No

Did the College Football Playoff Selection Committee make the right decision on Sunday?

No, absolutely not.

Let me start off with noting there were three teams we all knew would be announced Sunday: No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, and No. 4 Washington.

Alabama was a given. Going undefeated and routing Florida to win the SEC Championship pretty much secures your spot in the playoffs. Its fast offense and pounding defense proved that it deserves a shot at the national title.

Where the committee went wrong on Sunday was putting Ohio State in the playoffs over Penn State.

Yes, Ohio State did finish the season with an 11-1 record, and Penn State ended the season 11-2. So there is one point to Ohio State.

But going head-to-head, Ohio State lost to Penn State, Ohio State’s only loss. So next point goes to the Nittany Lions.

Now that the score is tied, some will say that Penn State lost to Pitt and Michigan. First, Ohio State barely beat Michigan; in fact, it took the Buckeyes two overtimes to pull off a win against the Wolverines. Next, Clemson’s one loss was also to an up-and-coming Pitt earlier this year.

Now for the tie-breaker: Penn State made it to the Big Ten title game, something Ohio State did not do. Penn State pulled through and beat Wisconsin to become the Big Ten champs.

This should have put Penn State above Ohio State, point blank.

Every other team in the playoffs is a conference champ, except for Ohio State, which did not even play for a conference title. Honestly, in my opinion, it degraded the Big Ten Championship. If the winner was going to get beat out by another team in their conference, was there really a reason to have a championship game?

Penn State got the bad end of the deal this season. They proved themselves in their conference and as champions but still didn’t make it in.

The unfortunate reality is that until the college football playoffs expand to a six- or eight-team field, there will be teams such as Penn State that deserve to be in but get shut out.

— Jess Westendorf

Yes

The College Football Playoff Selection Committee got it right by leaving out Michigan and Big Ten champion Penn State.

I’m not going to argue about Alabama, that team could be one of the best we’ve ever seen in college football. ACC champion Clemson is a no-brainer as well.

That leaves Ohio State and Washington.

There was no way the committee should have included two Big Ten teams that didn’t make their conference championship (Ohio State and Michigan).

Ohio State is the Big Ten’s best team. Yes, the Buckeyes lost to Penn State, but they also beat Michigan, Wisconsin, and blew out Oklahoma, all teams that were closing in on playoff spots.

Penn State clawed its way to the conference championship but overall is not as good as Ohio State. The Nittany Lions may have beaten the Buckeyes this season, but it was a close game (8 or 9 times out of 10, Ohio State beats the Lions).

Just like Ohio State, Washington is the best team in its conference. The Huskies demolished No. 18 Stanford, Washington State, and No. 10 Colorado in the Pac-12 Championship by an average of 32 points. Not to mention, Washington’s only loss came at the hands of No. 9 USC.

None of the four teams included in this season’s playoffs have more than one loss. The committee got it right, even though it may be extremely hard for some fans to swallow.

— Adam Hensley