ESPN Faces Allegations Amid College Football Playoff Controversy

The college football bowl season begins Saturday with the College Football Playoff selection drama still fresh. Fans can expect two bowl games and the Army–Navy rivalry among the day’s highlights. Meanwhile, the playoff field and related matchups dominate conversations across broadcasts and social feeds.

Saturday's schedule includes the Cricket Celebration Bowl and the LA Bowl. Those games lead into the CFP first round next weekend. The Heisman Trophy presentation and other season-end ceremonies add to this weekend’s attention. For many viewers, it’s all part of postseason football.

But off the field, ESPN is facing fresh allegations about its influence on the playoff process. Critics say the network’s role producing selection shows and amplifying media voices creates a conflict.

Brady Quinn, a Fox Sports analyst and former Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback, put it bluntly on the podcast "Stugotz and Company," via Awful Announcing: “This entire process is controlled by ESPN and Disney.” He called the system “a made-for-TV event.”

Quinn's alma mater missed the CFP in a controversial turn of events that saw the Miami Hurricanes take the final at-large spot by jumping the Irish in the final rankings. Quinn noted timing and criteria changes that seem to favor certain conferences, especially the SEC and ACC, which have rights agreements with ESPN.

He questioned how the committee, working inside an ESPN-produced ecosystem, can truly be independent. “As much as you know, I sit there and say, is there separation between the committee and ESPN? Sure,” Quinn said.

But Quinn urged skepticism, turning his attention to the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide, a team Notre Dame fans felt should have been punished by the committee for their 28-7 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game.

“But it also lends itself to the conspiracy theories that are out there because it’s hard to make a case for a team that went 2-2 in its last four, got absolutely drummed in the SEC Championship Game, and watched every other team conference championship weekend dropped that lost but them,” Quinn said.