College football Champ Week highlights: Top plays, games, takeaways

Well, this is awkward.

For nine years, the selection committee lived in relative comfort, gifted by the college football gods one relatively easy decision after another, a choice between paper or plastic — one that might be better, one that’s easier, neither particularly important. What little controversy it endured — Ohio State in 2014 and 2022, Alabama in 2017 — was largely from a vocal minority because the toughest calls were always determined on the field.

Not this year.

Here we are, on the heels of the final playoff rankings in the final year of the four-team format, and the committee has a mess on its hands.

Credit Nick Saban for Step 1 of Operation Chaos. Saban’s Tide toppled the season’s biggest domino, upending two-time defending champion Georgia 27-24 in the SEC championship game.

Credit Florida State‘s suffocating defense for Step 2. The Seminoles racked up seven sacks, 14 tackles for loss, 10 pass break-ups and may have given Jack Plummer a wedgie at midfield just for laughs.

Credit Iowa‘s offense for Step 3 because it made Michigan‘s life easy Saturday and also because no one has ever typed “Credit Iowa’s offense” before and we wanted to see how it felt.

And credit Texas for Step 4, not just for Saturday’s Big 12 title win against an overmatched Oklahoma State, but for beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa back in September. If Alabama’s L had come against anyone else, the committee’s job would be far simpler, but that head-to-head win is the underpinning of all the controversy that awaits.

The case is compelling for each of the contenders.

In the aftermath of Alabama’s stunning home loss to Texas in Week 2, the Tide looked dead in the water. But Saban found a brilliant workaround to his biggest dilemma, benching Jalen Milroe against an overmatched USF team in favor of Plans B and C. In doing so, he allowed Milroe to rally his team from the sideline, earning the players’ respect in the process, and he allowed Tide fans to see just how barren the cupboard really was behind Milroe, thus ending any clamoring for an open competition. In one seemingly inexplicable move on a September Saturday in Tampa, Saban turned his team’s glaring weakness into a foundation upon which he could rebuild the offense. Saban plays chess. The rest of us play Connect Four and routinely forget about the diagonals.

The result of Saban’s genius? Milroe…