Thoughts on the Final CFP Rankings

It's that time of year again! Conference championship Saturday and Selection Sunday have come and gone, and the 12 teams who will compete for this year's National Championship have been selected. The bracket has been finalized.

Let's take a look!

Teams that get a first round bye

1. Indiana (Big Ten Champion)

2. Ohio State (At Large)

3. Georgia (SEC Champion)

4. Texas Tech (Big 12 Champion)

Teams that will host a home game

5. Oregon (At Large)

6. Ole Miss (At Large)

7. Texas A&M (At Large)

8. Oklahoma (At Large)

Remaining teams

9. Alabama (At Large)

10. Miami (At Large)

11. Tulane (American Conference Champion)

12. James Madison (Sunbelt Champion)

First two out

Notre Dame

BYU

My thoughts on the bracket

Overall, I don't think I have too much of a problem with the top of the bracket. It seems pretty self-explanatory to me. We've gotten past the eye test part of the season, and now it comes down to placing teams purely based on resume.

Three of the top four teams have a conference championship. The one that doesn't, Ohio State, only lost to the top-ranked team in the country by three points, and steamrolled the rest of their schedule, including Michigan. Although I will have more to say on the Buckeyes' chances later on. The way Ohio State lost on Saturday both bugs and scares me for their chances going forward.

When we get to the 5-8 spots, something becomes apparent to me. The committee didn't seem to be particularly keen on punishing teams' losses, no matter how they lost. After all, the vast majority of them were close losses to other teams already in the College Football Playoff bracket.

Oregon lost to Indiana by 10, Ole Miss lost to Georgia by eight. Texas A&M lost to Texas by 10 points on the last week of the year, and Oklahoma lost to Ole Miss by eight as well. This tells me the committee was focused on a team's total body of work. I'm not sure I completely agree with that mindset all across the board though, and you'll soon see why. Case in point below.

Their flawed thinking rears its ugly head when we get to the 9-12 spots. Particularly with Alabama staying in the nine spot with three losses, which is unheard of. This year's Crimson Tide team is the first team with three losses to make it into the bracket in College Football Playoff history.

The Tide got rolled by a Florida State team by two scores that ended up 5-7. Yet that seems to have no bearing on where they ended up. But that's not what bugs me the most. It's the three-score black eye they got from Georgia that makes no sense to me. Alabama was already in jeopardy of not making it before that game, and then they lose that way and don't fall? Make it make sense!

The Tide was passed over last year for SMU. But apparently according to the guy who now is the head of the committee, Alabama got left out in 2024 because they didn't make the SEC Championship game, rather than having three losses. That makes no sense to me.

You're rewarding them for hitting a certain threshold, rather than rewarding them or showing them there's consequences for how they performed on the field. I sharply disagree here. The Playoff was created to bring the 12 best teams together, and then settle things on the football field. Simple as that.

Rewarding Alabama for NOT taking care of business, especially on a big stage against Georgia, doesn't make any logical sense. This wasn't a close loss to Georgia either. Alabama got a black eye. Yet they backed into the Playoff? I'm sorry. That's wrong. No matter who the team is. I'd be saying the same thing as a Buckeye fan if Ohio State limped in with three losses. You just don't do that. The bias is ridiculous here.

As for Miami getting in, I don't have a problem with it based on their body of work. They lost two games by a combined total of nine points, and that victory over Notre Dame looms REALLY large after today's final rankings!

In terms of the last two teams in, Tulane and James Madison, I don't know if I agree with these picks for two reasons: The level of competition they beat and lost to, as well as how they'd match up with big time programs in the Playoff.

I know the committee and some fans want to see the "little guy" get a chance to win the National Championship. I want that too. But there has to be a better way of doing that then simply hoping they'll play the giant killer. As for what that way is, I don't know. I was in favor of an eight-team Playoff before the expansion rather than 12 for cases like this.

Tulane is matched up with Ole Miss, who blew them out 45-10 the last time they faced each other. That bugs me. Tulane's best win was over North Texas in the American Conference title game. As for JMU, the level of competition they faced bothers me. Liberty? Georgia Southern? Georgia State? Come on now. I'd be shocked if they give Oregon a game.

Notre Dame got screwed. Or did they?

I don't know how I feel about this one. I'm angry at the committee's boldfaced Alabama bias. It's there and they didn't even bother hiding it.

Notre Dame could've and likely should've been one of those teams in over the Crimson Tide. Yeah, I didn't stutter. The Fighting Irish lost to Texas A&M and Miami by a combined four points. Their losses look nowhere near as bad as Alabama's.

BUT...

One also has to wonder if Notre Dame would benefit from being a member of either the ACC or Big Ten. I know the Fighting Irish are known for their brand. A big part of that brand is being an independent school.

Notre Dame can choose to keep their independence and take on all comers. But if they do, that means they need to win the games on their schedule that matter the most. There is no safety net if they don't.

This is why I believe they need to give up their independence and join a conference that's a major player. If they don't, they have no one to blame but themselves if they get left out like they did today. Appearing in a conference title game, even in a close loss, forces the committee to evaluate you for an extra week. That beats the crap out of sitting at home on the couch, and being stuck at the mercy of the committee.

And don't get me started on Notre Dame refusing to participate in a bowl game because they were snubbed from the Playoff. That's poor on two levels. It not only makes the Irish look childish and bitter, but it also robs college kids of one more game with their teammates and brothers. I hate that kind of behavior, especially from those in positions of power.

I hope Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame AD both have the stones to tell seniors why they did that. That was a dumb temper tantrum, and now the football players are paying for it.

Should Notre Dame have gotten in? Yes. But you don't handle being left out by doing that. That's seriously poor leadership. I feel bad for the players. But I don't feel bad for the program's higher-ups in the least. They all did this to themselves.

I have one thing to say to them: Swallow your pride, join a conference, win your games, or as the old saying goes, "Ya get what ya get, and ya don't throw a fit!"

Matchups

The bracket's matchups look like this:

#5 Oregon vs. #12 James Madison (Eugene, OR)

#6 Ole Miss. vs. #11 Tulane (Oxford, MS)

#7 Texas A&M vs. #10 Miami (Lubbock, TX)

#8 Oklahoma vs. #9 Alabama (Norman OK)

The winner of Texas A&M and Miami will face #2 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve.

The winner of Ole Miss vs. Tulane will face #3 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day.

The winner of Oklahoma and Alabama will face #1 Indiana on New Year's Day in the Rose Bowl.

And the winner of Oregon vs. James Madison will face #4 Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl.

From there, the Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl will host the semifinals on January 8th and 9th before a National Champion is crowned at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on January 19th!

Buckeyes' chances to repeat as National Champs

I am still scratching my head over the loss to Indiana. But maybe Curt Cignetti and the Hoosiers really are legit, which only makes the chances of the National Championship trophy staying in the Big Ten that much better.

As for whether Ohio State will repeat, I'm not so sure. The play calling against Indiana looked too vanilla, the offensive line looked extremely suspect, and a defense that had been shutting everyone down all year looked suspect against Fernando Mendoza. That's the bad part.

The silver lining to me though, is that Ohio State has 3 1/2 weeks to get their minds right, prepare well for either Texas A&M and Miami, and practice to play like they know they can. If Ryan Day and the Buckeyes play their cards exactly right, they have a prime chance to show the rest of the country that the team who lost to Indiana isn't who they really are. How they handle everything between now and then is completely up to them. It's going to be an interesting 23/24 days until they get a chance to play again.

Until then, GO BUCKS!

Sources

AP News

CBS Sports

ESPN

Picture Credit

espnpressroom.com