While addressing the tiebreaker criteria for conference championships might seem like a straightforward solution, it doesn’t resolve all the complexities at play, especially when considering the challenges faced by the College Football Playoff committee. The committee often finds itself navigating tricky situations, such as when Alabama maintained its No. 9 ranking despite a lackluster performance against Georgia in the SEC championship. In contrast, BYU, which was ranked No. 11, experienced a similar setback against No. 4 Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game but saw its ranking drop, highlighting inconsistencies in the evaluation process.
Even though BYU’s fall in the rankings didn’t ultimately impact its playoff eligibility—it would have been the first team out regardless—the rearrangement seemed to conveniently set the stage for a contentious situation involving Miami and Notre Dame. This reshuffling led to significant debate and confusion.
The question that remains is why the head-to-head result between Miami and Notre Dame seemed irrelevant when the second-to-last CFP rankings were issued, only to become crucial in the final rankings, even though neither team played during that interval. This inconsistency has left many, including Notre Dame, feeling frustrated and bewildered by the committee’s decision-making process.
Notre Dame, understandably, feels slighted by this last-minute shift. After an impressive season that included a 10-game winning streak following narrow losses to Miami and Texas A&M, the Irish saw themselves edged out of the playoffs. This was despite their absence from a game that weekend and having convincingly defeated their last four opponents by a combined 153 points. Notably, the team’s decision to skip bowl season has attracted criticism, as it goes against the tradition upheld by this storied program.
In the meantime, James Madison University, in just its fourth season in the FBS, secured a playoff spot after notable wins over Old Dominion and Troy, the latter clinching the Sun Belt championship. Slotted at No. 12, they will face Oregon in a first-round matchup, following another Group of Five champion, Tulane. If the objective is truly to select the 12 best teams for the playoffs, then schools like Notre Dame, and perhaps Vanderbilt or Texas, might have been more fitting choices.
This isn’t to disparage JMU or any Group of Five champions. The current system is designed to ensure the five highest-ranked conference champions advance, and JMU deserves commendation for its remarkable rise in the FBS under Curt Cignetti’s leadership. Imagine the excitement if James Madison were to face Indiana in the Peach Bowl on January 9 with a national championship berth at stake. While unlikely, such scenarios underscore the unpredictable nature of the current playoff landscape.
That is no disrespect to JMU or any G5 champion. Rather, the system calls for the five highest ranked conference champs to make the cut, and they did. For their part, the Dukes have been awesome since elevating to college football’s highest level, which they did with Curt Cignetti leading the program’s transition into the FBS. (Wouldn’t it be something if James Madison and Indiana meet in the Peach Bowl on January 9 with a chance to go to the nation championship game on the line? Though not likely, it could happen given the bracket.)
At least a five-loss team was not permitted beyond the velvet rope.
Tiebreaker tweaking
That five-loss team, of course, is Duke. Five was the magic number that resulted in Manny Diaz’s team going up against and defeating Virginia in the ACC championship. The Blue Devils prevailed with respect to the conference’s tiebreaker policy that determined which team among five conference members that went 6-2 in league play would make its way to Charlotte to face the Cavaliers. It was the fifth item on the checklist of criteria that favored Duke on account of combined win percentage of conference opponents.
It is a problem when a conference has to drill down that far to determine a team that plays in its championship game while in the process excluding one of the top teams in the country. Of course, had the CFP committee placed Miami ahead of Notre Dame based on what happened in Miami Gardens on the last day of August, the ‘Canes would not have had to sweat it out while preparing for whatever postseason situation awaited them. As it turned out, Mario Cristobal’s team will travel to College Station to face No. 7 Texas A&M in a first-round matchup on the afternoon of December 20. Suddenly, everything is fine in Coral Gables.
To think that in the days leading up to Saturday’s title game, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips lobbied to have two conference members – Miami and the league champ – make the playoff cut. As it turned out, his conference was fortunate to have a seat, any seat, at the playoff table. (With Miami bumped up to No. 10, a Virginia win would have resulted in two ACC members in the playoff.)
To have a five-loss team make the playoff would have made a mockery of a system already in need of change two years in. At least each conference can help the larger cause by addressing its respective tiebreaker criteria so that it does not reward a team that was 5-5 after 10 weeks and not even assured of participating in a lower-tier bowl. At the same time, conferences need to reward teams near the top of the national pyramid and not leave them hanging. The irony is the ACC and Notre Dame have a scheduling agreement, which set up the appealing season opener between the Hurricanes and Fighting Irish.
