My two cents on the College Football playoff conundrum

Here's the question: do you take conference champions over all other criteria, or do you take the four best teams?

The CFP committee claimed at the beginning (two-three years ago) that while the conference titles were the MOST important criteria, they wanted the BEST teams in the playoff. (Sweet talk for taking a wishy-washy stand in the middle somewhere.)

HERE are the FOLLOWING FOOTBALL rankings and tiers as of Saturday night, Dec 2, AFTER all the conference title games have been played:

 

	FBS End of Season	Rating
1	*Alabama	A+9
2	Ohio St	A+5
3	*Clemson	A+4
4	*Washington	A+2
5	*Oklahoma	A+2
6	Michigan	A +
7	USC	B +
8	Wisconsin	B -
9	LSU	B -
10	Florida St	B -
11	*Penn St	C
12	Auburn	C
13	**Western Michigan	C
14	Louisville	C -
15	Oklahoma St	D +
16	Western Kentucky	D +
17	Houston	D +
18	West Virginia	D
19	Virginia Tech	D
20	Stanford	D
21	Navy	D
22	Colorado	D -
23	North Carolina	D -
24	Miami-FL	D -
25	Washington St	E +

 (The entire list, #1-128, is available on the College Football tab.)

So, IF you want the four BEST teams, my list says it's going to be the same four I'm certain the CFP committee announces tomorrow: Alabama #1, Ohio St/Clemson #2 and 3, with Washington at #4. Three are conference champs. Ohio State is head and shoulders better than Penn State, despite a three-point loss. (But then, they beat Michigan and Michigan stomped the Nittany Lions...so who cares?) 

But if you want the four best conference champions, our list says take Alabama, Clemson, Washington, and Oklahoma. Penn St is ranked eleventh, well behind the Sooners on our list. 

I don't care which you take. If you're insisting on conference champs, there's NO point in scheduling outside of conference any more. WHY would OU have played Houston and Ohio St? They should've gone Washington's route and played Idaho, Portland St and (the hardest of the three!) Rutgers! If you're going the four best, do away with the extra week of title games - they only provide a place for the Clemsons and UW's to LOSE another game! Ohio St rooked the system, if that's the case! (Of course, two years ago, they NEEDED that 59-0 rout of Wisconsin to get IN, so either way....) 

Pick your poison and stick with it. But do NOT go to eight teams to 'solve' the problem! Does anyone really think #8 or #9 could beat Alabama? No. All we care about is the title. Let Penn St go to the Rose Bowl. Let OU go to the wherever the XII champ goes. Enjoy the Cotton Bowl, Western Michigan. (We have them #13, the highest of the Group of Five, but we also had WKU just three spots back!) Pick your forty bowl game winners and your 5-7 team matchups based on graduation rates (for once, that actually MEANS something!) and enjoy the football over the holidays!