College Football Playoff’s credibility taking a hit as race is littered with mediocre contenders down stretch

Maybe it was about the time Alabama fell behind Oklahoma by three touchdowns. It could have been Jordan-Hare Stadium morphing into its annual upset mosh pit with an unexpected win for Auburn — this time it was Texas A&M falling victim. 

Definitely when Ole Miss coughed up a hairball at Florida ridding Lane Kiffin from the burden of having to play in the SEC Championship Game. Never mind the — chuckle! — College Football Playoff.

With a week to go in the regular season, it has become clear the CFP doesn’t deserve itself. There’s too much mediocrity, mostly. It’s actually too big at this point. Well, at least too big to make it a quality playoff. The three SEC teams listed above lost Saturday for the third time. Each one of them were upset with everything on the line. 

Never mind not holding serve. They couldn’t even grasp the racquet, and it wasn’t anything new for those schools this season. 

Also, one or two of them may still make the playoff field. Try to stop your gag reflex. 

Expansion? Going to 16 teams would be like picking up hitchhikers on the side of the road at this point. Automatic qualifiers? Please. That’s the fatal flaw with the initiative earlier this year by the SEC and Big Ten. At some point you have to actually earn your way in. 

If this were a Taylor Swift concert, there are major football brands out there that would still need a wrist band just to stand in line for the ticket lottery — except some of those major brands think they deserve floor seats. 

Heading into the final full week, the playoff looks overpriced and bloated. A credible playoff doesn’t have to include any or all of those three-loss teams. 

We don’t necessarily need to see Alabama or Texas A&M attempt to make a run. Ole Miss apparently still has between a snowball’s chance in hell and an asteroid hitting earth of still getting in the CFP. 

Call it parity, but parity means you have a bunch of not-great teams. That’s college football this season. And it’s been fun as hell to watch … at times.

But let’s not call it something more than what it is. You know what would impact the CFP’s credibility? If Indiana was left out. Yes, the team that lost by 23 at Ohio State, but at least the Hoosiers have shown up each week. In fact, Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana have been the most consistent teams this season.

“Is that a serious question,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said when asked postgame if his team deserved to be in the playoff. “The answer is so obvious.”

Swagger in central Indiana. Love it. 

Throughout the CFP era, three-loss teams would have been in a 12-team bracket, but no one told us there’d be so many pretenders backing in that it would sound like the “beep, beep, beep” of a trash truck at dawn. 

It’s to the point now that we’re almost looking for volunteers to fill out the field. After Saturday, most of this is on the SEC. They’ll never admit it, but from this press box view, the Rebels, Aggies and Tide don’t deserve a spot. Georgia could join that three-loss group if Texas wins out. 

Look, we can only be so gullible on this SEC schedule strength narrative. Sooner or later you have to win games. Nick Saban was right on “College GameDay” — perhaps Jordan-Hare Stadium is haunted. That’s the way it seemed when Auburn rallied late to beat Texas A&M in four overtimes. 

That was tragic for a team that has beaten a four-loss LSU and lost by 24 to South Carolina. 

What exactly was that for Bama at OU? Vanderbilt beat Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955. Oklahoma did it in its first 13 weeks in the SEC. 

Alabama went without a touchdown for the first time since 2011, but that 9-6 overtime loss to LSU was a prelude to a national championship rematch. For the first time since Pat McAfee had sleeves, the Iron Bowl suddenly means little on the SEC or national stages. 

The success of two teams with 1-5 conference records — Auburn and Oklahoma — should stifle any talk about the incredible depth of the Strength Everywhere Conference. 

Perception is everything. The same thing is happening in the Big 12, but that league looks more entertaining than watered down. Expectations were low to begin with for the league that lost big dogs Texas and Oklahoma. 

Everybody in the Big 12 has at least two losses, and it seems like the league has overachieved — at least in entertainment value. A current four-way tie atop the league could turn into an eight-way tie by the end of Saturday.

Kansas became the first team with a losing record to beat three ranked teams in consecutive weeks. Colorado lost by 16 to the Jayhawks, but one of the takeaways was Travis Hunter solidifying his Heisman Trophy credentials.

Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham seemingly did everything he could to allow BYU back in Saturday’s game. With a week to go, all the Sun Devils have to do is beat Arizona in the Territorial Cup — no sure thing — to earn a spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. 

Well, unless the Jenga that is the Big 12 race completely collapses and some combination of Colorado/BYU/Iowa State/Baylor/Kansas State/TCU go to Jerry World. 

SMU clinched a spot in the ACC Championship Game and is a heartbeat away from playing in the CFP in its first season as a member of a Power Four conference. Miami has to win at Syracuse to secure an ACC spot. If not, Clemson is in. 

Hey, maybe out of the calliope of happenstance there is room for a second Big 12 or ACC team in the playoff. 

Don’t laugh. Hitchhikers are people, too.