A group of media members posed as playoff selection committee judges, taking on the complicated 2008 college football season to try and figure out how the new system might react to difficult end-of-season scenarios.
College Football Playoff mock committee shows tough choices ahead
Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and USC would have been selected in 2008, according to the exercise. It might show us a little about how the actual committee will work, once it begins revealing its rankings later this month.
That 2008 year, you may recall, included a three-way tie for the Big 12 title between Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech, as well as a pair of undefeated non-BCS schools in Boise State and TCU. The 11-1 Longhorns and 12-1 Sooners made the cut for the media playoff, along with 12-1 Florida and 11-1 USC. The BCS standings had the same top three (albeit in a different order), with 12-1 Alabama at No. 4 instead of the Trojans.
The biggest controversy appears to be in the 4-to-6 range. Alabama fell all the way behind USC and 11-1 Penn State in the exercise, leaving the Tide out of the playoff picture and causing the SEC communication director to question its real-world application.
The Tide's only loss came to eventual national champion Florida in the SEC championship game, while the losses that befell USC (at Oregon State) and Penn State (at Iowa) came against seemingly easier conference foes. But Sports-Reference lists USC's strength of schedule as the hardest of the trio, with the Tide's ranking second, ahead of the Nittany Lions. Football Outsiders' F/+ rated USC as the second-best team in the nation at the season's conclusion, with Penn State fifth and Alabama eighth.
Here are the full 2008 top 25s:
| Mock committee | Pre-bowls BCS | |
| 1 | Florida | Oklahoma |
| 2 | Oklahoma | Florida |
| 3 | Texas | Texas |
| 4 | USC | Alabama |
| 5 | Penn State | USC |
| 6 | Alabama | Utah |
| 7 | Utah | Texas Tech |
| 8 | Texas Tech | Penn State |
| 9 | Ohio State | Boise State |
| 10 | TCU | Ohio State |
| 11 | Boise State | TCU |
| 12 | Cincinnati | Cincinnati |
| 13 | Virginia Tech | Oklahoma State |
| 14 | Oklahoma State | Georgia Tech |
| 15 | Georgia Tech | Georgia |
| 16 | Georgia | BYU |
| 17 | Oregon | Oregon |
| 18 | Oregon State | Michigan State |
| 19 | Missouri | Virginia Tech |
| 20 | Cal | Pittsburgh |
| 21 | Michigan State | Missouri |
| 22 | Mississippi | Ball State |
| 23 | Boston College | Northwestern |
| 24 | North Carolina | Boston College |
| 25 | Pittsburgh | Mississippi |
The mock committee was lower on non-BCS schools like Boise State and Utah, placing the Utes one spot lower than their BCS ranking and the Broncos two places lower, but it bumped the one-loss TCU Horned Frogs one place up.
The biggest boosts were for Virginia Tech (No. 13 in mock, No. 19 in BCS) and Cal (No. 20 in mock, unranked in BCS). BYU (unranked in mock, No. 16 in BCS) and Pittsburgh (No. 25 in mock, No. 20 in BCS) saw the biggest falls.
Here’s the full list of participants. Expect them to reveal their ranking rationales soon.
I'm in Grapevine today to be part of the College Football Playoff mock selection committee exercise. Our alter egos: pic.twitter.com/qqZcag5lAs
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) October 9, 2014 See More:
