Dan Mullen torches CFP selection committee over use of 'subjective' criteria (Credit: ESPN)
By Sam Neumann on

Dan Mullen had time on Sunday.

The former head coach of the Florida Gators and Mississippi State Bulldogs turned ESPN pundit took issue with the argument that Florida State, which was snubbed by the College Football Playoff selection committee, was not among the top-4 teams in the country.

Mullen’s issue with the argument is that Trevor Matich brought up how Florida State looked with a backup quarterback against Florida. Matich said that Florida State showed over the past two games that they were Iowa, the same Iowa team that didn’t score a single point in the Big Ten Championship game.

The 51-year-old Mullen was incredulous about how Alabama eking out a win against Auburn wasn’t in the same breathe as Florida State struggling to put away Florida and Louisville, who the Seminoles defeated in the ACC Championship game. 

“Well the same day you’re talking about this Florida-Florida State game, the Alabama team, who we just shoved right in — they’re the greatest thing of all time — played an Auburn team, who had been absolutely boatraced by New Mexico State,” Mullen said. “I mean, embarrassed by New Mexico State. And needed an absolute miracle to beat an extremely below-average Auburn team. And that was not with their backup and third-string quarterback, that was with Jalen Milore…Jalen Milore’s the guy. They could barely win that game.”

Mullen argues that Alabama’s narrow win over a struggling Auburn, who had just been badly beaten by New Mexico State, exposes the flaws in the subjective criteria used to rank them as the best team. He then went on to say that while Georgia was ranked the best team in the country, it was only through subjective criteria and that playing the game is the only way to determine the true best.

“I think to me, and it gets into the biggest thing and I love the criteria; the criteria is the best team,” added Mullen. “Well, how do you find the ‘best’ team? The best team, subjectively, well, it was already done. The best team (Saturday) going in, Georgia was the No. 1 ranked team. So, the committee thought they were the best team. They’re the best. Like, we don’t need to see a game, they’re the best; because it’s subjective. Las Vegas had them as big favorites. Subjectively, they’re the best. Objectively, they went and played the game. And when you play the game, oh lo and behold, maybe they are not the best team.

“In the movies, the hero always wins. The best team, who we subjectively think is the best team in college sports, doesn’t always win. Maybe who you think is the best team doesn’t always win. So in the game of football — and what makes it so special — is you have to play the game. And when you play the game, someone wins and someone loses. And if you play it 10 times, it might be different. But in college football, you get to play it once usually. You play the game, someone wins and someone loses. And you know what Florida State did, all they did was win.”

As for Florida State, subjective criteria suggested that they were among the top teams in the country. And while it wasn’t pretty in the absence of Jordan Travis, the Seminoles still got the job done. With Luke Rodemaker and Brock Glenn, they still went undefeated and won a conference championship game, and did so behind a dominant defense. In Mullen’s eyes, what’s the point of playing the games if everything is going to be subjective? And, he largely has a point.

Mullen’s impassioned rant exposes the flaws in the current College Football Playoff selection process. Perhaps it’s time to move beyond subjective opinions and embrace a more objective system that truly rewards the teams who perform the best on the field, regardless of who their backup quarterback is.

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann