Chuck Todd

The College Football Playoff committee is supposed to be the judge and jury of college football, but right now it looks like the SEC has stacked the jury, written the rules, and already decided the verdict. 9 of 13 committee members with SEC ties? How is the rest of college football supposed to trust that the playing field is level? Here’s the problem: When SEC teams lose, it’s called a “quality loss.” When teams from other conferences lose, it’s used as a reason to eliminate them. Alabama and Georgia get the benefit of the doubt because of their reputation. SEC teams get rewarded for beating each other, then get excuses made for losing to each other. Meanwhile, teams from the ACC, Big 12, and other conferences are forced to defend their strength of schedule even when they’re winning. You can’t keep preaching that every game matters while treating SEC losses differently from everyone else’s. The CFP should be about who earned a playoff spot, not whose conference has the biggest brand, the most television money, or the most connections in the committee room. When conference loyalty starts looking more important than competitive fairness, the credibility of the entire playoff system deserves to be questioned. The SEC doesn’t need another advantage. It needs to be held to the same standard as everyone else.