By Brett Daniels
With the reveal of the final 12-team playoff bracket and rankings the overriding question is “Did the committee get it right?’ The answer to that is…mostly right. The last four teams in the bracket could be interchanged with the first four out of the bracket and there would be a way to support their inclusion.
The process of choosing the teams has been hotly debated and rightly so, however, the entire structure of the rankings and seeding is deeply flawed. Conference champions receiving automatic bids and first-round byes has wrecked the “on the field” part of the tournament with the top seed Oregon having a much more difficult path to the final than the #6 seed Penn State, whom they just defeated in the Big Ten Championship game.
https://twitter.com/FieldYates/status/1865812774418280748
1. Oregon (13-0)
Ranked: 1 Seeded: 1
Oregon was probably the biggest no-brainer in the field finishing as the only undefeated team and Big10 Champions.
Next Up: Jan 1 vs Tennessee/Ohio State winner in the Rose Bowl
2. Georgia Bulldogs (11-2)
Ranked: 2 Seeded: 2
Georgia overcame losing starting QB Carson Beck at the end of the first half to beat Texas for a second time this season. If Beck can’t go in the playoffs the Dawgs are in good hands with redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton.
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Next Up: Jan1 vs Notre Dame/Indiana winner in the Sugar Bowl
3. Texas Longhorns (11-2)
Ranked: 3 Seeded: 5
This is the first ranking and seeding that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Texas has no wins over ranked teams and lost twice to the only top 10 team they played in Georgia. Texas should be ranked lower and probably shouldn’t be hosting a home playoff game.
Next Up: Dec 21 vs Clemson
4. Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2)
Ranked: 4 Seeded: 6
This is the second of the curious rankings and seedings. Penn State has one ranked win against Illinois and has lost to both Ohio State and Oregon.
Next Up: Dec 21 vs SMU
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1)
Ranked: 4 Seeded: 7
The Irish were hurt here by not playing in a conference championship game. Based on wins, Notre Dame should be in the Top 3 and seeded 5th. The draw against Indiana at home is favorable but a potential second-round match-up with Georgia will be a challenge.
Next Up: Dec 20 vs Indiana
6. Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2)
Ranked: 6 Seeded: 8
The Buckeyes managed to hold onto a home playoff spot after getting controlled at home against a mediocre Michigan in their last game. Still, this is the most talented roster on paper of all the playoff teams and the Buckeyes can certainly make a run.
Next Up: Dec 21 vs Tennessee
7. Tennessee Volunteers (10-2)
Ranked: 7 Seeded: 9
Tennessee probably has an argument to be ranked higher as well as being seeded higher and hosting a home playoff game. Losses to #2 Georgia and Arkansas both on the road are better than a home loss to Michigan.
Next Up: Dec 21 at Ohio State
8. Indiana Hoosiers (11-1)
Ranked: 8 Seeded: 10
Out of all the teams in the field, Indiana by far had the weakest schedule and least impressive wins. The only reason the Hoosiers are in the field is that they managed to stay undefeated long enough not to drop and then weren’t penalized for their blowout loss to Ohio State.
Next Up: Dec 20 at Notre Dame
9. Boise State Broncos (12-1)
Ranked: 9 Seeded: 3
Boise State has done what they needed to do to make the field by winning the Mountain West conference. What the Broncos haven’t done is enough to deserve a 3 seed and a bye into the quarter-finals, in my opinion. Their best “data point” is a close loss to #1 Oregon on the road with their wins over UNLV and Washington State looking less impressive as the season goes on.
Next Up: Dec 31 vs Penn State/SMU winner in the Fiesta Bowl
10. SMU Mustangs (11-2)
Ranked: 10 Seeded: 10
The Mustangs are the last “at-large” team in the field with the committee opting for SMU over Alabama. A close loss in the ACC Championship game was key in getting the Mustangs into the field.
Next Up: Dec 21 at Penn State
11. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-3)
Ranked: 11 Seeded: First team out
The Crimson Tide will miss the playoff for only the third time since its inception in 2014. While Alabama had impressive wins over #2 Georgia, #15 South Carolina, and #19 Missouri they also had terrible losses to 6-6 Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.
Next Up: Dec 31 vs Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl
12. Arizona State Sun Devils (11-2)
Ranked: 12 Seeded: 4
Arizona State has been one of the hottest teams in the country and continued that streak winning the Big 12 Championship over Iowa State and securing a first-round bye.
Next Up: Jan 1 vs Texas/Clemson winner in the Peach Bowl
https://twitter.com/ASUFootball/status/1865810843210014747
13. Miami Hurricanes (10-2)
Ranked: 13 Seeded: Second Team Out
The loss to Syracuse that knocked Miami out of the ACC Championship game sealed their fate. By not playing on Championship Saturday, the Hurricanes didn’t have another chance to improve their resume. With zero ranked wins on the season, Miami didn’t have much of an argument to be in the field anyway.
Next Up: Dec 28 vs Iowa State in the Pop Tarts Bowl
14. Ole Miss Rebels (9-3)
Ranked: 14 Seeded: N/A
The crux of the argument against Ole Miss being included in the field was a bad home-field loss to 4-win Kentucky at the beginning of the season. The loss to Florida in Gainesville after beating #2 Georgia at home the week before didn’t help either.
Next Up: Jan 2 vs Duke in the Gator Bowl
15. South Carolina Gamecocks (9-3)
Ranked: 15 Seeded: N/A
The Gamecocks are playing as well as any team in the country and LaNorris Sellers is a future star but the lack of big wins against Ole Miss or Alabama their head-to-head tiebreakers made it a virtual impossibility for South Carolina to make the field.
Next Up: Bowl Game
https://twitter.com/SEC/status/1858557050453680153
16. Clemson Tigers (9-3)
Ranked: 16 Seeded: 12
The Tigers get the last spot in the field by virtue of their ACC Championship win over SMU.
Next Up: Dec 21 at Texas
What should the playoff do for the future?
As the playoff moves forward, serious discussion needs to be had about how the teams are seeded and how teams are evaluated. Conference champions should get automatic bids to the tournament, but not any more favorable seeding than other teams with similar records.
A straight-seeded tournament this year would have Oregon, Georgia, Texas, and Penn State receiving byes and first-round matchups of #5 Notre Dame/#12 Clemson, #6 Ohio State/#11 Arizona State, #7 Tennessee/#10 SMU, #8 Indiana/#9 Boise State. Oregon would play the winner of Indiana/Boise State, Georgia would play the winner of Tennessee/SMU, Texas would play the winner of Ohio State/Arizona State, and Penn State would play the Notre Dame/Clemson winner. That’s a much more balanced and fairer bracket for all of the seeded teams.
