What we learned from the CFB Playoff Committee’s latest choices

Here are five things to take away from the decision:

1. Ohio State got in because of its strength of schedule.

That’s good because this and actual record are the least ephemeral variables that are considered.

The “eye test” makes some people nervous, but I’m generally in favor of it, and strength of schedule can be a good confirmation of it.

Strength of schedule is also why Penn State apparently much stronger consideration than Oklahoma, and Michigan finished ahead of the Sooners, too.

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2. The committee can still do whatever it wants and justify it later, though.

That’s why Washington made it.

Penn State on paper had a very similar resume to Ohio State — except the Nittany Lions were also a conference champ. That’s why I thought they might get in ahead of the Huskies, but it didn’t happen.

They could have easily emphasized PSU’s having more strong wins rather than the Nittany Lions’ having an additional loss, but they went the Washington way instead… so two losses are a deal breaker in hindsight.

3. Playing a Power 5 conference team out of conference every year is still a worthwhile risk.

Ohio State and Clemson show the positive side of this, while Penn State shows the downside.

However, the Nittany Lions likely get in if they had beaten Pitt in September, so the fact they were still in the conversation despite losing is another example of it being worthwhile.

4. The “Ohio State got in because of brand” argument is garbage, at least the way most people mean it.

They might be picking teams based on school reputation, ability to sell tickets, get TV viewers, etc., but there’s no actual evidence that is the case. Just clueless conspiracy theories and thoughtless commentaries.

On the contrary, Penn State and Michigan are better brands than Washington, but they didn't get in. The Huskies did.

And for Big 12 fans still smarting over 2014, Ohio State got in over TCU and Baylor because of a much stronger… wait for it… schedule.

5. Consistent success does matter.

This is the accurate flip side of the “brands” argument.

Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State have played important interconference games over the past few years, recruited well and sent a lot of players to the NFL. None of the other teams in the other top five teams can claim all three of those things, so it makes sense to give them some benefit of the doubt.

But that benefit also wasn’t necessary because the top three played stronger schedules than Washington and Penn State lost two games.