For 30 years, I’ve been convinced college football has the best regular season in sports. Expanding the College Football Playoff from four teams to 12 hasn’t ruined that, no matter what people said.
If anything’s actually hurting the regular season, it’s the CFP selection committee and the circus ESPN puts on every Tuesday night to unveil its latest rankings. The whole thing is just a reality TV show, but it doesn’t feel grounded in reality at all.
The committee seems to make it up as they go. I was so baffled by it that I posted on X, but I need to explain myself more.
This year’s committee is chaired by Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek. He stepped in after Mack Rhoades left Baylor’s AD job midseason during a university investigation.
Yurachek’s job is to explain how the committee arrived at its top 25. He may not even agree with the order, but he’s the one stuck defending it—and this year, it’s been a mess.
The committee contradicts itself almost every time their spokesperson talks. The most ridiculous bit this season? Keeping 10-2 Miami ranked behind 10-2 Notre Dame.
In this week’s penultimate rankings, Miami is No. 12 and Notre Dame is No. 10. The Hurricanes actually beat the Irish in Week 1.
Both teams have four common opponents, and both blew out all four by at least three touchdowns. Notre Dame did pile up a bigger margin of victory against Syracuse—63 points, compared to Miami’s 28—but Miami won by more against the other three teams.
It’s exhausting to even talk about “style points.” But that’s how things work now.
In the first CFP rankings before Week 11, Notre Dame, fresh off a Boston College win, was No. 10. Miami, after an overtime loss at SMU, was No. 18. Both teams were 6-2.
I imagine a lot of folks on the committee figured Miami would stumble again, just like they did last year. Miami’s defense is a lot better than before, but those details seem to get lost in the shuffle.
The Irish lost early last year to Northern Illinois, a massive underdog, then rattled off 13 straight wins and made it to the national title game. But then, in mid-November, when Notre Dame was No. 9 and Miami was No. 13, ESPN host Rece Davis asked Yurachek how close the two teams were in the committee’s eyes.
Yurachek said they compared the losses. “Miami has lost to two unranked teams,” he said. “Notre Dame has lost to two teams in our top 13. We really haven’t compared those two teams. They haven’t been in similar comparative pools.”
The first question to College Football Playoff chair Hunter Yurachek from Rece Davis is about Notre Dame-Miami. Yurachek: “We really compare the losses of those two teams,” followed by: “We really haven’t compared those two teams. They haven’t been in similar comparative pools… pic.twitter.com/pqHrcyC8Sh — Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) November 19, 2025
Seriously? Miami is literally one of Notre Dame’s losses. It wasn’t Miami’s twin brother, or Miami of Ohio.
If you’re not comparing those two schools, what’s the point of even having a committee? It’s like there’s a neon sign flashing above college football, but the committee just squeezes their eyes shut and fumbles for “data points.”
I’d get it if these two teams were both 10-2, had similar schedules, and didn’t play each other, but they did. And it’s not just about Miami and Notre Dame.
The committee steps on rakes with almost every question. Yurachek says Texas A&M wasn’t penalized for a close win after rallying from a 30-3 halftime deficit against unranked South Carolina, then turns around and says Alabama was dinged for a close win against South Carolina.
Another week, he explained Oregon still got credit for beating a Penn State team that was under .500 at the time, but then said Virginia got knocked for beating a previously ranked Louisville team that’s fallen apart since. It’s just scattershot logic.
Two years ago, a different CFP committee left Florida State out. The Seminoles were 13-0 and ACC champs, but their quarterback, Jordan Travis, got hurt, and FSU finished No. 5 in the last year of the four-team field.
ESPN paid a fortune for the CFP rights and wants to squeeze out as much content as possible. That’s why we have this Tuesday night rankings show.
The rankings don’t need to be announced in midseason or even November if all they do is lock the committee into positions they can’t escape. Instead, they just move the goalposts or invent some new, fuzzy metric.
For years, we heard about things like “game control.” Does that even matter now? Did it ever?
On Tuesday, with Notre Dame at No. 10 and Miami at No. 12, Yurachek said it was “easier” for the committee to use a head-to-head win as a data point if the teams were ranked back-to-back. That’s not what he said a few weeks ago.
Maybe BYU will knock off Texas Tech and win the Big 12 title this weekend, and the committee can just leave both Notre Dame and Miami out of the Playoff. Honestly, that might be a relief for everyone who has to explain this stuff.
(Bruce Feldman also contributes to Fox Sports’ college football coverage.)
The College Football Playoff Selection Controversy
The College Football Playoff (CFP) has sparked plenty of debate ever since it started. Expanding the playoff from four to twelve teams was supposed to make things more exciting and fair, but it’s just made everything messier.
The latest controversy, as Bruce Feldman points out in a recent article, centers on the CFP selection committee’s inconsistencies and what a lot of people see as bias.
The Role of the CFP Selection Committee
The committee ranks the top 25 college football teams every week during the final month of the regular season. This year, Hunter Yurachek, Arkansas’s athletic director, is in charge after Mack Rhoades bowed out midseason.
Yurachek has to explain and defend the committee’s rankings. It’s been a rough assignment this year, to say the least.
Inconsistencies in Rankings
This season, the Miami and Notre Dame rankings have really stood out. Both teams are 10-2, but Miami—who beat Notre Dame in Week 1—is ranked No. 12, while Notre Dame is No. 10.
Fans and analysts are left scratching their heads, especially since the teams played similar schedules and had similar results against common opponents.
Head-to-Head Results vs. “Style Points”
The committee says Notre Dame gets the edge because of “style points” and margin of victory. Notre Dame did blow out Syracuse by a bigger score, but Miami looked better in their other shared matchups.
This focus on subjective stuff like “style points” is just confusing and frustrating for everyone watching.
Historical Context and Bias
The Miami-Notre Dame debate isn’t the only questionable call. The committee has also been called out for penalizing Alabama for a close win, while letting Texas A&M off the hook for basically the same thing.
There’s more—like Oregon getting credit for beating a struggling Penn State, while Virginia gets dinged for beating a Louisville team that fell apart later. It just feels random sometimes.
Past Controversies
And it’s not like this is new. Two years ago, Florida State went undefeated and won the ACC, but got left out of the playoff because their star quarterback got hurt. That still stings for a lot of fans.
The Role of ESPN and Media Influence
ESPN, which owns the CFP broadcast rights, has turned the rankings reveal into a reality show. The weekly rankings drama just locks the committee into weird positions they can’t always explain.
Honestly, the spectacle doesn’t help the sport—it just adds another layer of confusion to an already messy process.
Conclusion: The Need for Transparency and Consistency
The CFP selection process really does need a shake-up. Right now, the system feels riddled with inconsistencies and, honestly, more than a few questionable calls.
It’s tough to trust the playoff when the criteria seem to shift from week to week. If there were more transparency, maybe people would stop doubting every decision the committee makes.
For a detailed breakdown of the latest CFP rankings and the controversies surrounding them, you can read Bruce Feldman’s full article on the New York Times website.
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