From the moment the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was revealed, a debate raged over who was and wasn’t included in the field.
Should SMU, despite a loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game, have earned the final at-large berth over Alabama? Was Indiana, even with a gaudy 11-1 record, worthy of a spot despite what ended up being a softer-than-expected schedule in the Big Ten?
The start of playoff games this week didn’t end those arguments. If anything, it only intensified them.
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The Hoosiers and Mustangs both suffered double-digit, largely lopsided road losses in the first round of the playoff. On Friday night, No. 10 seed Indiana fell to No. 7 seed Notre Dame 27-17 in a game it trailed by 24 with two minutes remaining while No. 11 seed SMU was drubbed by No. 6 Penn State 38-10 Saturday afternoon.
People from across the country who follow the sport — broadcasters, writers, analysts and even coaches — reacted to the results, with some using them as a justification for their belief that the playoff selection committee made mistakes on who it allowed in the field. Many of the loudest complaints came from the SEC, which had the second-most teams in the field, with three, but had three three-loss teams — Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina — among the first teams left out of the playoff.
Here’s a sampling of the reaction to Indiana and…
