The College Football Playoff selection committee bowed to its master. Congratulations, Greg Sankey , you run college football. Give the SEC Commissioner his crown and scepter.
The committee tossed aside the sanctity of college football's regular season and shut out an undefeated Power Five conference champion for the first time to make room for the SEC's one-loss champion, Alabama , the bluest of bluebloods.
The games always mattered in college football. Results always mattered – right up until the point the SEC was at risk of being left out in the cold.
By shutting Florida State (13-0) out of the playoff after the Seminoles lost their star quarterback to injury in Week 11, the committee embraced the idea of a beauty pageant determining the playoff field.
Alabama sizzled in a fancy outfit and stilettos in its final trip down the catwalk , while Sankey whipped the crowd into a frenzy.
Sankey peacocked and politicked Saturday, telling anyone who would listen that the SEC deserved a playoff auto bid (those aren't supposed to exist yet) because his conference had dominated the playoff era.
The committee obliged. Never mind that nonconference results indicated this is a down season for the SEC, which usually ranks as the nation's best conference.
Even after Alabama upset No. 1 Georgia 27-24 on Saturday in the SEC Championship, the committee couldn't put in the Crimson Tide (12-1) at the expense of Texas (12-1).
The Longhorns beat the Tide decisively in Week 2 in Tuscaloosa, so that remained a sticking point.
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The result: Texas is No. 3, Alabama is No. 4, and FSU got whacked.
The committee probably hated to reject the 'Noles. But, Alabama or FSU had to go. Either the SEC was going to get dumped from the playoff for the first time or an undefeated Power Five champion had to get benched.
Sankey wins. Sankey always wins.
The committee got this wrong, any way you slice it. The four most deserving teams would have been three undefeated conference champions – Michigan , Washington and FSU – plus Texas.
And a field containing the four "best" teams (whatever that subjective label means) would have contained Georgia.
The committee split the difference. It rewarded three of the most-deserving teams, then axed the fourth to make a spot for the SEC.
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Alabama played like one of the nation's four best teams twice during the season's final month, in wins against LSU and Georgia. Also, Alabama was fortunate to reach this point with only one loss. It required a 31-yard touchdown on fourth down to prevail against a mediocre Auburn team just one weekend ago. And FSU quarterback Jordan Travis brutally breaking his left leg against an FCS opponent on Nov. 18 gave the committee the cover it needed to boot the 'Noles.
Oh, sure, the ACC went 6-4 in nonconference games against the SEC. That included FSU's 2-0 record against the SEC, with wins against LSU and Florida. The latter was a 24-15 triumph in The Swamp behind backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker. The SEC didn't look so fierce that night – or throughout the first month of the season, for that matter.
The SEC's crowning nonconference achievements were Missouri beating Kansas State on a last-second field goal and Mississippi State beating Arizona . Bravo .
But, Rodemaker missed FSU's 16-6 win against Louisville in the ACC Championship because of a concussion. Down to third-string freshman quarterback Brock Glenn, the Seminoles beat Louisville with defense – the same defense that held LSU's dynamite offense to a season-low 24 points in the season opener.
Presumably, Rodemaker could return for FSU's bowl game, but his absence Saturday came in handy for the committee.
The committee just isn't all that impressed with defense. Its eye test gravitates toward high-scoring winners. FSU won three games after Travis' first-quarter injury against North Alabama, but the Seminoles weren't quite as attractive anymore.
"Florida State is a different team (without Travis)," selection committee chair Boo Corrigan said on ESPN. "… A quarterback as dynamic as Jordan Travis, it changes their offense in its entirety."
And yet, I wonder, if Georgia had won the SEC Championship in a defensive struggle to finish 13-0 but lost quarterback Carson Beck to an injury, do you think the committee would have shut the Bulldogs out of the playoff?
No chance.
Perhaps, Georgia would have dipped from No. 1 to No. 2 in that scenario, but no further. We've learned the SEC champion enjoys special favor.
Corrigan curiously introduced an unwritten criterion to explain FSU's snub: The committee apparently considered opinions about which opponent a top-seeded team would or wouldn't want to face.
"It's one of the questions that we do ask. From a coaching standpoint, who do you want to play? Who do you not want to play?" Corrigan said on ESPN, adding that the three former coaches on the committee have "a significant voice in the room."
Here's the trouble with that logic: Oregon was a 9½-point favorite against Washington for the Pac-12 Championship. Pundits thought the Ducks were an opponent the Huskies should not want to play. And UW beat them for a second time. Pundits also thought Alabama would beat Texas in Tuscaloosa, and LSU was a small oddsmaker favorite in its season opener against FSU. Wrong again.
Games aren't decided on paper, and the eye test can prove unreliable. Games are tricky, and the Seminoles won all 13 of theirs.
The Seminoles couldn't escape not being in Sankey's conference.
No SEC team finished unbeaten, but its commissioner remains undefeated.
Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's SEC Columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @btoppmeyer .
If you enjoy Blake's coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it. Also, check out his podcast, SEC Football Unfiltered , or access exclusive columns via the SEC Unfilter ed newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why'd CFP choose Alabama over FSU? Because Greg Sankey runs this show
