The lack of drama in the conference championship games took away some of the suspense when it came to Selection Sunday, but that doesn’t mean the day wasn’t without at least some controversy. Whether it was the order of the four seeds or the selection of the New Year’s Six and standard bowl matchups, there was plenty to talk about. That left some fans happy about the outcomes while others continued to be frustrated. Here is a look at the biggest winners and losers from this year’s Selection Sunday.
Winner: Alabama Crimson Tide
There was plenty of talk about the potential for the Tide to leapfrog Clemson for the No. 1 seed but they have to be happy they didn’t from a matchup perspective. They have much more favorable game against Michigan State rather than having to play Oklahoma. Nick Saban’s teams have had a lot more success against power-running, pro-style offenses over the years and that is exactly what the Spartans will bring to the table. On top of that, there’s the issue with Connor Cook’s shoulder. He might heal up in time for the bowl game but as of now, he’s clearly bother by something. Michigan State won’t be an easy opponent by any means but Alabama is probably better off matching up against the Spartans than the Sooners in a one-game playoff.
When you take a look at the early odds for the College Football Playoff, Alabama is favored to win it all and that shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Loser: Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners didn’t have to play in a conference championship game to determine whether they would get in to the College Football Playoff but after locking up a spot with a Big 12 Championship, they had to be disappointed with how things played out. Oklahoma entered Selection Sunday as the No. 3 seed but was jumped over by Big Ten champions Michigan State. Instead of playing close to home in a Cotton Bowl matchup with Alabama, they will have to travel to Miami to face Clemson in the Orange Bowl. The matchup with the Tigers isn’t necessarily a bad one and the Clemson offense plays a similar style to what the Sooners have seen in the Big 12, but the 1,500-mile trip to South Florida won’t be a fun one for Oklahoma fans. They have to be bitter about not getting the chance to play closer to home.
Winner: Iowa Hawkeyes
The Hawkeyes missed out on the opportunity to play in this year’s playoff but they will make their first trip to the Rose Bowl in 25 years after being awarded that slot ahead of Ohio State. The Buckeyes are a bigger brand as the defending national champion and might have made for a more intriguing matchup on paper against Stanford but it’s Iowa that was given that slot. They were rewarded for a quality season and a very sturdy effort against Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship. For that, they deserve to be considered a Selection Sunday winner.
[related_post_one]
Loser: Pittsburgh Panthers
The Panthers went 8-4 in their first season under Pat Narduzzi this year and while that was tied for the third-best conference record with Florida State, they were awarded a spot in the Military Bowl. Meanwhile Louisville, North Carolina State and Duke all jumped Pittsburgh for spots in the bigger bowl games. The Panthers were quite disappointed where they ended up as they felt they should have had a higher profile invite.
Panthers’ fans won’t have to travel too far to get to Maryland but the Military Bowl will be a virtual home game for Navy and it will be a tough matchup with Keenan Reynolds set to play his final game for the Midshipmen. The Panthers have a lot to be happy about when it comes to their first year under Narduzzi but they were among the biggest losers on Selection Sunday.
