- Constant, confusing, and irrational conference turnover.
- More than 1,200 players in the transfer portal.
- Coaches making $10 million a year.
- NIL leading to unrecognizable rosters for fans.
College football already had enough challenges on its plate before this year's college-playoff conversation included six worthy teams for four spots.
Obviously, 13-0 Florida State got the shaft along the way, with the late-season injury to Heisman favorite quarterback Jordan Travis giving the playoff committee enough incentive to drop the Seminoles from the fray. The reigning back-to-back national champs, Georgia, also were left out after losing for the first time in 30 games, by a field goal to Alabama.
While most seemed to take issue with a one-loss Crimson Tide team taking the fourth spot in the order, I have to admit that not including the conference champ of the best league in the land never seemed like an option.
Lost in the rush to blame an SEC bias, however, is the curious case of Texas. A team with one-score wins over Houston (4-8 on the season), Kansas State, and TCU (5-7), plus a 10-point victory over Iowa State, vaulted four spots from No. 7 to No. 3.
It's also fair to mention that Michigan played a horrible schedule, beat an unranked Maryland team by one touchdown, and had a coach suspended multiple times for cheating during the course of the season.
Look, if you look close enough you're going to find warts with all these teams. There is certainly some bad luck involved in the sport facing this dilemma the year before the playoff expands to 12 teams. The reality is that the 'Noles did more than enough to make the playoff, but somehow pinning this situation on the SEC feels more than a little disingenuous.
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