Now that the playoffs are set, it’s worth taking a moment to understand the flaws and biases built into the college football ranking system.

While fairness may be an interesting word, I’m someone who typically values merit over equity. The problem in college football is that fans can’t truly measure merit when teams play in different conferences and rarely face each other.

Do I think Oklahoma (10-2) and Texas (9-3) could beat Duke (8-5) or Virginia (10-3)? Yes. Do I think they’re better teams? Probably. But we can’t know for sure. That is why the games are played.

Merit can only be judged within each conference, and the only guaranteed path to the playoffs should come from playing in each conference’s championship. No team should be penalized for making it to the championship and losing; that is the only way to balance merit and fairness. After that, the conference committees can sort out the remaining at-large spots.

If a team doesn’t grab one of those final four at-large invitations, fans can be upset but can’t claim their team was cheated. With an 11-1 regular season record with the only loss coming against the No. 4 team in the nation, the only team cheated is BYU. If a team doesn’t reach their conference’s championship, they don’t automatically deserve anything. They may still be considered, based on your non-conference resume, but if they want a guaranteed spot, they must earn their way into the title game. Period.

I still cannot fathom how the committees consistently punish teams for playing an extra game while rewarding teams for watching those games from their couch. Well, everyone except Alabama. If merit is determined within conferences, then fairness comes from equality between conferences.

There are currently four power conferences— not two. Analysts like Paul Finebaum might want 11 SEC teams in the playoffs and only allow Indiana to make it because the Hoosiers finished undefeated. But no one wants a replay of the SEC regular season. Yes, the SEC is the strongest conference, but the Big 10 isn’t miles ahead of the Big 12, and conference strength is often circular. Few predicted the rise of Indiana or Texas Tech (12-1) this year, and every program is one big donor away from leveling up.

If certain conferences are stronger, they should get more at-large bids. But no power conference should get five or six teams while others get one or none. If we accept the idea of power conferences, then both championship game participants deserve automatic entry. That’s merit based.

As for who makes a conference championship, that’s on the conference. Personally, I think Miami (10-2) was more deserving than Duke (8-5) to play in the ACC title game, but the ACC has its rules.

Now for Texas and Oklahoma (if they had not gotten in). This may irritate some of my OU friends — but neither school deserve to make the playoffs. I’m glad that Oklahoma did. However, both institutions knew exactly what they were signing up for when they joined the SEC. When they left the Big 12, it was already clear the playoff would expand, and those conference champions would receive automatic bids.

Commentators repeatedly warned them that the SEC path would be tougher, and that their playoff chances would be better if they stayed in the Big 12. They chose to leave anyway. They made their own bed, and now they want to shove Virginia and BYU out of theirs.

Had Oklahoma and Texas stayed in the Big 12, there’s a good chance one (or both) would’ve reached the conference championship. Likewise, if any SEC or Big Ten team thinks the system is unfair, they are welcome to switch conferences. The ACC or Big 12 would gladly take them. Schools created these super conferences, and now they complain about being left out when they are the fifth or six ranked team in their conference.

To balance merit and fairness, the playoff field should be determined before championship weekend, with only the seeding determined afterward. I’ll also note that I’m fine with excluding the top non– power-conference team. The rest of Division I should stop waiting for scraps from the power four conferences and form their own playoff entirely.

If the committee could stop bowing to the SEC for five minutes, this is what the playoff should look like. And before the hate mail arrives, I agree that Duke shouldn’t be in or receive a bye. But if you don’t like it, change the ACC’s system or better yet beat them. They’re the champs. Plain and simple.

Proposed Playoff Field First-Round Byes: 1. Indiana (13-0) 2. Georgia (12-1) 3. Texas Tech (12-1) 4. Duke (8-5) First-Round Matchups: 5. Ohio State (12-1) vs. 12. Virginia (10-3) 6. Oregon (11-1) vs. 11. Alabama (10-3) 7. Ole Miss (11-1) vs. 10. Oklahoma (10-2) 8. Texas A&M (11-1) vs. 9. BYU (11-2) James Finck is a professor of American history at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. He can be reached at james.finck@swoknews.com.