The 2014 college football season has given fans outstanding performances.
Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon III broke the Football Bowl Subdivison single game rushing record with 409 yards, then Oklahoma running back Samaje Perine broke it the next week with 429 yards.
Or take Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston’s quest to be the first two-time Heisman trophy winner since Archie Griffin in 1975.
This is also the first season of the newly elected college football playoff, in which the top four teams in the country duke it out for a spot in the national championship game.
The BCS used to rank the top 25 teams in the nation with a combination of three polls, the Harris Interactive College Football Poll, the USA Today Coaches poll, and a computer ranking system.
In order to get the rankings, the percentage totals of the Harris Interactive Poll, USA Today Poll, and the computer rankings are then averaged. The teams’ averages are ranked to produce the BCS Standings.
However, in years leading up to the dismissal of the BCS, there was controversy over whether the two teams playing for the national championship were in fact the two best teams in college football. In 2004, 2006, and 2008, teams that were undefeated in the regular season (Boise State and University of Utah) were snubbed from the national championship game while teams with one or multiple losses played for the national championship.
With such complaints, it was announced on June 20, 2012 that college football would move towards a playoff system for determining who would play for the national championship.
Now, the top twenty five teams in the country are ranked after each week by a committee of 13 rotating individuals, each serving a three year term before being replaced.
Inaugural members of this committee range from University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, and three time national champion and former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne Gould.
According to collegefootballplayoff.com
Teams are ranked on multiple factors. “When circumstances at the margins indicate that teams are comparable, then the following criteria must be considered: championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head competition (if it occurred), and comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory).”
Now that the regular season has ended, the nation knows the four teams competing for a spot in the national championship. 1 seed Alabama will play 4 seed Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl and 2 seed Oregon will play 3 seed Florida State in the Rose Bowl. The winners of these games will play each other in the national championship game on January 6.
This system got off to a roaring start with teams fighting to stay in the top four. The fact that a team had to only be in the top four to have a shot at the national title has fostered more intense competition than any seen in the days of the BCS.
However, an interesting dilemma arose early in the season. With three out of the top four teams all from the same division [SEC West], the term “SEC bias” began to spread. Some began to believe the new system favored the SEC which is easily the most dominant conference in college football.
By having four teams qualify for a playoff, the SEC would have a greater chance of obtaining a national title.
However, this theory was swiftly debunked by Chris Fowler on College Game Day. Fowler went on a tirade about his disagreements with the term “SEC bias.” According to Nick Shwartz of USA Today Sports, Fowler said, “People around the country think that the committee can only operate with an agenda in mind. They don’t believe there can be integrity, objectivity in the committee, they think it’s all about agendas…What’s good for the sport overall, what’s good for interest in a playoff and ratings is to have teams from all over the country represented.”