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For better or for worse, the College Football Playoff committee has announced this year’s semifinalists, and the Ohio State Buckeyes are on the outside looking in, as the Alabama Crimson Tide claimed the fourth spot. The Buckeyes will take on the USC Trojans in the Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29.
The decision has elicited a wide range of emotions from Ohio State fans, current and former players, and media members. Some are bemoaning the lack of consistency in the committee’s rhetoric over what actually matters in terms of selection, while others are a little bit thankful to not have to go up against the Clemson Tigers in the semifinals for a second-straight year.
Check out some of the reactions from Twitter and OSU’s afternoon press conference below:
Mood. pic.twitter.com/MqPWxqaUl5
— Brutus Buckeye (@Brutus_Buckeye) December 3, 2017
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer on how he reacted when he saw Alabama earned the No. 4 seed in the playoff: "I sunk in my chair at home, because I really thought we were in."
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 3, 2017
Darn you committee
— Nick Bosa (@nbsmallerbear) December 3, 2017
??????
— Samwise (@Sam_Hubbard_) December 3, 2017
That’s foul....
— Parris Campbell (@PCampbell21) December 3, 2017
That's crazy ♂️
— BenVictor‼️ (@BinjimenVictor) December 3, 2017
Worley: "We all thought we were in. Although we had those two losses, those wins you could match up with any team in the nation."
— Bill Rabinowitz (@brdispatch) December 3, 2017
Worley, "I believe we are a top four team in the nation."
— Tim May (@TIM_MAYsports) December 3, 2017
You can't get blown out by an unranked team late in the season and get in. I don't think Bama is better than us, but we all knew that wasn't gonna just go away.
— Mike Bennett (@mike96bennett) December 3, 2017
Awaiting my next mission... Go Bucks!
— Jerome Baker Jr. (@Lastname_Baker) December 3, 2017
Last week - “very little separation between teams 5-8”
— Mark Pantoni (@markpantoni) December 3, 2017
Win conference championship over very good undefeated team
Today Alabama is “unequivocally better”
Media members also voiced their concerns with the way that the committee handled the selection:
Curious, by what logic? Eye test? https://t.co/Kno3lmVqgz
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 3, 2017
I'm no Ohio State fan. BUT THE BUCKEYES JUST GOT ALL-TIME ROBBED OF THE FOURTH SPOT IN THE PLAYOFFS. OHIO STATE IS BETTER THAN ALABAMA, WHICH GOT DOMINATED BY AUBURN AND WHOSE DEFENSE GAVE UP 150+ RUSHING THE LAST THREE GAMES.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 3, 2017
Ohio State finishes with three wins over teams in the top 16 of the final College Football Playoff rankings (No. 6 Wisconsin, No.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) December 3, 2017
9 Penn State, No. 16 Michigan State).
Alabama's best win came against No. 17 LSU.
Problem with the eye test: Most of the eyes on the committee are attached to brains that view football the same way. Need more variety of thought in the room if eyes are going to make the final call.
— Doug Lesmerises (@DougLesmerises) December 3, 2017
So, if I have this correct: It’s more important to avoid a bad loss than to notch quality wins or be a conference champ.
— Tom Dienhart (@BTNTomDienhart) December 3, 2017
Except Alabama looked like trash in every game they’ve played this month except against a 5-6 FCS team https://t.co/aOugU1Ajxq
— Luke Zimmermann (@lukezim) December 3, 2017
We also asked fans to weigh in on the selection on Twitter, and the emotions varied tremendously, from incredulous to agreeing to relieved:
Ok, now that we know that the Buckeyes are out of the #CFPlayoff, how do you feel about it?
— Land-Grant Holy Land (@Landgrant33) December 3, 2017
A) Angry
B) Confused
C) Surprised
D) Relieved
E) All of the above
A, angry that Ohio State let Iowa do what they did. That cost the Buckeyes.
— I-70 Dan (@i70dan) December 3, 2017
Not sure how Bama will ever miss the CFP. They seem like a pre-destined lock for the committee every year now.
— ThirdWaveHoops (@ThirdWave17) December 3, 2017
E) don’t think we had the stuff to win it all. But don’t like rewarding a Bama team with no big wins
— ǝʇᴉH sᴉɹɥƆ (@CHBabyBear) December 3, 2017
D. Relieved we're not going to go in and get embarrassed again: AND
— Briana Canini Hart (@BriCanini) December 3, 2017
C. Confused as to why Bama is in when they've not been that impressive this year
Not surprised at all. Frankly, somewhat in agreement. I just can't get that Iowa game out of my head. 'Bama hasn't really played many really good teams this season, but they have played a lot of Iowas, and they haven't gotten destroyed by any of them.
— Duane Sanderson (@DuaneSanderson) December 3, 2017
Very very angry. No reason Alabama should be ahead of us.
— Nolan Harmon (@nharm1) December 3, 2017
..C & D. We should be in ahead of bama. I believe we would have gotten blown out by Clemson again though.
— Jason Opdyke (@jgox2) December 3, 2017
F. Not surprised- we rolled into Iowa controlling our own destiny. We rolled out not. Up weeks? OSU is the best team in the nation. Down weeks? Blew our chance at the playoffs this year.
— jon Wahl (@jonwahllefebre) December 3, 2017
I do think this outcome gives a strong argument for expanding to and 8 or 10 team playoff.
Come on y’all we know #OhioState struggled all year except in stat games. What we need to focus on now is winning our bowl game. Get some respect and come back next year with Haskins as QB
— David Thoreau (@D_Thoreau) December 3, 2017
Im seriously thinking about not wasting my time watching cfb anymore! Really how can they say Bama is the better looking team wen they didn't beat any1 and didn't get in the conference championship! This is BS and im dun wasting my time n $ on it! F the SEC n espn!
— Justin Firm (@FirmJustin) December 3, 2017