CFP takeaways: Committee gets it right with Miami, Indiana's great draw, and more
The College Football Playoff field is officially set, but you can expect the arguments over who deserved to be in, and which team got the worst draw, to continue for the next couple of weeks.
The committee didn't change a significant amount from the final rankings of the season, with Miami's inclusion over Notre Dame the move that garnered the most headlines.
Read on for our call on that decision, plus other top takeaways from the bracket release.
Committee got it right with Miami ... finally
When you strip everything else away, the committee could have just made its decision about Miami over Notre Dame by listening to Herm Edwards.
"You play to win the game, you don't play to just play it. That's the great thing about sports."
Indeed it is, Herm.
The committee may have avoided that premise for as long as possible, but sanity finally reigned in the final rankings - and the Hurricanes are in the field.
Both teams have identical 10-2 records and sit in very similar places in most advanced metrics. However, the committee had Miami behind Notre Dame in every single rankings release despite the Hurricanes beating the Irish in Week 1.
That wrong was finally righted on Sunday, but it took a second BYU blowout loss to Texas Tech to force the committee's hand. That setback put Miami and Notre Dame beside each other in the rankings, a situation that finally made the head-to-head matter.
"Once we moved Miami ahead of BYU, we had that side-by-side comparison that everyone had been hungering for," CFP chair Hunter Yurachek said, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel. "The one metric we had to fall back on was the head-to-head."
You can argue about whether Notre Dame should be in the field - there's little question the Irish are currently performing like one of top teams in the nation. However, that just couldn't be done at the expense of Miami. Ignoring the head-to-head result would have called the legitimacy of the entire process into question.
We need to talk about Group of 5 champs
The addition of a Group of 5 champion to the field is a nice carrot to dangle for a potential Cinderella program looking to shock the world. However, everything is good in moderation, and we have to ensure we aren't overdosing on underdogs.
Boise State absolutely deserved a spot last year as the MWC champ, but we quickly realized how ridiculous it was that the Broncos got a first-round bye alongside Arizona State. The committee made the necessary changes for this year's format, reserving the byes for the top four teams in the rankings and not merely the conference champions. Another provision is needed for next year after James Madison nabbed a spot while better teams like Notre Dame, Texas, and Vanderbilt sit at home.
This is not a shot at the Dukes - they are absolutely one of the top Group of 5 teams in the country and a very deserving Sun Belt winner. However, they have zero power-conference wins on the season, losing on the road to Louisville in their only shot at such a statement victory. On the other side of the bubble sits Notre Dame, a program with eight power-conference victories on the season - all by double-digits.
There might be a number of ways to fix this issue, but perhaps the best method is the one proposed by CBS Sports' Bud Elliott calling for a Group of 5 champion to require a top-20 overall ranking to be included. That would see Tulane still in the field, while James Madison would fall short.
Of course, this problem likely goes away entirely if the ACC would fix its absurd tiebreaker rules and ensure that a five-loss Duke doesn't get to play for the conference title.
Indiana's great draw
Plenty of words were written leading into the conference title game about how the Big Ten matchup between Ohio State and Indiana was meaningless because both teams were in the field and set to receive a bye regardless of the outcome. The past 14 hours would suggest otherwise for both combatants.
Indiana might still be celebrating the program's first outright Big Ten title since 1945, an incredible feat that only got better with the committee's release. The victory over the Buckeyes moved the Hoosiers to No. 1 and means they will avoid a rematch against their Big Ten foe until the national title game. That also sees Georgia fall on the other side of the bracket, with a Bulldogs-Buckeyes semifinal matchup a strong possibility.
Sure, a quarterfinal date with either Alabama or Oklahoma will be a test, but the way those two teams are playing offense at the moment makes a win over the Hoosiers highly unlikely.
Indiana proved Saturday - and earlier this season at Oregon - that it doesn't need an easy draw to make its mark on the sport. However, we doubt Curt Cignetti is upset that his squad got one with this bracket.
No Saturday result was keeping Alabama out
Alabama entered the SEC title game Saturday as the No. 9 seed in the rankings and with a date against a Georgia team it already beat on the road this season. According to the ESPN playoff predictor, the Tide took the field in Atlanta with a 97% chance of making the CFP field. Given that scenario, it was going to take something catastrophic to see the Tide miss out on the 12-team tournament.
Well, how about the program's worst rushing performance in an SEC game since 1940, and a 21-point loss? Would that be considered catastrophic enough? Turns out, no. Despite an absolutely dismal performance versus the Bulldogs, Alabama will still make the CFP as the final at-large team.
Alabama had a couple of things going in its favor for a playoff spot despite Saturday's result. First, the Tide had already beaten Georgia this season - ending the Bulldogs' 33-game home winning streak in the process. That's something BYU couldn't claim, as the Cougars were dominated by Texas Tech in both contests this year.
Second, the committee wasn't going to take at least four teams from the SEC and not have one of them be the No. 1 seed after the regular season. That type of decision would ruin the purpose of conference championship games. Whether you think that's needed or not - spoiler alert, it is - under the current rules, the Tide were always headed to the CFP.
Rough path for Texas A&M
Congratulations on your 11-1 season, Texas A&M. The reward waiting for you is an opening-round matchup with a physical Miami team and a potential quarterfinal against Ohio State should you prevail.
The toughest draw in the tournament is arguably sitting at the feet of the No. 7 Aggies, who are on the same side of the bracket as the Hurricanes, Buckeyes and Georgia. Meanwhile, No. 6 Ole Miss gets to host Tulane in the opening round - a rematch of an earlier-season contest that the Rebels won by 25 points.
We can argue the merits of Texas A&M and Ole Miss' resumes, but the Aggies dropping four spots for losing on the road to Texas in the season finale was a bit jarring. The full extent of that penalty was displayed Sunday with the draw that came Mike Elko's way.
All blowouts aren't created equal
Alabama entered the final weekend at No. 9 in the CFP rankings, rushed for minus-3 yards in a 21-point blowout loss to No. 3 Georgia, and somehow still found itself at No. 9 in Sunday's playoff field. BYU took a 27-point beatdown at the hands of Texas Tech and found itself dropping from No. 11 to No. 12 - and will miss the playoff entirely.
Now, before you scream "SEC bias," there's another good reason why the Cougars' loss was treated differently than the Crimson Tide. Alabama stormed into Athens and beat Georgia earlier this season, ending the nation's longest active home winning streak at 33 games. It's arguably the best win in the entire country this season. The loss earlier this year to No. 8 Oklahoma saw the Crimson Tide outgain the Sooners by almost 200 yards, with turnovers deciding the eventual two-point margin. Saturday was horrendous for Alabama, but Kalen DeBoer's squad has at least showed it's a threat against anybody in the country this season.
BYU has looked completely overmatched in both contests with Texas Tech this season, losing by a combined 63-14 scoreline. It's impossible to have watched those two contests and think the Cougars have a chance at competing in the playoff.
Okay, now we have hit the part where you can scream "SEC bias." There's no chance the No. 1 seed from the SEC's regular season is getting left out of the playoff based on the result of the conference championship game. Whether you agree with that or not, it simply isn't going to happen.