CFP notified FBI over threats after FSU exclusion
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Heather Dinich, ESPN Senior Writer
HOUSTON, Texas — Executive director Bill Hancock said the College Football Playoff has contacted the FBI in response to threats he said were directed at himself, CFP staff members and selection committee members following this year’s controversial exclusion of undefeated ACC champion Florida State.
Hancock declined to say specifically what the CFP has done to protect committee members and staff, but said it has “taken steps” since Selection Day on Dec. 3.
“We’ve stayed ahead of it,” Hancock said following the CFP’s annual meeting prior to Monday night’s CFP National Championship Presented by AT&T between No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Washington. “We’ve been in contact with the FBI just to say, ‘We got this. We got a threat on my house. We want you to know about it and tell us what should we do about it?’ Most of us did.”
After excluding the first undefeated Power 5 champion in the CFP era, Hancock said some committee and staff members received threats at their homes and offices, and all of them received “the disgusting, profanity-laced emails and phone calls.”
“Every NCAA sports committee receives criticism from the teams who were left out,” Hancock said, “I’ve been doing this 35 years. I’ve seen it and I understand those fans, but this one was absolutely over the top and inappropriate. In my 35 years, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Hancock said he doesn’t think this will deter people from volunteering to join the 13-member committee in the future. The CFP will have to replace seven people who rotate off the group this year.
“This is the most prestigious sports committee in the NCAA structure,” Hancock. “It’s an honor to be a part of it, and moreso it’s an honor to give something back to the game that you love. I get that every time I call a prospective new member — ‘Yes, I love this game and want to give something back to it.'”
Mississippi State president Mark Keenum, who is the chair of the CFP’s board of managers, said he thought the committee got it right. The committee chose No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Texas and No. 4 Alabama.
Texas and Alabama were both one-loss conference champions ranked ahead of the Seminoles, and both lost in their respective CFP semifinals.
“They don’t have to do this, and they followed their process to a ‘T,’ and I do believe they got it right,” said Keenum, who leads the group of 11 presidents and chancellors who control the CFP. “We have the best four teams in the playoff, and as evidenced tonight, we have the best two teams playing for the national championship.
“Is there disappointment when your team doesn’t make it into the playoff? Absolutely, and I feel for them, but to castigate or criticize or threaten people that were just doing their job, the process and following it, I thought was very unfair.”
While no changes were made on Monday to how the CFP committee selects the top teams, the group did rubber-stamp the FBS commissioners’ decision to require a conference has eight members in order to compete for a league title and earn an automatic bid in the new 12-team format. The decision mirrors the NCAA bylaw of what constitutes a conference, and was enacted at the CFP level to address Oregon State and Washington State.
“That’s based on an NCAA description,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said. “There’s a bit of common sense. I don’t think anybody sits there and says a two-member league constitutes a conference. It’s not about Power 5. That’s a colloquial that implies to the autonomy allocation and observations over time about strength.”
The expanded field, which begins this fall, will reward the highest-ranked conference champions, which is eventually expected to be the five highest-ranked league winners and the next seven-highest ranked teams. The board did not vote on the proposed 5+7 model on Monday, though, because the Pac-12 asked for more time while it continues to sort out its legal issues.
Washington State president Kirk Schulz represents the Pac-12 on the CFP board, and only Washington State and Oregon State remain in the conference after sweeping realignment.
“I would be shocked if we do not have a 5-7 format for this coming playoff,” Keenum said. “I just think out of respect for our colleague and the Pac-12, they asked for a bit more time for us to consider it. We as a board thought that was a reasonable request and granted that.”
In November, the commissioners were unanimous in their support for 5+7, but Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff abstained from voting. Oregon State and Washington State have agreed to a one-year scheduling arrangement with the Mountain West Conference that will allow them to compete for the national title in a role similar to an independent like Notre Dame. Those schools cannot compete for a conference title.
“It’s a great partnership,” Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said. “They needed to retain their independence in order to sort out the Pac-12. We really got two additional games that will bring a really good strength of schedule to our teams.”
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Greg Wyshynski
NHL teams don’t necessarily need a goaltender that can drag them to the Stanley Cup, mostly because those types of netminders are unicorns. What they need is a goalie that can make a save at a critical time; and, perhaps most of all, not lose a game for the team in front of them.
As the NHL playoff picture comes into focus, so does the quality of every team’s most important position. Will their goaltending be the foundation for a playoff berth and postseason run? Or is it the fatal flaw in their designs on the Stanley Cup?
