Only Problems on Horizon for Playoff Committee

"We want football expertise," SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said on Monday.

The commissioner, speaking to the Associated Press Sports Editors at the Southeast Regional spent his session addressing a number of topics, including, yes, what he would like to see on the college football playoff committee.

Here is the problem: the playoff selection committee is a club that no one really wants to join.

Sure the coaches and administrators of the past might “think” they want to join this exclusive fraternity, but upon further review it’s a job you just can not say yes to.

Well not unless you want to face intense scrutiny over a position that will be judge and jury for collegiate athletics greatest prize and the treasure chest of riches that comes with it. The playoff television deal is worth an estimated $7 billion which means that just as many eyes will be on the individuals picking the teams as there will on those watching the teams.

Everyone has a bias.  I have one and so do you. But guess who else has one? Any prospective member of this new selection committee.  If you are an Alabama fan, how excited would you be to know your championship future is in the hands of Phillip Fulmer? I might be going out on a limb here, but I am going to guess not very.

And just continuing on with the same theme, how do you think it would be perceived if the final playoff spot was between Tennessee and Southern Cal and the Volunteers were given the edge? Again, I am going to guess not very well.

In fairness, its not just coaches, its administrators, and athletic directors too. Past and present.

Perhaps ACC Commissioner John Swofford wasn’t joking when he said that these individuals would have to go into a witness protection program.

Its not that I do not think there are qualified individuals to control college football’s future, I certainly do.  However, when push comes to shove it will be hard to shake the perception that bias exists on the committee, and even if not, sometimes perception becomes reality.

The answer to this problem does not lie solely in a committee, nor does the solution lie in a bunch of different computers.  It lies in a collection of elements.

Stealing a chapter from my 5^th grade history book, we need checks and balances. The poll voters will play their role, the computers can play theirs and the committee will have those resources to make the best decision possible.

It would make a lot of sense, but unfortunately solutions like this aren't always received by the ones that make all of the decisions.

Instead there will be nothing to balance the human element, nothing to keep the committee in check. Instead, 14 to 20 brave souls will hold the burden of making those decisions, with each choice resting on their shoulders and no one else to account for any of the blame. Instead, the committee will walk into the high stakes room with billions of dollars at their finger tips.

Here is to hoping they make the right decisions. Here is to hoping that imperfect people can make the perfect decisions because when it comes to all aspects of college football's playoff-everyone is watching.