The College Football Playoffs Are Set

The 2023 College Football Playoff is now set with the top four teams. Each year, these teams are selected by a group known as the College Football Playoff Committee.

This year was arguably the most controversial CFP. The top six teams are all close in record and statistics. Therefore, this will be a debate for years to come. Many are left wondering if the committee made the right decisions.

Michigan at No. 1

To begin with, the Michigan Wolverines are slated as the top seed in the playoffs. With Georgia losing, this opened the door to them as they just had to beat Iowa in the Big Ten Championship. And that is exactly what they did.

Michigan dominated the Iowa Hawkeyes 26-0 to win their third straight Big Ten Championship game.

On the year, the Wolverines went undefeated at 13-0 and managed big wins against #10 Penn State and #2 Ohio State. They will now play in the prestigious Rose Bowl game.

Washington at No. 2

The Washington Huskies are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. It is also not a surprise that they got it in, however, there was a case to put them as the number one seed.

Also. Even as 9.5-point underdogs, the Huskies held off #5 Oregon to beat them for the second time this year in the Pac-12 Championship.

During the year, Washington defeated 5 ranked teams and went undefeated.

https://twitter.com/UW_Football/status/1731368168025997338

Texas at No. 3

This is where things became interesting. After Georgia’s loss, this allowed Texas to even have a chance to get into the playoffs. However, there was debate if that was even going to happen.

However, even with one loss, the Texas Longhorns did just enough to get in at the third spot. They dominated Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Championship game 49-21. QB Quinn Ewers threw for over 450 yards and four touchdowns.

What propelled this team to be able to find themselves in the playoffs was their signature win over No. 3 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. They also had a very good year as they beat four ranked teams and had only one loss to a top 15 team.

They will now face Washington in the Sugar Bowl.

Alabama at No. 4

Wow! Controversy has struck!

Alabama finds a way to sneak in at the four spot even after coming into this weekend ranked at the eighth spot in the playoff rankings. How did they pull this off? Well, with a huge win and some decision luck.

The Crimson Tide kept their chances alive after beating No. 1 Georgia in the SEC Championship. Georgia, who had not lost a game in two years, could not find a way to keep Nick Saban and Alabama from ending their season.

Alabama’s offense and defense did just enough to win 27-24 and then the Crimson Tide just had to wait and see.

In the eyes of the Committee, Alabama’s resume has just the right eye candy for them to be selected over the team that was left out at No. 5.

Florida State Left Outside Looking In

Additionally, the first Power Five school to ever be left out of the College Football Playoffs has now happened. Florida State is left wondering what else they could have done to get in. Many believe that they did everything they could and that they are deserving.

The Seminoles have been dealt a terrible hand. The team had lost their Heisman Candidate QB Jordan Travis for the year when he broke his leg against North Alabama.

Boo Corrigan references that situation as a big component of why FSU was left out of the playoffs this year.

The Seminole’s resume included wins over three ranked teams and a 13-0 record.

Did the Committee Get it Right?

As College Football dives into the postseason, leaving FSU out of the playoffs will be an ongoing topic of discussion. Does this prove the system of selection is biased? Are regular-season games even worth playing? These are just some of the questions being pondered.

On the other side, many fans believe the Committee made the correct decisions putting the four best teams in the playoffs due to how different FSU is without their star QB. Additionally, many people have pointed to Florida State’s strength of schedule being a reason why they are left out.

Nonetheless, the playoffs are set as No. 1 Michigan will take on No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Washington will play No. 3 Texas.

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1731364328270352704

Next year, we will have eight more teams to list out as the College Football Playoff moves to a 12-team format.