Dave Portnoy slams ‘rigged’ College Football Playoff as radical shakeup proposed

Dec 7, 2025 - 22:15

Not everyone was going to be happy.

The final College Football Playoff rankings are out, and the most controversial decision was the selection committee leaving Notre Dame out.

The College Football Playoff (CFP) Championship trophy sits on display — The playoffs will begin in two weeks

Instead, both Alabama and Miami received the last two at-large berths.

No, the SEC didn’t get seven teams in, as commissioner Greg Sankey had hoped, but the Crimson Tide still made the field — a result he can certainly count as a win.

Fighting Irish fans were upset, but they weren’t the only ones. Dave Portnoy was furious.

And no, not because the Barstool founder is a Notre Dame homer (quite the opposite), but because BYU also got left out.

Noted Michigan alum and superfan Portnoy hitched his wagon to BYU making a playoff run once it became clear his Wolverines wouldn’t make it.

He put his money where his mouth was, and bet over 50 grand total on BYU winning the Big 12 championship and national championship.

Texas Tech blew out the Cougars 34–7, a loss that ultimately kept BYU out of the playoff.

Portnoy wasn’t happy that BYU was punished for losing its conference championship while Alabama, which lost to Georgia in the SEC title game, still got in.

Portnoy posted this on X before the final rankings came out.

“You 100% should not be penalized for earning the right to play an extra championship game,” Portnoy said.

ATLANTA, GA - DECEMBER 06: Head coach Kalen DeBoer of the Alabama Crimson Tide talks to quarterback Ty Simpson #15 of the Alabama Crimson Tide during the SEC Championship Game between the Georgia Bulldogs and the Alabama Crimson Tide on December 06, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. (Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) — Alabama was one of the last teams in

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - DECEMBER 6: General photo head coach Kalani Sitake of the BYU Cougars before the Big 12 Championship between the Texas Tech and the BYU Cougars at AT&T Stadium on December 6, 2025 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Aric Becker/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images) — BYU was on the wrong side of the bubble

“It’s so dumb. You reward teams who had inferior season. Once the regular season ends that should be it. That means BYU and Bama are in. Otherwise teams should decline playing those games.”

Instead, Alabama got in, and BYU was left at home.

“Of course Bama stayed. The committee rigged it last week for em,” Portnoy posted in a series of tweets.

“I have no sympathy for ND. Join a conference bro. The team that got screwed is BYU as I knew they would. Conference title game doesn’t matter for Bama, just BYU. We knew it wouldn’t make sense and it doesn’t make sense.“

Portnoy then proposed that college football should eliminate the committee entirely and simply take the top 12 teams from the AP Poll.

BYU was twelfth in the latest AP Poll, and would have been in under Portnoy’s new system.

Instead, they will now be watching from the couch like the rest of us.

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