INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Undefeated Oregon pulled off the expected and grabbed the top spot in the College Football Playoff. Underdog Clemson pulled off a last-second stunner and stole one of the last ones.
In between, Georgia’s quarterback got hurt, Alabama’s hopes grew murkier and the selection committee settled in to create a first-of-its-kind 12-team postseason bracket that promises only one sure thing: a 100% chance of enraging at least some slice of college football's rabid fanbase.
The drama began — and ended — when No. 17 Clemson blew a three-touchdown lead Saturday night, then got a 56-yard field goal to win with no time left, nosing its way into the 12-team playoff with a 34-31 victory over No. 8 SMU.
That game, for the Atlantic Coast Conference title, killed off any small chance of a placid, predictable Selection Sunday.
It presented the committee with a choice it was hoping it wouldn't have to make: Take the Crimson Tide (9-3) with three losses and the Southeastern Conference resume. Or take SMU, which has only two losses and showed so much heart in the comeback against Clemson that even the opposing coach was lobbying for the Mustangs (11-2).
“That’s a playoff football team,” said Clemson's Dabo Sweeney, who is going to the playoffs for the seventh time himself. "SMU, they better be in the dang playoffs. What a comeback by those guys.”
SMU coach Rhett Lashley wasn't arguing.
“It doesn’t matter what I say, but it would be incredibly wrong” if SMU were left out, he said. “I think it would be unprecedented. It would set a really bad precedent. It would break all the principles of what we’ve been told.”
The committee's most scrutinized decision will dictate whether the SEC puts three or four teams into this year's tournament, and whether the ACC gets one or two.
The Big Ten is all but certain to have four, led by Oregon, a 45-37 winner over Penn State in a game that cemented the Ducks (13-0) as the postseason favorite.
The SMU loss also shook up the first-round bye discussion. Arizona State, which started the day with a 45-19 clobbering of Iowa State for the Big 12 title, now looks poised to be the fourth-best conference champion. The top four move directly into the quarterfinals.
That is, of course, assuming the committee keeps the Sun Devils ahead of Clemson. ASU was ranked 15th in the last ranking, two spots ahead of the Tigers.
There won’t be any second guessing about giving Georgia a first-round bye after its 22-19 overtime victory over No. 2 Texas in the SEC game.
But to say the Bulldogs (11-2) are one of the four best teams in the country right now might be stretching it.
They got outgained by more than 100 yards by the Longhorns; they have two losses; they also have a big question mark at quarterback after Carson Beck left the game with an injured hand.
The committee has taken injuries into account before -- it left Florida State, with injured QBs dotting their roster, out of the four-team playoff last year.
That won’t happen to Georgia, but it will force a conversation about who really deserves these byes.
They are currently projected to go to teams that were ranked 1 (Oregon), 5 (Georgia), 10 (Boise State) and 15 (Arizona State) a mere week ago and whose rankings probably will only change by a spot or two come Sunday.
Everything else will be a matter of analytics, statistics, the “eye test” and some semblance of an attempt by the committee to avoid a rebellion in conference headquarters and coaching offices across the country.
First-round games will be played on four campuses on Dec. 20-21, so home-field advantage means a lot.
Curt Cignetti, the coach of No. 9 Indiana, was among those watching Saturday's action unfold and asking “How are we, right now, not seeded for a home game?”
The Hoosiers lost the biggest game on their schedule, 38-15 to Ohio State, which was ranked three spots higher than Indiana after its own loss, 13-10 to Michigan.
Notre Dame: As an independent, the Irish were never eligible for a bye, but will be at home the first weekend.
Texas: The Longhorns are 11-0 against the world and 0-2 against Georgia. Does that drop them far enough to face a road game? The committee has indicated it's not inclined to penalize title-game losers that much.
Penn State: Coach James Franklin said he felt the Nittany Lions showed enough against Oregon to stay at home for the first game, but “we'll be excited about whatever opportunity comes.”
Ohio State and Tennessee: Last week, they would have been paired in an 8-9 game at Ohio State -- fair enough, except the AP Top 25 had them flip-flopped, which would’ve given home field to the Vols.
Boise State: The win Friday night puts Heisman hopeful Ashton Jeanty in the playoffs — and with a bye, no less. Love the underdog, love the playoffs, but does anything make sense about, say, Alabama playing Texas for the right to face the Mountain West champ in the Fiesta Bowl?
Miami: They were first team out last week, will probably be the second team out this week and, along with the loser in the SMU-Alabama debate, a great example of how expanding the playoffs does not make the college postseason perfect.
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