While it’s no secret that the SEC bias is one of the worst aspects of the everyday fan’s college football experience, on Tuesday night, the College Football Playoff Rankings show made things much worse.
The Alabama Crimson Tide, a team that has lost three games this year, two of which barely made bowl eligibility, was awarded the No. 11 spot in the country in the rankings.
Following the decision to slide the Crimson Tide into the Top 12, CFP Chairman Warde Manuel mentioned aspects of the process that make Alabama’s path to the playoff even easier. Manuel confirmed that teams not participating in Championship Weekend are locked and will not be compared to other teams not playing in Championship games.
This makes for a disaster scenario for the likes of the Miami Hurricanes, who were upstaged by Alabama despite having a better record (10-2 vs. 9-3) with two quality losses to No. 22 Syracuse and Georgia Tech. Alabama, on the other hand, earned nearly a Top 10 rank with losses to No. 7 Tennessee, unranked Oklahoma, and unranked Vanderbilt.
In addition to the tough break for Miami, Manuel even decided to take a shot at one of the teams actively participating in the ACC Championship Game minutes after preaching about the committee’s value for championship teams.
When asked if 11-1 SMU, who earned the No. 8 spot in the rankings despite being one of the ACC’s premiere teams, could be passed by 9-3 Alabama with a loss, Manuel said, “Potentially, yes.”
While the 12-team playoff has reinvigorated a plethora of college football fanbases eagerly hoping for the chance to play for a National Championship, the College Football Playoff Committee has done nothing for the sport other than show the inherent biases select programs face.
