Are we really getting #1 right?

After all the dust settled on the 2017, Alabama was named the 2017 National Championship. They survived the four-team playoff gauntlet- beating both Clemson and Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and National Championship game. That settles it, right? Well in the words of Lee Corso ” Not so fast my friend”. We had an undefeated team in 2017- Central Florida. The American Conference Champions dubbed themselves as National Champions as well. Should UCF been in the playoff? You can make an argument for both sides both you cannot deny that they came out unscathed this past season. They beat a very good Auburn team who also beat ALABAMA! There lies the issue at hand. We still aren’t getting #1 right.

As you remember, before the 4-team playoff, we had the BCS(Bowl Championship Series). It was not a perfect system but it was light years better than what we had before-which was nothing! It was very rare when #1 vs. #2 played each other for the National Title at a bowl. There were times when you had teams tie for first place : one example was the 1990 season where Colorado was named #1 in the coaches poll but Georgia Tech was named #1 in the UPI poll. In 1997, Michigan was #1 but so was Nebraska. The BCS was made to clear this up, yet it just brought more controversy. One example was the 2004 season. USC played Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl for the National Championship. The Trojans came out victorious. However, another perfect run was made by the Auburn Tigers who looked dominant during their great run but did not play in the National Title game. Yes, the sooners and trojans were undefeated as well but Auburn clearly had the tougher schedule.

Currently, the Playoff Committee looks at the following key factors for determining who gets in:

-Strength of schedule

-Style points

-Head-to-Head competition

-Conference champions won

-Comparative of common opponents

-Other relevant factors such as key injuries that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.

I believe the playoff system is a step forward in the right direction. However, eventually it will need to expand to either 6-8 teams. Obviously there are going to be teams that are going to be left out but I think you can eliminate the end of the season drama (ala UCF) with this expansion because you’re not going to have 6- 8 teams with near perfect records. UCF clearly caught the perfect storm this season and they should be proud, but would they really stand a shot against Alabama or Georgia or Clemson or Oklahoma? It’s up for debate, but if were truly going to get this right, then we need to be clear on how we crown a champion without any loose ends.