Josh Pate defends CFP selection committee amid widespread criticism following blowouts in playoff first round

Josh Pate waded into the widespread discussion about the level of games witnessed in the first round of the new College Football Playoff format. The early series of games in the 12-team playoffs were all blowouts, leading fans and analysts to fault the selection committee.

While the four games in the first round didn't turn out as expected for many college football enthusiasts, Pate made some narrative clear. On Josh Pate’s College Football Show, the analyst explained the wrong understanding that has left many disappointed.

“The first round is full of a bunch of blowouts, so it is an indication that the committee did a bad job,” Pate started. “That's the difference (between) a selection committee and a production company.

"This is a competitive sport. A selection committee is not writing the script for the playoff for you. The selection committee is given a list of criteria, and based off that, they put the teams in that they feel are most deserving, and then they go play.”

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Josh Pate says blowouts should be expected

Teams getting blown out has been a part of football from time immemorial. It's a sign that a team got a bunch of things right where the other failed to. Josh Pate believes it should be expected in the playoffs schedule.

“In a game where we have vast disparity in styles of teams, in quality of roster, we score in threes and sevens, the ball is shaped very funny, and these venues house 100,000+ people, and when it's 25 degrees and they're screaming, it's tough to play, you're going to have some blowouts,” Pate said.

Josh Pate went on to blame the growing on-demand mentality in the modern world for the disappointment surrounding the first round of the playoffs. The mindset has created a world where fans expect things to be tailored according to their preferences.

“It's just kind of like this on-demand mentality, which I can slip into as well,” Pate said.

"So I've been guilty of this, but there's this on-demand mentality of you, in the modern age. If everything I'm ingesting is not perfectly in alignment with what I want, something is wrong. It's not always the case.”

With four teams out, there's a lot of anticipation for the next round of the playoffs where things are expected to get more interesting. It's the quarterfinals in the new format of the playoffs, and four of the New Year's Six bowl games will be involved. Fans expects to be well entertained this time.