Grip on Sports: Eastern’s snub by playoff committee teaches some unwanted lessons

A GRIP ON SPORTS • No matter how old you are, you can still learn lessons. One was taught yesterday, if anyone was willing to absorb it. Read on.

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• The FCS playoff committee yesterday decided Eastern Washington’s resume wasn’t good enough to include the 7-4 Eagles in their 24-team playoff. That’s despite the numbers the group is supposed to rely upon seeming to indicate Eastern is, as described in Jim Allen’s analysis this morning.

Those of us who keep track of this sort of thing know the committee got it wrong. Eastern played a challenging non-conference schedule. It played as tough a schedule as the Big Sky – the third-best FCS conference this season – can offer. And the Eagles finished 7-4, as good a record as other playoff-bound teams without the same credentials. They deserved to be in the postseason.

The lesson learned here?

Eastern athletic director Bill Chaves took to Twitter to pass along one. He talked about never leaving one’s fate in the hands of a committee. That’s true, as far as it goes. Sometimes, however, there is no avoiding it.

This Eastern football team wasn’t good enough to win the Big Sky this season. Southern Utah was better and proved it on the field. Eastern wasn’t as good as the other Big Sky co-champ, Weber State. That was also proved on the field. But Eastern couldn’t prove whether it was better than Northern Arizona – the third BSC team to make the postseason – because, in the bloated Big Sky, the two weren’t scheduled to play.

Which forced the Eagles to rely on the kindness of strangers.

And those strangers went in another direction. That’s the danger of having a committee chose. But there is no other way when a playoff has a limited number of spots.

Is Eastern being deprived of a realistic chance to win the national title? No. Even its most ardent supporters probably would admit this year’s team isn’t good enough to win the five games necessary to add to its 2010 title.

The FCS’ 24-team playoff includes enough schools that there is little possibility a possible champion will be left out.

But what if that number was four, as it is with the FBS schools?

Only James Madison, Jacksonville State, North Dakota State and Central Arkansas would have a shot.

Fifth-seeded South Dakota State, which defeated second-seed NDSU by double digits earlier this month, would be out. So would Southern Utah, which battled through to win the always-tough Big Sky.

At least there are 24 teams – out of 124 – given a chance to grab the golden ticket. One level above, the FBS, there are four – out of 129.

There are at least seven or eight FCS teams who could win this season’s title. That number is even higher at the FBS level, but only four are chosen.

Anyone in this week’s top dozen is probably capable and the 13th team, Central Florida, hasn’t lost to anyone, so who knows?

If the FBS had the fortitude to host a 24-team playoff, no one with a realistic shot at winning the title would be left out. Sorry Boise State, 25th in this week’s rankings, you really don’t.

But Wisconsin, the fifth-ranked team, does. What if the Badgers continue to win out? They are in, right? Then there is a chance someone else worthy is excised. If Alabama defeats Auburn and then loses to a one-loss Georgia team in the SEC title game, both have a strong argument to be in. Same with Clemson, if it wins out. Ditto Oklahoma.

A committee would then decide which national championship-worthy school has to watch others play. As bad as the FCS’ committee’s decision was to exclude Eastern, it would be less egregious than leaving one-loss Georgia or Clemson or the like out of a four-team playoff.

There’s an easy fix, one the FCS discovered years ago. Expand. Make the argument about who is the 17th- or 25th- or 65th-best team, not the fifth.

Sure, the outrage doesn’t fade. Nor should it. It’s just not as crucial.

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WSU: It’s Apple Cup week, so we will be spending a lot of time on that rivalry game between now and Saturday. Theo Lawson kicks off his first as a beat writer with his initial look at Washington, which is a double-digit favorite despite being ranked behind the Cougars. … The soccer team yielded a game-deciding goal to host Florida and saw its NCAA run end. … Back to football, Stefanie Loh spent time in Logan, Utah, to put together this feature on Luke Falk. … The Huskies may not have national title goals anymore but they can play the spoiler versus WSU. That’s seems a little gauche for a program of Washington’s stature, doesn’t it?

Elsewhere in Pac-12, UCLA is well down the conference’s power ranking – and unranked nationally – this season and that turned out to be enough to cost head coach Jim Mora his job. The Bruins uncharacteristically fired the coach with a game left, leading some to believe the next coach has already been identified. But maybe not. … The Bruins face California this week with a bowl berth going to the winner. … The same can be said about the Colorado game with Utah, though the teams come in following different experiences last Saturday. … Stanford will be watching the scoreboard as it hosts Notre Dame. … Arizona State and Arizona have a Territorial Cup to fight over. … Oregon, on the rise, and Oregon State, which is still looking for a coach, meet in the Civil War, a name that may not survive too much longer. … USC has a bye before the Pac-12 title game. A nice advantage. … On the basketball court, every conference team in action won yesterday, with USC having to go overtime on the road at Vanderbilt. Oregon, Colorado and Arizona State didn’t have as much stress.  

Gonzaga: The offensive star in Saturday night’s win over Utah State was Killian Tillie. Jim Meehan examines his 20-point effort. … John Stockton was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame yesterday. … Portland had no trouble with Oregon Tech on Sunday. Neither did Saint Mary’s, who played San Jose State.

EWU: Besides the analysis of the FBS committee’s decision, which we also linked above, Jim Allen has a story that gauges the reaction from Cheney. … Around the Big Sky, Southern Utah earned a bye and will face the winner of Weber State/Western Illinois game. … Montana is contemplating Bob Stitt’s future.

Seahawks: The Hawks return to prime time without many of their prime-time players. The Legion of Boom is boomless just when it’s needed most, as Atlanta can still throw the ball around. … How long this core of players will stick around is anyone’s guess.

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• We will be back after the Seahawks’ game tonight with some somewhat instantaneous analysis. I can give you some instantaneous analysis about our local weather right now: It’s rainy and windy. But relatively warm. My dogs like the latter but not the former. Until later …