Of College Football, Legal Realism, and Constitutional Litigation
If you are even a casual college football fan, you are likely aware of the great controversy surrounding the selection of the four teams to make the end-of-the-year playoffs. The committee assigned the unenviable task of making that decision set the sports world on fire when it choose as the fourth and final team a one-loss Alabama team over an undefeated Florida State team (albeit with its first-string quarterback out for the season). Of the other three teams, Washington and Michigan were undefeated while Texas lost once to Oklahoma. There are thirteen members who serve on the committee to decide what four teams make the end-of-the year playoffs based on the following criteria : conference championships; strength of schedule; head-to-head results against common opponents; head-to-head matchups if they happened; and a catchall of "[o]ther relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will