Since the Playoff's inception, each year the committee's most controversial decisions for their playoffs directly involve Ohio State.
In 2014, Ohio State was not ranked in the top four before the B1G Championship Game but proceeded to blast Wiscy 59-0. Due to this blasting, the committee jumped Ohio State to #4 while giving TCU the boot, which was met with a lot of dissatisfaction around the college football world. But, it proved to be the correct decision since Ohio State won it all in the end.
In 2015, the Buckeyes had some offensive struggles but were still arguably one of the top four teams all season and were ranked as such, until MSU won on a last minute FG late in the season. MSU's win over the Bucks kept them out of the B1G Championship game, which effectively made the committee choose B1G Champion MSU for the playoffs over Ohio State, despite Ohio State likely being the better team. This one may not be as controversial, but I think most people knew Ohio State would have done better in the playoffs than MSU did.
In 2016, Ohio State had one of the tougher schedules of the season (especially when compared to Penn State's), including a dominant win over Big 12 Champion Oklahoma and wins over other ranked opponents. This, paired with the fact that Penn State had 2 losses, led to the committee's decision to keep Ohio State in the top 4 even without being a conference champion. This was the first time the committee allowed a non-conference champion in the playoffs.
In 2017, Ohio State had some good wins and two losses (one of those being a bad loss to an average Iowa team). Just before the B1G Championship, a member of the committee basically said that Alabama and Ohio State, who were both vying for the last playoff spot, were both very close when being compared, but, after Ohio State beat #4 Wiscy, the committee gave the #4 spot to Bama instead of Ohio State. I guess Bama played a successful separation game on their couches that impressed the committee enough to "deem" them deserving of a top four spot. A friend of mine (who happens to be a Bama fan) was talking to me about the decision on Sunday. He said that the committee made the right choice, that Bama deserves the shot. To that, I give the following scenario: let's say super rich parents have one male child who is spoiled, loves to flaunt his riches/success to others, but did nothing to help his parents obtain their fortune. If his parents suddenly died and left everything to their son in their will, then, according to the law, the riches belong to the son. But, since the son did not necessarily work for the fortune, would you say he "deserves" it, or would you say he is just lucky to have those parents who did the work for him? I wouldn't say he would deserved it. Just like I think Bama doesn't "deserve" a top spot, which is just my personal opinion. But, I digress. Leaving the Buckeyes out of the playoffs in favor of the Crimson Tide, a second SEC team, was fairly controversial.
So, what do you guys think? This hasn't happened to any other team as consistently as the Buckeyes. Here's to hoping in 2018, Ohio State blows up the opposition so dominantly that the committee has no choice but to select them for the playoffs with absolutely no controversy! But, until then, looking forward to beating the Trojans! Go Bucks!
