Joel Klatt, a college football analyst for Fox Sports, has expressed significant concerns regarding the selection process for the College Football Playoff (CFP) committee's initial top 25 rankings. Klatt stated on "The Joel Klatt Show" that the fundamental process, rather than the ranking of any single team, is flawed.
The committee's first rankings placed Miami at No. 1, followed by Georgia, Utah, and Indiana, with Ohio State listed as the first team outside the 12-team field at No. 12.
Inconsistent Criteria
Klatt highlighted a lack of consistent criteria used by committee members. "They’re left to their own accord to rank teams based on any criteria they want," he said. "What you see generally… is that you see certain criteria used at certain points and other criteria used at others." He noted that factors like record, strength of schedule, and player availability are considered, but without any clear hierarchy.
Limited Input
Another point of contention for Klatt is the limited number of individuals involved in the decision-making. "There’s only 13 inputs, that’s only 13 individuals that have an opinion on something that is so important in college football," he stated, advocating for an increase in the number of data inputs to the selection process.
An Outlier Ranking
Klatt described the initial top 25 as "about as big of an outlier as you can possibly get." He drew a parallel to personal budgeting, explaining that one would not base an entire annual budget on an unusually expensive month, such as a vacation. Similarly, he argued, the committee's initial ranking, which he characterized as being on the "very outskirts" of a typical distribution, is being used to represent the entire landscape of college football.
Impact on Scheduling
Klatt suggested that the current ranking system is detrimental to the sport, specifically by discouraging teams from scheduling challenging non-conference games. He pointed to matchups like Texas-Ohio State and Michigan-Oklahoma as examples of exciting games that are becoming rarer. "There’s no other way to explain it, because they’re not valuing non-conference opponents," he asserted.
The Significance of the First Ranking
Contrary to the sentiment that early rankings are inconsequential, Klatt emphasized their importance. "No, these do matter, and they matter a great deal," he stated. "In fact, the only ranking that is more important than the first ranking is the last one." He compared the CFP race to a NASCAR or IndyCar event, where the initial starting grid significantly impacts the race outcome. "Every game from this point forward has a value, and that value is attached to what they just gave us on Tuesday night."