destiny from the Frogs were stopped on a fourth down and an inch from the goal line. “Hey look, this is the resume and it is good enough,” Dykes said.
Saban, making an appearance on ESPN’s “The College Football Show,” suggested Vegas would favor the Tide. ‘I guess I would ask the question, is if we played these teams in question, would be underdogs in the game?” he said. “And that’s the
perfect answer to everyone’s question relative to who the best teams are at present. You got to look at how teams are playing at the present.”
One more thing to consider: If Michigan and Ohio State finish 2 and 3, are we looking at a rematch of “The Game” in the playoff semi-finals? We wouldn’t be surprised if the committee keeps TCU third and makes Ohio State fourth so they won;t hae to deal with that.
