Strength of schedule still 'key' for College Football Playoff selection, Richard Clark says

College Football Playoff executive director Richard Clark reminds us that strength of schedule is still a highly-valuable criteria for the selection committee and its rankings.

Strength of schedule is still crucial when it comes to College Football Playoff selection, says CFP director Richard M. Clark. / USA Today Sports | Imagn

Lieutenant General Richard M. Clark steps into his role as College Football Playoff executive director this season, and he was quick to reiterate the importance the selection committee will place on a team's strength of schedule when considering it in their official rankings.

"The schedule is always a key criteria for the committee and it's written into the protocol," Clark said in comments at Big Ten Media Days.

"I mean, strength, the schedule, obviously record, head to head competitions. There's so many things that go into this. But what we're trying not to do is tie the hands of the committee members and make it so prescriptive on how they use the different data that they have and incorporate that into their ranking.

Clark added: "But what we do is emphasize that things like strength of schedule are very important. That it is among the top things that they have to take into consideration... It's going to be critical for them to take that into account."

College Football Playoff selectors create the top 25 rankings based on their evaluation of teams' performance on the field, employing several metrics to select the best teams, including: head-to-head game results, results against other ranked teams, results against common opponents, and particularly conference championships.

But that process has undergone plenty of criticism in its time, especially last season, when the selection committee snubbed an undefeated, ACC champion Florida State from the semifinal.

"I sat in on three of the selection committee meetings last year, and I will say that that team operates with great sophistication," Clark said.

"There's a lot of discussion there. And I think that they take into account the things that are most important, especially as we go into some of the changes now. They're going to recognize that these changes are happening and that strength of schedule is going to matter. So there's science to this. There's art to this."

More from College Football HQ On SI

College football strength of schedule rankings for 2024 season

College football teams that benefit from 12-team expanded playoff

More CFP expansion coming? What you need to know

Phil Steele predicts AP preseason college football rankings

College Football Playoff schedule for 2024-25 set

Ranking 10 Group of Five teams with best College Football Playoff hopes

Ranking college football's 12 most likely playoff teams

College football's 10 likely first-time CFP teams in 2024

-

More college football from SI: Top 25 Rankings | Schedule | Teams

Follow College Football HQ: Bookmark | Rankings | Picks