Troy Aikman gets 100% real about Indiana football's CFP inclusion
Yesterday at 01:54 AM
College football and NFL legend Troy Aikman gave an eye-opening take on Indiana’s inclusion in the College Football Playoff. The Hoosiers were among four teams that lost handily this weekend. It’s no coincidence that all the programs eliminated were on the road. However, many fans singled out programs like Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti’s and SMU for being undeserving of the playoff due to their performances.
In a conversation with Joe Buck during the Green Bay Packers-New Orleans Saints broadcast, Aikman discussed this notion coming from pundits and fans.
“I think the disappointment is for those who want to question whether those teams belong in the playoff. I think to make those comments after they had devastating losses by the amounts they did, I don’t know that that’s fair to anybody. We see teams in the Super Bowl that lost by large margins and were worthy. So hats off to all those winners and all those teams whether they lost or not.”
The narratives around Indiana and SMU are disappointing
Joe Buck followed up these comments, stating how the criticisms of specific teams not belonging in the twelve-team bracket discredit the programs that won these games dominantly. It’s no coincidence that every program playing on the road was the underdog. All the lower-ranked teams were entering electric atmospheres. This was no different for Indiana, which was playing the opening game of the playoff at a historic venue: Notre Dame Stadium.
While Curt Cignetti was clowned for his bold pregame comments after the game, the loss does not take away Indiana’s extraordinary season. The Hoosiers had a historic run in 2024, reaching eleven wins for the first time in program history. In addition, Curt Cignetti’s team would make the twelve-team field regardless of which rankings system was being used. Even old BCS system simulations included the Hoosiers in front of teams like Alabama, South Carolina, and Ole Miss.
It’s tough to feel for three-loss SEC programs, particularly Alabama and Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide and Rebels were consistently in the bracket for most of the year. However, later in the season, the two powerhouses picked up disappointing losses to unranked teams. In addition, the criticisms against Indiana for not scheduling aggressively enough are hard to make.
The Hoosiers were headed into the year with a showdown in Columbus on their schedule and matchups against the two teams that played in the national championship game last year in Washington and Michigan. Going into 2024, this was a challenging slate of games.
Overall, there’s brand bias in a lot of these reactions here. If the goal is to favor teams based on recruiting, then there’s no need to play the regular season. Blowouts will be a part of every postseason format. Considering that twelve teams make up the field, feeling bad for the excluded programs is difficult. In comparison, undefeated conference champion Florida State didn’t qualify for the four-team playoff last year.
Indiana’s inclusion in the College Football Playoff additionally gives more teams hope to compete for a national championship in the future. The Hoosiers were worthy participants and could return sooner than people think.
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