College Football Playoff committee's Big Ten bias unfairly punishes Tennessee

Tennessee was on the brink of securing a home Playoff game for the first time in program history after beating Vanderbilt this past weekend. Ohio State’s loss opened the door for the Vols to host the Buckeyes or Indiana in the first round, but thanks to the CFP committee, that won’t be possible. 

Ohio State lost to unranked 7-5 Michigan at home, and based on the committee’s recent rankings, OSU should have dropped at least five spots. Georgia dropped nine spots after losing to ranked Ole Miss, Alabama dropped eight spots after losing to CFP team Tennessee, and Tennessee dropped three spots after beating Florida. 

Big Ten teams like Ohio State, Penn State, and Indiana have not faced the same punishment from the committee after similar or worse losses. Even Notre Dame hasn’t received as harsh punishment for losing to Northern Illinois, a team that only finished above .500 because of its win against Notre Dame. 

The biggest drop a Big Ten team faced this season was Indiana, which dropped five spots after getting shellacked by Ohio State. It’s a ranked loss against a CFP team, so falling five spots seems fair, but Ohio State only dropping four spots after suffering a worse loss than any SEC team in the CFP is nothing more than the committee protecting the Buckeyes. 

It’s not just SEC teams that have been subject to unjust punishment from the committee. Miami lost its second game of the season to a nine-win Syracuse. The committee dropped them six spots after its road loss, which is a much more “quality” loss than Ohio State’s home loss to Michigan. 

The College Football Playoff committee’s process has no consistency or integrity. There must be a system to reward and punish teams equally, or the committee should consist of people who don’t have a dog in the race, whether it be tied to a certain program or conference. You know it’s bad when Vegas admits the committee is incompetent. 

Teams should be punished for bad losses, especially at home. Ohio State loses its most important game of the year, avoids a rematch with Oregon in the process, and is going to be rewarded with a home playoff game. Any “system” that rewards that needs a complete overhaul. 

March Madness has found a way to accurately and fairly rank 68 teams based on merit. The NCAA has to consider moving to this ranking format for the CFP if it wants to protect the integrity of its process to determine a national champion. 

The current College Football Playoff is damaging the competitive nature that makes college football great. The CFP actively celebrates mediocrity and moves the goalposts based on what teams lose each week. After one season of the 12-team playoff, it might be time to overhaul the process.