Joel Klatt on CFP Bracket: ‘What a horrendous job this committee did’

On Sunday morning, the College Football Playoff bracket was revealed after months of speculation as to who would find themselves in and who would be missing out on a chance at a National Championship. And as you may expect, there were plenty of media pundits, including Fox CFB analyst Joel Klatt, debating whether the committee got it right.

The biggest point of contention for many was the fact that SMU, a two-loss team in the ACC, received the final at-large bid over a three-loss Alabama team from the SEC.

However, Klatt seemingly had more of an issue about the seeding of the CFP bracket than the teams ultimately selected. In particular, Klatt argued that a Quarterfinals matchup against either Ohio State or Tennessee for the Oregon Ducks isn’t as easy of a matchup as they perhaps should get considering they are the top-seeded team.

“What a horrendous job this committee did,” wrote Klatt on X. “The team that was penalized the most was Oregon. And the team that was rewarded the most was Penn State. I guess the Ducks should have laid down in the 4th. Just atrocious.” 

What a horrendous job this committee did…The team that was penalized the most was @oregonfootball and the team that was rewarded the most was @PennStateFball…I guess the Ducks should have laid down in the 4th…Just atrocious

— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) December 8, 2024

Klatt’s argument is far more about the CFP format than anything else. The current format makes it so the four highest ranked conference champions (Oregon, Georgia, Boise State, and Arizona State) receive a top-four seed and first-round byes.

This of course pushed some of the blue blood programs who got an at-large bid like Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Penn State further down the bracket than they probably should be.

Klatt’s complaint is a valid one on paper. Oregon, who beat Penn State outright in the Big Ten Championship game, will now face either Ohio State or Tennessee in their first CFP game. And Penn State, should they defeat SMU in the First Round of the CFP, will face Boise State in the Quarterfinals.

On a neutral site, either Tennessee or Ohio State would almost certainly be favored pretty heavily over Boise State. So it is truly hard to argue that Oregon didn’t get a bit of a raw deal due to the current CFP format.

Perhaps in the future, the top-five ranked conference champion could receive an auto-bid in the CFP bracket, but not receive an automatic top-four seed. That way, conference championship games are still meaningful, but the automatic bids won’t create a situation where a No. 1 seed perhaps has a more difficult road than a lower-rated seed.

With that being said, Klatt’s argument is also entirely subjective. It’s certainly possible that an Arizona State or Boise State rises to the occasion, while perhaps a team like Ohio State or Tennessee lays an egg in a potential matchup against Oregon.

Only time will tell. But if Oregon does have some trouble in their first CFP matchup, expect Ducks fans to be quite outwardly calling for a change to the CFP format.

[Joel Klatt on X]