Let’s go on a quick flashback to 2024, shall we…anyone remember this?
Yeah, Tennessee fans recall this vividly, moreso than the 42 point thrashing that ensued via the Suckeyes that same evening.
In light of the Warde Manuel/Michigan controversy and what is becoming more and more obvious that there wasn’t an objective consideration of teams and their records and strengths of relative wins and losses, they are opining this:
Tennessee had a legitimate argument to host a playoff game in 2024. The Vols needed to beat out four teams: Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, and Penn State.
When you actually broke down the resumes, Tennessee’s case was arguably the strongest.
Ohio State had two wins against playoff teams in Indiana and Penn State, but neither of those opponents had a signature win of their own. The Buckeyes lost to Oregon (No. 1 in playoff rankings) on the road early and then lost at home to Michigan (a 7-5 team). Tennessee, meanwhile, lost to Arkansas (a 6-6 team) on the road and lost to Georgia (No. 2 in the final playoff rankings) on the road. The Vols were undefeated at home and Ohio State wasn’t (the two teams had very similar losses otherwise). I think that matters — especially when the conversation is about who deserves to host a playoff game.
Notre Dame had the worst loss in college football that year, falling at home to Northern Illinois. Texas didn’t have a single win against a team that finished ranked in the final playoff rankings. And Penn State’s best win was against Illinois (Tennessee’s best win was against 9-3 Alabama, which finished No. 11 in the final playoff rankings — meaning the Vols kept them out, essentially).
think it’s fair to assume that the reason Tennessee didn’t host was because Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel was the chairman of the playoff committee.
And in subsequent years, it’s become clear that Manuel had no business being on that committee, let alone chairing it.
Manuel is on the verge of losing his job amid a wave of scandals and a $12 million investigation. The University of Michigan Board of Regents is meeting later this week in Traverse City to determine Manuel’s fate. And the fact that this is the guy who served as the point man in the room when Tennessee was denied a home playoff game should make every Vols fan furious all over again. (emphasis added)
Correction: Tennessee fans just stay mad. For good reason. However, as much as I love Hillbilly tears, I’m afraid I have to agree with them on this one. Manuel’s blatant homerism and lack of an ethical fiber makes the 2024 season seem and even more scrupulous endeavor of tipping the scales to favor the B1G.
But…BUT…let’s not forget the favoritism came from the media as well. For no explainable reason whatsoever, from December 1st to December 8th, Ohio State and Tennessee flip-flopped in rankings, which bolstered the CFP committee’s final decision:
Mind you, the Coaches didn’t agree, at all:
I couldn’t find our trusted Mumme Poll, but if memory serves me correctly, Ohio State wasn’t even in the top ten after a monumental loss to Michigan (which, in retrospect, looks even more suspect now, doesn’t it?). Of course, we’re looking past Notre Dame’s ascent from losing to Northern Illinois, beating a ranked Louisville and two ranked service academies…to 3rd?
Some things go beyond Warde Manuel, but they still stink of the same bull sh*t, now don’t they?
Sorry, but not sorry, Tennessee fans.
Won’t feel bad for the Hillbillies … nope.
On the topic at hand, everyone forgets the committee was a B1G creation. Jim Delany said his conference would never agree to the playoff without it. Why do 13 people who meet in Grapevine, Texas get this much power and sway over the sport? There’s no transparency of what happens in that room and only platitudes like the “eye test,” “game control,” or “pods of teams” that come from it.
Georgia got screwed with the seeding last year. Sorry, but anOSU didn’t deserve the 2 seed.
We’re told the members check their hats at the door. Yeah, right. Count me in that group that thinks the members of the CFP committee and the power structure at FIFA are birds of a similar feather.
Unfortunately, human bias is not correctable even with a committee.
Delay the release of the polls until the first week of October. Use a composite of the computer/analytics rankings (drop the high & low). Give a bump for conference championships and strength of schedule. Use a BCS type formula.
Bias gets minimized.
Agree or let an AI model view the games & make a decision
I believe a BCS style formula is the better solution. You get the human element with the combination of the polls, and there are enough voters to remove the bias across the population. You get the analytics assessment where the entities with the various algorithms look at the same data and come to independent conclusions. Removal of the high and low ranking remove the positive and negative bias from the assessment. The schedule strength component increases the value of playing a tough schedule OOC in addition to your overall conference strength. The conference championship piece makes the first weekend of December matter.
An AI model would have inherent bias built into it and can’t be overridden.
So, given that home field advantage is worth ~7 points, Tennessee would’ve only lost by 35? That’s some butt-chugging right there.
The Hillbillies and Rust Belt Methheads had very similar resumes – their differences were wafer-thin. And the latter clearly showed they were better when the two teams met. So Vol tears remain not only delicious but misguided.
However, the playoff committee’s racketeering (and I don’t use that word lightly) is blatant and a real detriment to the game. When a lowest common denominator entertainment network uses people who completely lack moral fiber to enact its will, the end result is going to be a self-serving sham.
I’ll be honest, I hate Tennessee the least of our hated rivals. Last year, they outplayed us, even Kirby said they should have won the game. They did get screwed in 2024.