Booger McFarland Calls CFP Rankings 'Travesty To The Sport' While Rest Of ESPN Panel Tries To Protect Company's Product

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The final College Football Playoff rankings were released Sunday. Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama are in. Florida State, which went 13-0, is out. ESPN analyst Booger McFarland strongly reacted to the committee leaving the Seminoles out of the CFP. His co-hosts, meanwhile, went to the mat defending it.

Immediately following the rankings released on ESPN, McFarland exclaimed that leaving out Florida State is a "travesty of the sport."

ESPN commentator Booger McFarland rips the College Football Playoff Committee while the rest of the hosts defend the CFP rankings.

ESPN commentator Booger McFarland rips the College Football Playoff Committee while the rest of the hosts defend the CFP rankings. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

He also accused the committee of making decisions based on which matchups would make a better television product and sell more tickets. And, he stated the obvious: playing in the SEC helped Alabama jump undefeated ACC champion Florida State.

"This is a complete travesty to the sport," McFarland said. "We go out there on the field and we play the game. Regardless of whether we win with offense or defense, the name of the game is to win."

Later in the discussion, McFarland opined that the committee chose the "best matchups" and not the "most deserving teams." Meanwhile, Joey Galloway laughed and condescended McFarland, basically saying his argument is nonsense.

Host Rece Davis, like Galloway, went after Booger McFarland. Both men tried as hard as they could to defend the committee and downplay that anything went into this decision other than the selection process.

That's complete nonsense. Kudos to McFarland for saying the obvious: CFP rankings are about picking teams to play in some of the biggest TV shows of the year. These games are made for TV. ESPN has a vested interest in making sure it gets the matchups that draws the most eyeballs.

That's what makes McFarland's argument feel so real, while the others have a more biased appearance. Most users on X, formerly Twitter, felt that way, too.

Personally, I disagree with McFarland. There's no question that Michigan hoped that Florida State got the #4 spot because it would be an easier matchup for them. To me, that means Alabama is the better team.

The problem is that the committee, over the years, completely changes its criteria at will. They've used the "most deserving" in the past when it served them. This year, they go with "four best" because it's more useful right now.

Booger McFarland calling out the obvious hypocrisy is refreshing from an ESPN commentator.

And, doing it while the rest of the panel dutifully played their roles as the good ESPN soldiers makes it even better.

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to Outkick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named “Brady” because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.