Back in 2017, eventual national champion and one-loss Alabama was selected by the playoff committee over Big Ten champ Ohio State, who had lost twice. Then-committee chair Kirby Hocutt made it clear that the committee watched the games looking for the four best teams, and that all other selection criteria were to be used as tiebreakers in case two teams were close. In the committee’s eyes, that wasn’t the case.
“It was impressive,” Hocutt said of Ohio State’s resume. “But it wasn’t enough for the selection committee to place them over Alabama. The selection committee has continued to be impressed with Alabama’s performance on the field.