Former Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman and college football expert David Pollack revealed the 12 teams he would have in the College Football Playoff after the conclusion of Championship Week. Pollack named his playoff field on his podcast, “See Ball Get Ball.”
Pollack would have Indiana as his No. 1 seed, Georgia as the No. 2 seed in the field and Ohio State as the No. 3 seed. He puts Big 12 champion Texas Tech as his No. 4 seed. The selection committee could have a different order for seeds No. 2 through No. 4. Pollack thinks there will be a “fun debate” for the No. 2 spot.
Advertisement
Rankings/seeds No. 5 through No. 8 should remain consistent. None of those teams played in conference championship games. Pollack has Oregon staying put at No. 5, Ole Miss No. 6, Texas A&M No. 7 and Oklahoma No. 8.
Where it gets interesting is the No. 9 spot. Alabama, who lost in the SEC championship, is vying for the No. 9 or No. 10 seed along with Miami and Notre Dame. In the previous version of the committee’s rankings, Notre Dame was No. 10, BYU was No. 11 (lost in Big 12 championship) and Miami was No. 12.
Pollack puts Miami as his No. 9 seed. He ranks Miami over Notre Dame due to their head-to-head win over Notre Dame. He puts Notre Dame as the No. 10 seed and the last at-large team in the field. He puts Notre Dame in over Alabama even though he considers Alabama’s stretch of beating four ranked opponents in four weeks to be the most impressive of any team all season.
“I think Alabama finishing the way that they finished (is why they’ll be left out),” Pollack said. “I think if it (the SEC championship) was competitive (then they would’ve made the field).” Pollack does not think that the committee with like Alabama’s running game after a negative-three yard performance. “That’s not going to do it for them.”
Advertisement
Pollack goes on to clarify that he does not think the committee should leave Alabama out. He thinks they shouldn’t be punished for playing in a conference championship. “I think they’re (the committee) going to do this to Alabama,” Pollack added. “And Bama fans might lose their minds.”
After Notre Dame, Pollack has Tulane as the No. 11 seed and James Madison as the No. 12 seed. Tulane and James Madison make it as the fourth- and fifth-highest ranked conference champions. Of course, five-loss Duke won the ACC, so they aren’t ranked.
Pollack thinks there is a silver lining. With two Group of Five teams in the playoff that likely won’t be competitive, he thinks the outrage will spark change. “We’re going to change this,” Pollack said. “There’s going to be serious changes to the College Football Playoff next year, which is fantastic.”
He went on to predict that conference championships will go away. Instead, he thinks highest ranked teams from each conference will be the adjustment that is made.
Advertisement
Who David Pollack thinks will be in the CFP field
Follow UGA Wire on Instagram or Threads for more Georgia football coverage!
This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: David Pollack doesn’t think Alabama will make the CFP
