Playoff picks are on point

[McCollough, from D1] Series. Georgia and Michigan finished as the only 13-0 teams, giving the CFP selection committee nothing to debate about the top two teams in its final rankings (the Bulldogs, as defending champions who easily handled the Wolverines in last year’s CFP semifinal, were a no-brainer at No. 1 too).

The committee then had three teams to consider for the final two spots: TCU, 12-1 and coming off a 31-28 overtime loss Saturday to Kansas State in the Big 12 championship game; Ohio State, 11-1 and still recovering from Michigan’s 45-23 win in Columbus the previous weekend; and Alabama, 10-2 and riding a three-game winning streak.

The CFP never had selected a two-loss team to the playoff, and this Alabama team simply didn’t have the high-quality wins to overcome razor-thin losses at Tennessee and Louisiana State. The Crimson Tide’s best wins were Texas and Mississippi State, while TCU boasted a win over No. 10 Kansas State, which just edged the Horned Frogs, and Ohio State won at No. 11 Penn State.

I can’t imagine Alabama, despite Nick Saban’s pleading publicity tour Saturday, received much consideration from the committee. The Crimson Tide will miss the playoff for just the second time in nine years.

That left a debate between TCU and Ohio State for which team would be seeded third and draw Michigan in the Fiesta. The committee got this one right too, choosing not to effectively punish the Horned Frogs for playing in their conference championship game while the Buckeyes sat at home cheering against them.