Read This Before You Complain About the College Football Playoff

“Why are these Group of 5 teams in the playoff?” “These blowouts are ridiculous!” “Some of these teams don’t deserve to be here.”

And the list goes on. We used to debate which college football teams were the best or which teams belonged in a championship game. When two (the old BCS system) wasn’t enough, we argued that maybe there should be more teams.

And then there were four. Now, there are 12 and, at some point, there will probably be 16. So, what do we do now? Complain.

Sure, some of the complaints are legitimate. There are issues with the 12-team College Football Playoff. It can get better. It needs to be carefully examined, but this is what you asked for. You wanted the “best” teams to have the top seeds. You got it. You wanted G5 teams to have access. You got that too.

Now, you whine like little kids who don’t get what they want but did get what they want, only not exactly the way they thought they would get it. Before you start to sound like one of these kids, let’s take a look at the complaints.

But Notre Dame!

The Fighting Irish faithful were out in droves on X. “Notre Dame could have beaten both of these teams (James Madison and Tulane). While that may be true, the bigger issue is Notre Dame’s head-to-head record against two teams that made the College Football Playoff.

It’s very simple and, yes, while James Madison and Tulane both lost by double digits, let’s reflect on the regular season…which is supposed to matter. Notre Dame played Miami in Week 1. Result? Miami 27, Notre Dame 24.

The very next week, the Irish botched an extra point then gave up a late touchdown and lost to Texas A&M 41-40. “But we only lost two games, and they were by a total of four points.” Yes, but for all the Notre Dame fans out there the most important part of that statement is LOST TWO GAMES! 

The bottom line is simple. Miami and Texas A&M beat Notre Dame in the regular season. They got in and the Irish didn’t. Next time, beat your competition.

These Games Were Blowouts!

Oregon beat James Madison 51-34 and the Ducks were ahead 34-6 at the half. Ole Miss just crushed Tulane 41-10, just like they did when they played the Green Wave in the regular season. 

The whiners will tell you “these games aren’t competitive!” You know what else isn’t competitive? Watch the No. 1 vs. No. 16 games in March Madness. You can even go to the 2-15 and 3-14 games. Those games are typically blowouts. Yes, there are some upsets, but they are very rare.

You know what else features some pretty lopsided outcomes? How about the ultimate football event – the Super Bowl. We were all jacked up for a great Chiefs-Eagles matchup last year. Philly put an end to that right away. The result? Blowout. In fact, 35 of the 59 Super Bowls have been decided by double digits. Is that competitive?

Complain all you want, but blowouts happen in all sports regardless of the level of competition and regardless of how “good” the opponents are.

The G5 Teams Should Have Their Own Playoff

Really? After years of hearing about how Group of 5 teams have no access to a national championship, now they have one. James Madison and Tulane got into the playoff largely because teams like Georgia Tech, Miami, and Virginia found ways to lose too many games.

The ACC ended up with one representative – Miami. And remember, the ‘Canes beat Notre Dame. The same could be said of the Big 12. BYU and Utah were both pretty good teams, but both lost twice and both lost to Texas Tech…which made the playoff.

Back to the point at hand. Do we relegate mid-major teams in college basketball to their own tournament? We do not. Do we love the mid-major upsets of higher seeds in the college basketball tournament? We do. 

Complain all you want, but both James Madison and Tulane were conference champions with resumes good enough to make the playoff. And the selection committee thought so. Would we have complained if one of those teams pulled off a miraculous upset? Probably not and when it does happen, what will complain about next?

Related:

CFB Playoffs Round 2 Action Report – Pros vs Joes