The Notre Dame-Miami Argument Is A Result Of A Bloated Playoff System

The final College Football Playoff rankings are set to be released today in preparation for the start of the 12-team race for the national championship later this month, and with any sort of selection show, arguments are bound to pop up.

READ: CFP Rankings Make AP Poll Irrelevant

One argument that has been prevalent for some time now and is only going to increase in temperature and intensity later today is the Notre Dame-Miami conundrum.

Both teams are on the razor's edge of being left out of the CFP entirety, and although they sport identical records, each team's resume represents a sort of "Rorschach Test" of what a certain fanbase wants to see.

Choose Notre Dame, and you're picking the team with the slightly better strength of record that doesn't have a "bad loss" to its name.

Pick Miami, and you're siding with the school that has the head-to-head win over the Fighting Irish and, by extension, has the better overall win on its ledger.

The problem isn't that one of these teams deserves to get in over the other; under the current format, both of these teams should and probably will get selected.

The issue is the fact that we even need to have this discussion in the first place.

When the four-team playoff expanded to 12, I was afraid we would start seeing these frivolous arguments pop up about teams who "deserve" one of the last spots in the dance.

It's the same principle as the 69th team in college basketball whining about getting a seat at the table; does anyone really believe a 16-seed Old Dominion can win the whole thing?

Yes, Ohio State won the whole thing in the first year of a 12-team CFP with two losses, but one of those losses was on the road by one point to the number one team in the country and the other was a rivalry game against a team with a top-15 talent profile.

I don't think Miami has much of an argument when their best win is in week one against Notre Dame and their two losses are to teams they dwarf in terms of talent disparity (SMU and Louisville).

The Irish's resume doesn't hold up much better under scrutiny. They have two quality losses, sure, but their best win is, what, a three-loss USC team?

These arguments will continue and even worsen as the playoff continues to expand.

We shouldn't blame Miami or Notre Dame for wanting to be included in this watered-down playoff product. We should instead be blaming the powers that be for introducing a bloated system that rewards mediocrity.

When a 12-team playoff was proposed, it was under the guise of "giving the little guy a chance," but Ohio State's victory last season only proved this is still a sport that is all about the "haves" rather than the "have nots."

All of this pontificating on my end is for naught, though; like screaming into a void.

The College Football Playoff will continue to expand and people like me will be left in the dust telling kids to get off their lawn.

I miss the BCS!