Yes they did but if the Big Ten is the best overall...how do you stick the weak sauce schedule of Washington (loser at home to 3 time loser USC) when Penn St.'s loss to Michigan occurred 6weeks earlier? And don't get me wrong, PSU's divisional schedule was very soft.
The problem is the timeline of when, where and how bad the loss is perceived I suppose.
Final score of Washington-USC: 26-13
Final score of Michigan-Penn State: 49-10
Here's what the CFP committee protocol states:
While it is understood that committee members will take into consideration all kinds of data
including polls, committee members will be required to discredit polls wherein initial rankings are
established before competition has occurred;
Any polls that are taken into consideration by the selection committee must be completely open
and transparent to the public;
Strength of schedule, head-to-head competition and championships won must be specifically
applied as tie-breakers between teams that look similar;
Committee members associated with any team under consideration during the selection process
will be required to recuse themselves from any deliberations associated with that team;
Selection committee members have flexibility to examine whatever data they believe is relevant to inform their decisions. They also review a significant amount of game video. Among the many factors the committee members consider are strength of schedule, head-to-head results, comparison of results against common opponents and conference championships won. The playoff group has retained SportSource Analytics to provide the data platform for the committee’s use. This platform allows the committee members to compare and contrast teams on every level possible. Each member evaluates the data at hand, and then the individuals will vote to produce a group decision.
It's an eye test. That's it. Conference championships, head-to-head - those kind of things are there to help solve tie breakers.
Granted, I believe the CFP committee is there to ensure the playoffs generate the most money. But if we go by their word, it's all about who "looks" the best and not who is the most deserving.
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