The College Football Playoff was predictable. Here’s how coaches saw it.
The College Football Playoff field was set Sunday when Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame were announced as the participants.
The top three teams each won their conference championship games with Clemson avenging a loss to Notre Dame earlier in the season to capture the ACC title.
Notre Dame fell to No. 4, earning the last spot ahead of Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Florida and Cincinnati.
Cincinnati, in particular, finished well out of the discussion for the final spot from the CFP selection committee, despite finishing unbeaten as a Group of Five team.
So how did college football coaches feel about the playoff picture and the Bearcats with their final coaches poll votes in comparison to what the CFP selection committee picked?
University of Miami coach Manny Diaz mirrored the final CFP rankings with Alabama on top followed by Clemson, Ohio State and Notre Dame, according to the ballots USA Today reported.
Seven college coaches had Cincinnati in their top four. They were Wyoming’s Craig Bohl, SMU’s Sonny Dykes, Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell, Northern Illinois’ Thomas Hammock, Boise State’s Bryan Harsin, Buffalo’s Lance Leipold and Georgia Southern’s Chad Lunsford.
Other coaches of Florida schools that voted included Gators coach Dan Mullen, USF’s Jeff Scott and FIU’s Butch Davis.
Mullen had Texas A&M in the No. 4 spot ahead of Notre Dame, while dropping his Gators to No. 6 after their loss to Alabama in the SEC championship.
Davis’ ballot had Alabama at No. 1, Clemson at No. 2, Notre Dame at No. 3 and Texas A&M in No. 4 with Ohio State dropping to No. 5.
Scott ranked Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Texas A&M in his top four, with Notre Dame getting dropped to fifth and Cincinnati at No. 6.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 2:41 PM.
