Just a slight difference in playing in a winner-take-all playoff game versus playing in a glorified scrimmage to fill air time at ESPN, don't you think? Especially when, like you said, half of every team's players sit out to not hurt their draft status.
And let's not forget that the QB is the single most important position on the field. Mack - who is a backup too! - couldn't throw the ball into an ocean. UCF wasn't beating anyone that afternoon. Not LSU's backups. Not Vanderbilt's backups. Not Tulane's backups. Not La Tech's backups. They probably would still beat our backups though (our starters too). Once Milton was injured, UCF's 2018 playoff resume was injured too.
Point is the Committee has used the conference championship games as a de facto paper tiger weeding out process...until this year. No doubt that the selection criteria varies by candidate and, for whatever reason, Notre Dame still carries weight. It's funny though because each and every time they get thrust into these big stage games in the past several decades, they come up well short each and every time.
I know grandpappies will always love Notre Dame because they were good back in the day and it's always fun to reminisce about the good ol' days. But it's hard to justify their inclusion into the 2018 playoff. Most people knew full well they were going to get blown out by Clemson before the game even started. In fairness, they would have been blown out no matter who they played against. But the Committee must've felt that Notre Dame waited for their turn long enough and put them in a game that they were in way over their heads to satisfy a segment of the Old Money Club.
