It wouldn’t hold true to the spirit of college football if Saturday’s slate of conference championship games didn’t present some form of chaos for field of possible College Football Playoff teams.
Although No. 3 Washington likely earned a spot in the top four after Friday’s win against No. 5 Oregon in the Pac-12 title game, three spots remain. No. 1 Georgia (12–0) faces No. 8 Alabama (11–1) on Saturday in the SEC championship game, and likely will present the Bulldogs with their toughest test of the season.
However, Florida great and ESPN analyst Tim Tebow believes the CFP selection committee will face mayhem in its process to determine the other three teams in the top four if the Crimson Tide defeat the Bulldogs in Atlanta.
“I think the committee is going to be in a difficult situation because you’re gonna have an Alabama team that just had the best win of the year against a Georgia team that hasn’t lost in three seasons,” Tebow said Saturday morning on SportsCenter. “And how do you weigh that? Do you let Alabama now in, Georgia now out? Then if Texas is impressive tonight and Texas has a win a head-to-head win on the road over Alabama. I mean, that’s just pure chaos.”
No. 4 Florida State (12–0) will battle No. 14 Louisville (10–2) for the ACC crown without quarterback Jordan Travis and a game-day decision surrounding backup Tate Rodemaker. Even if the Seminoles depart Charlotte with a victory over the Cardinals, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner said it would be difficult for him to declare FSU as “one of the best four.”
“It’s hard for me because when you go undefeated if FSU wins tonight, wow, what an amazing season,” Tebow said. “But then in losing Jordan Travis, one of the best players … now you don’t have him, but they go undefeated.”
There is also a splinter of hope for No. 6 Ohio State (11–1) to re-enter the CFP conversation if FSU and Alabama lose on Saturday. Of course, No. 7 Texas (11–1) could create further confusion with a win over No. 18 Oklahoma State (9–3) in the Big 12 title game.
Luckily, 2023 will be the final year in which the CFP selection committee will choose a four-team field, as it will expand to 12 teams in ’24.
