I have to write this piece about the college football playoffs; I just have to

And yes, I’ll make a few astute political comments about American society along the way

I’m writing this at 6AM on Sunday, six hours before the Selection Committee decides which four college football teams will compete in the playoffs, to determine the National Champion.

Hopefully, I’ll finish writing, and post my superior analysis, before noon.

Without getting into particulars, Alabama upsetting Georgia yesterday threw the whole selection process into scrambled-egg chaos.

There are at least six teams now who are “deserving.” The Committee has to carve that list down to four.

The maniacal fan bases of the two teams they leave out will go full-blown psycho.

For a couple of hours, I wrestled with my choices. Which four teams should make the cut?

Then the clouds parted and I saw how absurd the whole selection process is.

Imagine this, by comparison: On the last day of the NFL season, the Miami Dolphins defeat the Buffalo Bills and lock up first place in their Division.

The Miami coach, addressing the press, says, “We proved our worth today. And all season, we’ve been going up against the toughest competition in the League and showing just how good we are. I hope the Selection Committee realizes we played a whole month without two of our best guys. We definitely deserve to be in the playoffs…”

SAY WHAT?

Because, of course, the playoff structure of the NFL is automatic. The winners of each Division are in. Then, based on their win-loss records, six more teams are in as well.

There is no selection process.

In college football, there are five major conferences, and a whole host of other conferences. Each one has a winner. But the final playoff teams, which could be determined automatically, like the NFL, never are.

They could be. In an expanded playoff. Trust me. And they should be. But they aren’t.

Because the management system of college football, called the NCAA, is quite mad. Quite incompetent. Quite bent.

The college Selection Committee consists of a gaggle of “experts,” none of whom is articulate or forthcoming.

“Well, these are the four teams we decided were deserving. Of participation in the playoffs. We applied a number of standards…”

No one from the sports media is permitted to grill these bozos and get at the details of their decision-making process.

“Well, my fellow Americans, the Committee deliberated in secret, in Virginia, for two months. We discussed the qualifications of the candidates, and we can tell you now the name of the next President of the United States…”

(Maybe that actually happens. I can’t promise that it doesn’t.)

In fact, now that I think about it, isn’t there a Federal Reserve “secret committee” that decides interest rates, as well as how much money to invent out of thin air?

“We here at the committee know how anxious the auto makers are to hear our ruling. We’ve been consulting with ourselves on a yacht off the coast of Florida for six months…and now these are the prices each company can charge for their new 2025 models…”

Hey. That could be coming, too.

“As District Attorney of this County, I can now announce, after meeting with my colleagues, that Mr. Smith, arrested on a charge of first-degree murder in the brutal killings of the Jones family in their home, will NOW face only the lesser charge of carrying a concealed weapon without a license. Based on the CIRCUMSTANCES of the crime, and relevant statutes, I assure you this is the proper charge. Mr. Smith will be released from jail today…”

Yes, there are lots of secret committees deliberating in the country these days.