Committee was right, but format needs work

For much of Saturday, there was drama, tension and excitement while the Big 12, Southeastern Conference and Big Ten championship games played out.

An Oklahoma loss to rival Texas would have knocked the Sooners out of the College Football Playoff. A Northwestern upset over Ohio State would take the Buckeyes out of contention. And if Georgia had pulled off the upset — and not gone with an ill-fated fake punt — over Alabama, the four teams headed to the playoff would be different.

When Sunday rolled around, there was no turmoil. No surprise. Nothing to be anxious about.

Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma are the top four teams. And based on the criteria the College Football Playoff committee put forth, they are the right four teams.

While there was a manufactured argument that No. 5 Georgia or No. 6 Ohio State deserved a spot over Oklahoma, there really was no way either team was making it in.

So Saturday held all the fun. And Sunday was pretty anticlimactic.

Until this playoff expands to eight teams, that’s how it’s going to be.

Oklahoma is a one-loss team that — after it’s defeat of Texas in a rematch Saturday — beat every team on its schedule. There’s no way to justify a two-loss Georgia team or an Ohio State team that lost by 29 points to unranked Purdue in mid-season, jumping the Sooners for a playoff spot.

And for the small, but loud, group arguing again for No. 8 Central Florida, which finished undefeated for the second straight season, it’s just not going to happen.

If the playoff included eight teams, things would be much different.

Every conference championship game would matter because every champ would make it in.

So, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Washington. A Group of Five team would make it in — UCF in this case and then the next two highest ranked teams — Notre Dame and Georgia this season.

It’s extra football, more opportunities for other teams and a chance for drama late in the season. An eight-team playoff wouldn’t be perfect, but it would be another step toward making the playoff system a better one.

The four-team playoff is better than the Bowl Championship Series, which caused a lot of trouble for the 15 years that it determined the national championship.

Now, a committee spends hours talking and debating. It allows for conversations from people who follow the game all season.

And while there was debate about the fourth spot this year — multiple outlets reported that several committee members were divided among Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma — the system laid out is logical enough to ensure that the four teams that make it should be there.

While it is becoming a bit predictable — Alabama, Clemson and Oklahoma have now accounted for 60 percent of the playoff berths in this system — it still does send the right teams forward.

This year, thanks to a couple of top-notch conference championships, the lead-up was better.

The Big 12 returned to a title game despite having just one division and it paid off as Texas and Oklahoma — the two best teams in the conference — met twice this season. Both games were competitive, both drew good ratings and both helped elevate the Big 12 on the national stage. OU and Texas brought the best out in each other twice. Other conferences should take note and pit their top two teams against each other at the end of the season.

Georgia and Alabama played in a nail-biter. Well, until, Kirby Smart’s fake punt on fourthand-11 in the final minutes led to a Bulldog collapse.

The game also provided a great comeback moment when Channelview product Jalen Hurts, who was benched this season for quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, saved the day for Alabama. Tagovailoa injured his ankle, and Hurts came in to win the game.

The playoff pits the two winners of the best games Saturday against each other when Alabama and Oklahoma face each other in the Orange Bowl Dec. 29. If Tagovailoa is back and healthy — he’s reportedly out two weeks — he will face OU quarterback Kyler Murray. By then, one of them will be a Heisman winner.

Notre Dame and Clemson are undefeated. Clemson has wins over ranked Texas A&M and Syracuse, and Notre Dame picked up wins over ranked Syracuse, Northwestern and Michigan. The two will play each other Dec. 29 in Arlington.

The winners of the two semifinal games will play each other Jan. 7.

A couple of the New Year’s Six bowls add a lot of intrigue. Texas and Georgia will battle it out in the Sugar Bowl. LSU and UCF will play in the Fiesta Bowl, and Ohio State and Washington will meet in the Rose Bowl.

There’s a lot of good football left, but an eight-team playoff would add more. It would be an extra game for the two teams who made it to the end, one extra home game for the four top seeded teams and more drama leading up to the national championship.