Playoff Chair Says 'Alabama Was Clearly The No. 4 Team' And It Wasn't That Close (College football)

Business Insider ^ | 12-3-2017 | Cork Gaines

[blam]

The College Football Playoff committee has spoken and Alabama is in over Ohio State as the fourth team and will play Clemson in the Sugar Bowl semifinal.

Bama-vs.-Ohio State was debated heavily following the conference championship games on Saturday. Ohio State had a conference championship and more impressive wins. But they also had something Alabama did not have, a second loss, an ugly 33-point debacle against Iowa.

The decision was also controversial because it means this year's playoff will have no teams from the Big Ten and the Pac-12. Instead, it will have two teams from the SEC, including one team that did not reach their conference championship game.

Listening to playoff committee chairman Kirby Hocutt, it sounds like the Buckeyes' loss to Iowa may have sealed their fate even before the conference championship games.

"We compared [Alabama's resume] to a 2-loss Ohio State team, obviously that one loss at home to No. 2-ranked Oklahoma," Hocutt said on ESPN. "But more damaging was the 31-point loss to unranked Iowa."

Conference championships are supposed to be a bit of a tiebreaker if the teams are considered otherwise equal. In this case, the committee did not view the teams as equals.

(snip)

[blam]

"Still, it is all speculation. However such things are done in the pros all the time (if you have a playoff berth locked up, lose a game to preserve your players)."

Not the Iron Bowl.

[techworker]

I am sorry I was replying to other comments from your post. I should not have included comments about the guy who was saying the SEC is better because they are more black.

[techworker]

Ahh so you agree the Ohio State is slow argument is moronic.

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

F... the Tide

[GGpaX4DumpedTea]

SEC is a mediocre conference...