College football voters have long been accused of making decisions based on what is best for television. It has been true ever since there has been a formal national championship game. 2022 is no exception, although according to Dan Patrick, the people making the decisions on the College Football Playoff field should be chided for not considering the TV implications of their matchups.
“It’s a TV show and that’s what I always wonder,” he said Monday on his FOX Sports Radio show. “Ohio State and Michigan, and you had that in the final four? Look, TCU might be a sacrificial lamb, but that’s okay. You would have a monster game with Ohio State and Michigan.”
America has already seen Ohio State play Michigan once this season. It could have been the opinion of the committee that given that the first game was not close, there would not be any excitement for a rematch. However, to Patrick’s point, the first matchup drew 17 million viewers less than two weeks ago.
“Maybe I’m being a little too snarky with this,” Dan Patrick added, “but it is a TV show that they’re producing.”
CBS Sports analyst Rick Neuheisal, who was Patrick’s guest for the segment agreed. He called out the absurdity of CFP Committee Chairman Boo Corrigan saying that the TV implications of potential matchups were never considered when the final poll was put together.
“To say, as Boo Corrigan did to Rece Davis, that that never came up that it would be an Ohio State, Michigan rematch, that no one acknowledged the elephant in the room? That must be a very small room, if no one said it in the room. Because it was said elsewhere, I gaurantee.”
The College Football Playoff saw a re-match just last year when Georgia defeated Alabama in the National Championship Game just over one month after the Crimson Tide defeated the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game. The perception among many, though, is that the committee tries to avoid rematches in the semi-final round.
Michigan will play TCU in the Fiesta Bowl this year with Ohio State facing Georgia in the Peach Bowl. Both semi-final games will air on ESPN on New Year’s Eve.
