Greg McElroy calls for CFP committee to incentivize non-conference competition

Greg McElroy didn’t necessarily join in on the SEC-inspired social media trolling during the blowout-laden College Football Playoff first-round games last week. That said, he does see an opportunity for improvement.

An ESPN analyst and former Alabama quarterback, McElroy suggested the College Football Playoff selection committee should add greater weight to non-conference competition during its weekly evaluation and ranking process in order to make sure the CFP is picking the “best” teams as well as further incentivizing future scheduling among Power 4 competitors.

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“One thing I would like to see them do is really incentivize non-conference competition. With all due respect to Indiana – and I’m not picking on them, I’m just using them as an example – their non-conference schedule left an awful lot to be desired. And with bloated conferences, you can’t always play teams that will challenge you,” McElroy said on this week’s Always College Football podcast. “So we don’t know, no one really knows what Indiana is. We know they didn’t play well against Ohio State, but I also looked at a couple of self-inflicted (issues). If they don’t drop a punt or allow a punt-return touchdown, it might be a different game. So, I do think we need to incentivize non-conference strength. Then overall, if we can incentivize strength of schedule even more, that would be beneficial for the long-term health and prospects of the sport, and the postseason format.”

Fueled by reactions from vocal SEC representatives Lane Kiffin and Paul Finebaum, social media was set ablaze last weekend amid the blowout-laden first-round College Football Playoff games. The closest opening-round game was Notre Dame‘s 27-17 win over Indiana last Friday, during which the host Fighting Irish built a commanding 27-3 lead late in the fourth quarter before the Hoosiers scored 14 points over the game’s final 1:30. The other three playoff games were won by two or more touchdowns, with Penn State blasting SMU 38-10 in the first game last Saturday, followed by Texas‘ 38-24 win over ACC champion Clemson and Ohio State‘s 42-17 rout of Tennessee in primetime.

Paul Finebaum takes aim at CFP ‘frauds,’ ‘lousy’ committee

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum blasted the CFP selection committee’s “lousy job” for including “frauds” like Indiana and SMU in the 12-team field, citing their resume’s sheer absense of Top 25 wins. The 10th-seeded Hoosiers and 11th-seeded Mustangs were considered controversial additions to the 12-team field on Selection Day, mostly because it left a trio of three-loss SEC teams (Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina) among the first four teams out despite multiple Top 25 wins to their credit.

And while McElroy made it clear he believes the CFP selection committee “got it right” with its 12-team field, he acknowledged adding value to non-conference/Top 25 wins could help quell future consternation from fans.

“Look, if we’re living in 2024 and 2024 is a silo, I think they got it right. I don’t have any problem with what went down. The fact that the games went sideways only indicates the teams that were 5-8 were pretty dang good. And we already knew that,” McElroy said. “I’m not sure that was some revelation that was made last week. The other thing I’d say is that if we’re looking at it through a silo, I do think the criteria for admission needs to be altered a little bit. That doesn’t mean that it wasn’t right this year, but if we’re looking at it as a one-year sample size, let’s adjust it and make it better in the future.

Urban Meyer believes CFP will value strength of schedule more

Following the opening round of the College Football Playoff, which featured nothing but blowouts, many are wondering if the CFP could change its process going forward. Urban Meyer included.

In fact, the long-time college football head coach suggested there might be two changes coming in the future. One from the committee as a result of the outcomes, and one by teams as a result of the selections.

“I think the reality is that there’s two things that I witnessed,” Meyer said on The Triple Option podcast. “No. 1 is the College Football Playoff, I think, is forever changed now. And that means if you don’t play anyone you’re not going to get in. I think that’s been — if you don’t beat a ranked team or… I think the public spoke. I kind of paid attention the best I could, and I think that you’ll take a team that plays a rugged schedule over a team that just doesn’t play anyone. That was the feedback I got.”

Of course, that was a big question mark going in. Teams like Indiana and SMU were selected for the field despite playing a less rigorous schedule than programs like, say, Alabama or Ole Miss.

Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this report.