Georgia football the unfortunate victim in CFP hypocrisy

Georgia football lost it’s bid for a spot in the CFP thanks in large part to the fact that the playoff is designed to rile up fans and generate hits, not pick the best 4 teams.

It wasn’t surprising that Georgia football missed out on a spot in the CFP. Truth be told it would be more surprising to see the committee pick a 2-loss team that was not a conference champion this year. Of course, the reason Dawg fans got their hopes up was the reasoning that the same committee used the past 2 seasons.

In 2016 they put Ohio State in over a Penn State team that beat the Buckeyes and won their conference. The reason? Because they believed that Ohio State was the better team. Last year Alabama didn’t even reach their own conference title game. They didn’t win their division after a loss to Auburn but they’re Alabama and so the committee put them in, this time at Ohio State’s expense because, once again, the committee thought they were a better team.

Fast forward a year and we heard the exact opposite argument. The committee didn’t think that Georgia was better than Oklahoma, despite a whole lot of evidence that says they were and so put the Sooners in because they won a title. They did that despite the fact that even Oklahoma fans aren’t arguing that they were better, just that they are more deserving. Those Sooners face Alabama in 4 weeks and you can believe that nobody outside or Norman expects that game to be anything but a butt kicking.

The committee also didn’t seem to care that neither Clemson or Notre Dame had played anyone worth a damn all season. They lauded Notre Dame’s win over Syracuse as if this was some kind of incredible achievement. They praised Clemson for overcoming the mighty Boston College. Seriously, you couldn’t make this stuff up, unless of course you were on the CFP committee and you just did.

What the past 3 years of the CFP have revealed to everyone with eyes is that the committee is not there to choose the best 4 sides, or even the 4 most deserving. Their role is simply to make sure that most people pay attention to the CFP. If They cared about the best teams, Georgia would be in right now and Notre Dame wouldn’t. If they cared about teams being deserving, they would have left out Bama last year.

Nobody thinks Notre Dame or Oklahoma stand a chance in the two semi-finals. They will, however, bring large fanbases who will spend a lot of money to go to the games and tune in on TV. All the controversy that these decisions generate is good for the committee and the sports media. Right now find me a fanbase that is clicking articles on ESPN, Bleacher Report and everyone else more than Georgia fans. They feel wronged (quite rightly) and they’re engaged as hell with the decision.

Unfortunately, there is another reason why UGA is the victim this year. They’re not Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Michigan or Notre Dame in terms of *prestige*. If they were, the committee would have found an excuse to put them in, just like they did in 2016 with the Buckeyes, last year with Bama and this year with the Irish. The committee will always have blinkers on when it comes to the so-called blue bloods and right now, Georgia hasn’t earned that level of respect. Of course, to UGA fans that makes no sense, but Georgia hasn’t won a title for 39 years and only has 2 in its history. As far as the ‘powers that be’ are concerned, they’re still a middle of the road program who might be on the up.

There is some good news. Georgia is an ascending program and other teams have taken notice. Notre Dame will fall back to earth next year and essentially have to go undefeated to get a spot in the playoff. There’s no way their schedule is going to be as easy as it was last season. Urban Meyer doesn’t look the same in Columbus and Jim Harbaugh still hasn’t shown that he can win the big one. Nick Saban cannot coach forever and even before his time comes, Kirby Smart looks like he’s going to get the better of his mentor sooner rather than later.

All of this wouldn’t matter if the CFP expanded to 6 or 8 teams but that isn’t going to happen. The format is doing exactly what it was designed to do and generate interest in the sport. Does Georgia deserve another shot to win the big game this year and could it beat Bama and be crowned national champions? Of course, but this format was never about actually finding the best team. From day one, it’s been about generating clicks and driving engagement.

Today, Georgia was the victim of that but so long as they continue their trajectory under Kirby Smart, those silly committee members won’t matter at some point. The Dawgs will be too good to leave out at some point soon and when that happens, all the politics in the world won’t stop this team from showing the rest of college football that they deserve some damn respect. It didn’t happen today, but when it does, whoa boy, look out!