Greg McElroy on which teams make the CFP: 'It's never been the four best'

With the release of the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday, we are now a few days away from the final rankings. That’s when the last top four will be revealed and the bowl games will be set.

With so many question marks atop the rankings — four undefeated teams, two top-five teams playing each other in a conference championship and some wild cards at Nos. 7-8 — it’s worth wondering if the “best” teams in college football make the CFP.

To ESPN analyst and former Alabama analyst Greg McElroy, that’s not always the case.

“Here’s the thing. We can say ‘four best’ all we want. It’s never been the four best,” McElroy said on the CFP reveal show. “It’s the four that the committee can most easily justify.”

One of the biggest criticisms of the College Football Playoff has been the lack of excitement in the semifinal round. From 2014-21, the average margin of victory was 20.4 points — and that span includes three one-score games and a double-overtime affair. Last year was the first in the CFP era to have two one-possession semifinals.

That’s why McElroy argued it’s not always the “four best teams” that make the field, and he cited a few examples to make his point. One was the 2014 Florida State team which to Oregon, 59-20. Another was Michigan State, which got shut out in a 38-0 loss to Alabama a year later. He also pointed out the 2015 Ohio State team which fell to Clemson 31-0 in 2016.

So, even though things could get crazy this year, Greg McElroy doesn’t see the committee changing its philosophy.

“I understand that things have gotten sideways,” McElroy said. “I get that completely. But we’ve looked back over time. No one can tell me in 2014 that Florida State was among the four best teams. They weren’t, and they got absolutely boat race by Oregon in the Playoff.

“No one can tell me the Michigan State in 2015 was one of the four best teams. No one can tell me in ’16 that Ohio State was one of the four best teams. They weren’t. They got in because they had one loss. Or, in some cases like Florida State’s, they were undefeated. … The committee’s not gonna do it.”

Kirk Herbstreit was also part of the discussion, and pointed out the issues in the semifinals over the last decade.

“I feel like some years it’s a participation opportunity and not looking at the four best teams,” Herbstreit said. “The semifinals has been a disaster outside of last year.”

The final CFP rankings will come out Sunday at noon ET on ESPN.