BY MICHAEL FISHER
@KTIK.COM
While fans in Boise were in shock and awe over the Broncos’ No. 25 ranking in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, the real meat was at the top of the polls, where the top four continue to show that the CFP is nothing like its BCS predecessors.
A one-loss Clemson team sits in second ahead of Miami, an undefeated team that’s coming off a 33-point win over previous No. 3 Notre Dame. The computers in the BCS era would never stand for that.
The BCS computer model was built on algorithms for things such as winning margin, SOS and record. Despite this, the complaints always came that the computers were not human, they could not watch the games or track the dominance of a team. The computer only saw final scores.
This year, the committee’s biggest flaw might be that it’s too human.
Let us go back to Clemson, which has one loss on the road to a 4-6 Syracuse team where starting freshman QB Kelly Bryant left at halftime with the Tigers trailing 17-14 and did not return. Clemson went on to lose 27-24 for its only loss.
On Wednesday, the CFP committee did its media rounds, explaining the rankings and why Clemson sits at No. 2 with a loss to a team with a losing record, while Oklahoma sits at No. 4 with a loss to an Iowa State team that was ranked as high as 15 two weeks ago. The committee said the Sooners’ loss to Iowa State is seen as a bad loss, while Clemson is given a break since its starting QB was injured in its loss.
This is a major red flag for the future of the playoffs.
The Sooners lost to a team that is bowl eligible and ranked as high as No. 15 and they are punished for what is called a bad loss. Meanwhile, the Tigers lost to a 4-6 team and are given a break because their QB missed the second half due to injury, despite the fact that Kelly’s backup outscored him (10-7), outgained him (172-150) and had only one drive end in a punt to Kelly’s four.
I get it, a backup QB is not close to the same level as the starter unless you are Boise State, but a team cannot be viewed as an undefeated just because its QB got injured.
The committee is creating a dangerous precedent. If Miami loses to Clemson 27-24, but loses its starting QB at halftime in the ACC championship game, how can the committee justify dropping the Hurricanes? They lost to the No. 2 team in the nation by three without their starter!
The computers did not see injuries, and they were cold, heartless machines that could care less how a team lost. They only saw a final score. Right now, that is what we need because Clemson is not undefeated as the committee seems to see them. The Tigers have one bad loss to a 4-6 team – it does not matter what QB finished the game.
Michael Fisher produces Idaho Sports Talk with Bob & Chris weekdays from 1-3 p.m. on KTIK 93.1 FM The Ticket. He can be found @TheFishKTIK (Twitter).