The NHL Bubble Watch is our monthly check-in on the Stanley Cup playoff races using playoff probabilities and points projections from Stathletes for all 32 teams. This month, we’re also giving each contending team a playoff quality goaltending rating based on the classic Consumer Reports review standards: Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.
We also reveal which teams shouldn’t worry about any of this because they’re lottery-bound already.
But first, a look at the projected playoff bracket:
Ohio State‘s 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in Monday night’s College Football Playoff National Championship game was the most-watched game of the season. However, it was a double-digit drop in viewers from last year.
ESPN announced Wednesday that the Buckeyes’ second national championship in the CFP era averaged 22.1 million viewers. It was the most-watched, non-NFL sporting event over the past year, but a 12% drop from the 25 million who tuned in for Michigan’s 34-13 victory over Washington in 2024.
It was the third-lowest audience of the 11 CFP title games, with all three occurring in the past five years. The audience peaked at 26.1 million viewers during the second quarter (8:30 to 8:45 p.m. ET) when the score was tied at 7.
Since Alabama’s 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia in 2018, the past seven title games have had an average margin of victory of 25.4 points. Ohio State had a 31-7 lead midway through the third quarter before Notre Dame rallied to get within one possession with five minutes remaining in the fourth.
Georgia’s 65-7 rout of TCU in 2023 was the least-viewed title game (17.2 million) followed by Alabama’s 52-24 win over Ohio State in 2021 (18.7 million). The first title game in 2015 — the Buckeyes’ 42-20 victory over Oregon — remains the most-watched college football game by viewers in the CFP era, according to Nielsen at 33.9 million.
This was the first year of the 12-team field. The first round averaged 10.6 million viewers with the quarterfinals at 16.9 million. The semifinals averaged 19.2 million, a 17% decline from last year. Both semifinal games in 2024 though were played on Jan. 1. Michigan’s OT victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl drew a bigger audience (27.7 million) than the Wolverines’ win in the title game.
CFP games ended up being nine of the 10 most-viewed this season. Georgia’s OT win over Texas in the SEC championship on ABC/ESPN was sixth at 16.6 million.
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Ben Baby
CINCINNATI — A familiar face is headed back to the Cincinnati Bengals.
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden is expected to join the Bengals in the same role, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday. The news comes two days after the Fighting Irish lost to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.
Golden, 55, spent the past three seasons as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. He replaces Lou Anarumo, who held the post for the past six seasons before he was fired after the Bengals missed the postseason.
This will be Golden’s second stint on Zac Taylor’s coaching staff. Before taking the job at Notre Dame, he was Cincinnati’s linebackers coach during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. During those years, Golden played an integral role in leading a defense that helped the Bengals reach the Super Bowl for the first time in 33 years.
The Fighting Irish’s defense was a major reason why Notre Dame was a win away from its first national championship since 1988. Entering the CFP final against the Buckeyes, Notre Dame’s defense ranked fourth among Power 4 teams in points allowed per drive (1.21), according to ESPN Research.
He will be tasked with leading a Bengals defense that looks vastly different from just a couple of years ago. Staples from that Super Bowl team, including safety Jessie Bates III and defensive tackle DJ Reader, departed in free agency in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Last season, Anarumo was tasked with balancing a group that featured aging veterans, injuries at key positions and inexperience at others.
Eventually, the defense figured things out during the Bengals’ five-game winning streak to close the regular season. But with Cincinnati missing the postseason for a second straight year, Taylor opted for a staff shake-up. Along with Anarumo, offensive line coach Frank Pollack and defensive line coach Marion Hobby were among those who were not retained.
On Monday, Cincinnati announced Scott Peters as Pollack’s replacement and Michael McCarthy as the assistant offensive line coach. Later in the day, Anarumo was hired as the Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator.
The Bengals will need to improve a unit that finished near the bottom of the league in several key categories. Last season, Cincinnati was 26th in points allowed per drive, 30th in defensive red zone efficiency and 30th in first downs allowed per game, according to ESPN Research.
Cincinnati is trying to build around star quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase as the team looks to end a two-year playoff drought. Burrow was named to his second Pro Bowl following a career year. Chase made his fourth Pro Bowl in as many NFL seasons and joined defensive end Trey Hendrickson as the team’s first All-Pro selections since 2015.
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