Why the Group of Five Schools Matter

The stage is set for the College Football Playoffs. With this comes a lot of emotions, some good and some bad. Notable teams like Notre Dame and BYU just missed the cut to G5 teams Tulane and James Madison. So, what's the issue?

The Talent Disparity Between P4 and G5

One argument a lot of fans make is that the talent gap is too large for G5 and P4 teams to play each other. That the talent gap can make it "unfair" for the G5 team.

To this point, P4 does have a good case in this argument. When we compare the class of 2023 recruiting from Tulane to a school like USC, there is definitely an imbalance between the two. USC finished the recruiting class of 2023 with thirteen three-star recruits, six four-star recruits, and three five-star recruits. Of those five-stars included the #1 QB and WR of the class. Tulane's 2023 class, however, could only muster up nineteen three-star recruits and nothing higher.

There is absolutely a power imbalance when it comes to talent between the two groups, however, talent is never the be all, end all. This point is proven fruitless every year it feels like. Especially when the Green Wave beat USC in the Cotton Bowl that same year in 2023.

But let's look at P4 teams as well. When Georgia played Notre Dame in the playoffs last year, Notre Dame came out on top, 23-10. Notre Dame finished twelfth in recruiting that year, while Georgia finished second. Better yet, how about LSU, who finished fifth in recruiting that year, but failed to make it to the playoffs at all?

All of this is to say that talent is not everything in a sport like football, and it can only carry you so far before you need something more.

Some would say that this talent gap could even lead to blowout wins for these P4 schools. Paul Finebaum appeared on 'Get Up' on ESPN to say, "(Tulane and James Madison) are both (going to) lose by 25 to 45 points (and) they'll be unwatchable games and get them out of a playoff."

Blowouts Happen in Sports, Regardless of Who the Team is

If blowouts are the only concern in this case, then we shouldn't just look at G5 teams. Blowouts happen across all of the Power Four conferences.

Using last year's playoffs again as an example, #8 Ohio State and #9 Tennessee faced each other in the first round of the playoffs. The Buckeyes opened a can of butt-whooping that day, running up the score 42-17 in a commanding victory over the Vols.

Blowouts are not specific to G5 teams and can happen to anyone. It's not a strong argument, and it doesn't have the support under it to make the reasoning stand on its own two feet.

Cinderella Stories are Not Just Fun, But Good for the Sport

Everyone loves a Cinderella story. We can look at basketball alone to prove this point, as some of the most excitement in the NCAA tournament comes from when a low-seeded team makes a deep run into the tournament. The team might not make it to the Elite Eight or the Final Four, but seeing these low ranked teams give the highest ranked teams in the bracket a run for their money is always a fun watch.

Obviously we're not talking about basketball though, we're talking football here. What better place to start than Tulane? When Tulane was invited to the Cotton Bowl in 2022 to face the Trojans of Southern California, nobody thought the Wave could pull it off. According to ESPN, #10 USC was 1.5 point favorites over the #16 Green Wave.

Despite USC being the favorite with the talent they had being led by Heisman-winning QB Caleb Williams, Tulane found a way to claw their way back into the game, beating the Trojans 46-45.

The unlikely win found Tulane entering a new era for their Football program. The Wave have seen three-straight AAC Championship appearances since, catapulting the Wave to heights they haven't seen in almost a century.

Tulane is not the only G5 team to beat a high ranked P4 team either. In 2017, the twelfth-ranked, undefeated Black Knights of UCF played against seventh ranked Auburn. The Black Knights would stun the Tigers in an upset victory that saw the Tigers as 9.5 point favorites over the Knights.

G5 Teams Earned the Right to be Here, They Were Not Gifted a Spot

Looking at Tulane and James Madison, we have some pretty impressive resumes. Tulane is 3-1 against P4 teams, including a win over the ACC champion, Duke. Their one loss against P4 comes against the sixth ranked Rebels of Ole Miss, who they're scheduled to play in the first round on December 20th. The Wave also won their conference, beating the #1 ranked offense in the country in North Texas.

James Madison themselves rank second in total defense in the country, only trailing behind #2 ranked Ohio State, fifth in third-down defense, and sixth in total first downs allowed. The Dukes also went undefeated and won their conference handily.

Tulane and James Madison have done everything they could to earn a bid in the playoffs. If Notre Dame wanted to be in, the committee held the head-to-head matchup against Miami above everything else, which is what led to them being held out.

At the end of the day, if your team wants to make the playoffs, you have to win to be in.