By the end of Saturday night, the College Football Playoff selection committee will have all the data it’s going to get before deciding which four teams will get a chance to compete for a national title.
Heading into Championship Week, No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Michigan. No. 3 Washington and No. 4 Florida State had the inside track in the rankings. With the Huskies holding off No. 5 Oregon in the Pac-12 title game, Washington’s spot in the playoff should be secure.
But there are still plenty of teams with strong cases who could argue their way into the field. No. 8 Alabama, No. 6 Ohio State and, of course, No. 7 Texas — who beat the Crimson Tide earlier this year in Tuscaloosa.
After thoroughly dismantling Oklahoma State, 49-21, in the Big 12 championship game, the Longhorns hadn’t even left the field before they started lobbying the CFP committee for a spot.
It’s just that some members of Texas’ program were better than others at making their case. Quarterback Quinn Ewers had the perfect soundbite for the Longhorns’ argument. Head coach Steve Sarkisian did not.
Here’s what Ewers said to ESPN during the on-field celebration after the win:
“Y’all saw it. This [Oklahoma State] team is a really good second half team that we just played. And we came out and we were a first half and a second half team. It’s going to be hard for those guys to make a decision on whether we should be in or not. But I think today we really proved a point that in championship games we play at a very very high level.”
This was solid. Ewers gave credit to the quality of his opponent, noted his team’s own successes and putting an added emphasis on the bright lights the game was played under.
Compare that to what Sarkisian had to say moments earlier:
“We can play with anybody in the country. We’re a very versatile team. We play good defense, good offense and are really good on special teams. So at the end of the day we’d love the opportunity. We’ll see what happens.”
Well, OK. That was less than inspiring. Playing good offense, defense and special teams is quite literally the floor for making the playoff.
Give Sark credit for not saying anything that could come back to bite him in a 24 hours, but, yeah, let’s keep Ewers front and center until the committee reveals its selections.
