GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Security guards took shifts on Saturday in the small entryway outside of the College Football Playoff's sprawling meeting space on the fourth floor of the Gaylord Texan Resort. Behind the closed doors, the 13 committee members lounged on leather chairs throughout the four adjoining rooms stocked with TVs, snacks and four kinds of chicken wings as the conference championship games unfolded from start to finish.
While their private, sequestered approach to picking the four best teams hasn't changed over the past six seasons, their biggest debate of the year was no secret -- it's been going on all season.