FIRST POLL IS MEANINGLESS...
TIDE MUST FOCUS ON LSU

         

       The reaction was swift. When the Selection Committee announced Alabama as the fourth team in the first Playoff Poll, the media churned up the controversy machine. The bottom line is it doesn't matter. If Alabama wins the remainder of their games, they'll be in the playoff. If the Tide loses another game, they won't be selected. It's all very simple. If the Tide barely beats a couple of teams and looks shaky in doing so, it might also keep them out. I think Alabama's brand is so strong they would be selected anyway.

            The Committee is letting all of us know that if you won't schedule some big dogs you might not have a seat at the table. In subjective selection someone is always going to be upset. Do Baylor and TCU have a right to be upset? Right now, it doesn't matter. At the end of the season if one of the teams are undefeated and unselected it might seem pretty unfair. If you are in the BIG 12 CONFERENCE, you can't do much about your schedule in the short term.  Seriously, who wants to schedule Baylor or TCU in a season opener? The answer to that question is, of course, no one with half a brain would want that match up.  When we complain about Baylor not playing any good teams, the answer of punishing them for that transgression may not be fair. 

           We have no real way of knowing whether Alabama is the fourth best team in the nation or not. We have no way of knowing whether they are a top ten team.  Our belief about Alabama’s rank is intermingled being a fan it's difficult to be objective isn't realistic. Let's not kid ourselves about the Selection Committee. The purported use of some objective standards to make a subjective decision isn’t possible That "method", even on its face, is laughable. 

         The thing we must remember is that the Selection Committee is not trying to identify the best team in the NCAA. Their job is to find a National Champion. That doesn't mean the National Champion is the best team.  We all like to think it does, and I'd like the method they use if they expanded it to eight teams. So take the inclusion into the top four for what it means. It means to have some fun, but this doesn’t matter in the least. I'm not saying it isn't nice to have. I'm more concerned about another team selected in the opening poll right now.