Nick Saban is not pleased with one notable aspect of this year’s College Football Playoff.
In an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” Thursday, Saban admitted he sympathized with Oregon Ducks fans over the playoff draw their team wound up getting. Despite an unbeaten season and a Big Ten championship, the Ducks had to play the Ohio State Buckeyes in their first playoff game, and were blown out 41-21 in a game that was never close.
“If I was an Oregon fan, I have to say this, because this kind of bothers me. You’re the 13-0 No. 1 seed, and you’ve got to play Ohio State in the first round,” Saban said. “I’m not an internet guy, but if I was an Oregon fan, I’d be on the internet screaming about that.”
Saban is hardly the only one frustrated with how the current playoff draw has worked.
In seeking to reward conference championships with guaranteed top-four seeds, the CFP
created a system where certain teams that failed to win their conference got an easier draw
than those that did. Penn State faced SMU and Boise State en route to the semifinal, while
Oregon drew Ohio State and Georgia faced Notre Dame. Had the committee simply been
allowed to seed based solely on their final rankings, Oregon would have faced the winner of an
Indiana-Boise State game, while Georgia would have faced the SMU-Tennessee winner.
Both of those are much fairer rewards than a bye followed by a game against one of the other
top-six teams in the field.
One could certainly argue that the bye week that comes with a top-four seed is more desirable
than an easier set of opponents. Many would disagree, and it is why the CFP plans to take a
look at the format before next year’s playoff.
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