College Football Playoff selection committee announced

Submitted by MaizenBlue93 on

I looked and didn't see any posts made already, so here's the committee:

 

Chair: Jeff Long

 
Barry Alvarez
 
Lt. Gen. Michael Gould
 
Pat Haden
 
Tom Jernstedt
 
Oliver Luck
 
Archie Manning
 
Tom Osborne
 
Dan Radakovich
 
Condoleezza Rice
 
Mike Tranghese
 
Steve Wieberg
 
Tyrone Willingham
 

Soulfire21

October 16th, 2013 at 9:20 PM ^

Condolezza Rice is a head scratcher for me.  I get that she's into sports, but it seems quite ... random.  I sort of wish they would do a 'test run' this year and announce who would be selected to practice for next year, mostly because the field seems more open this year and I'm quite curious.

WolvinLA2

October 17th, 2013 at 1:06 AM ^

Wait, what does football players wearing pink have anything to do with Condi's spot on the committee? She doesn't have breast cancer. Or are you suggesting she was picked because she's a woman? Because that's not it at all. She was picked because she's a huge sports fan who is incredibly intelligent. And like the poster above said, she's a disinterested party, which is hard to find.

M-Dog

October 17th, 2013 at 11:49 AM ^

And she went to Notre Dame.

If push comes to shove, we won't be getting any votes from her if we are up against ND or the Pac12.  However . . . she's likely to be much more oriented toward academics than some SEC slappy, so she may pull for us in other cases.

Of course, maybe she'll just be fair and impartial and vote for the 4 best teams.  It could happen.

 

Finance-PhD

October 22nd, 2013 at 4:45 PM ^

This is an interview of her.

<quote>"I'm hoping that (Brandon) Weeden will show a little bit more consistency, but I'm really excited for Trent Richardson to come back. I'm an Alabama Crimson Tide fan and that really is a perfect marriage for me: Trent Richardson and the Cleveland Browns," Rice said.</quote>

She could just be playing that up in pure political fashion.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1521530-condoleezza-rice-drops-roll-…

LSAClassOf2000

October 16th, 2013 at 9:38 PM ^

Well, it is not exactly an answer to your question, but this article (HERE) gives one the impression that a lot of people were contacted and a fair number even turned it down for various reasons, typically the time commitment required. 

In any case, Condoleezza Rice seemed to believe that strength of schedule and head-to-head matchups should be part of the focus of the committee, according to this. 

An Angelo's Addict

October 16th, 2013 at 9:33 PM ^

Can't wait for this complaints and problems to arise from this committee after their first year and it will be very obvious this is not some magiv answer to the BCS system. MAny teams will most likely still feel snubbed thinking they should have made the playoff. I understand most of these people have a connection to CFB, but what makes them an expert? Does Condi Rice watch enough college games to make informed decisions? same goes with half the names on this list

M-Dog

October 17th, 2013 at 11:45 AM ^

Yes, it's impossible to put together a committee that someone somewhere won't bitch about.

The answer is an eight team playoff.  It lets all the major conference champs get in plus a couple of at larges.  

People will always complain of course (they complain about teams not even ranked not getting in the basketball tourney), but I can live with the alleged "9th best team" not getting in.

Four teams is always going to leave out at least one major conference champion. 

Bando Calrissian

October 16th, 2013 at 9:42 PM ^

I guess I just don't really care enough about this as I should. All that will happen is that teams 5 and 6 will bitch instead of teams 3 and 4, and the wrath targets will just be these people instead of the pollsters.

B-Nut-GoBlue

October 16th, 2013 at 9:49 PM ^

I think Condi knows enough about the game already that she can learn some of the more detailed aspects of CFB and teams over the next year that she doesn't already know.  I know that's a bit vague and maybe doesn't make much sense (sorry) but I think her presence is a good thing.  She can hang in there any group and utilize data with the best of them (again, something she may already have a knack for but if not fully there I think she can orient herself over the course of the upcoming year) to compare and contrast teams over the course of a season and come up with conclusions and ideas about the teams at stake.  She can keep heads level as well, maybe something that is needed, maybe not.  Like mentioned above, I don't think she'll be watching any less football than the others listed, many that, I understand, are questionable as well.

BlueUPer

October 16th, 2013 at 9:56 PM ^

What about some guys who truly live it? I can understand Alvarez, Osborne, Luck, the AD type former coach guys. But what about guys like Herstreit or maybe a Phil Steele type media guy who an name virtually every player on ....

Erik_in_Dayton

October 16th, 2013 at 10:43 PM ^

Don't have a playoff at all, because picking the best four teams is only slightly less absurd than picking the one best team. And you can't have a 64 team field, because of the logistics. The pre-BCS scheme was the best as it was very transparently dependent on fiction, which left many people with the freedom to argue that thwy had the best team - and that was fun. Now we're stuck with an absurd but very authoritative-seeming board of generals and ADs with agendas and political lackeys to tell us once and for all who deserves a shot at the national championship. That is as much fun as doing one's taxes.

Wolverine Devotee

October 16th, 2013 at 10:44 PM ^

This will solve nothing. Now arguments about who's #5 will happen. It should be the champions of the big six conferences. You have to win your league to get in. Plain and simple. No selection committee, no politics. Just settle it on the field.

M_Jason_M

October 16th, 2013 at 11:00 PM ^

Champions of big 5 conferences (big east doesn't count anymore) and three at large. Really if you're the ninth team and first left out, you have no room to say you should be in the championship discussion like a #5 team does. So I think 8 is a good number.