The People Behind the College Football Playoff Selection Process

Inside the room with the college football luminaries who determine the playoff is a quiet crew of staffers who make the all-important rankings run smoothly.

GRAPEVINE, Texas — In preparation for the inaugural meeting of the College Football Playoff selection committee, Allison Doughty went on a mission. She wanted to make sure the committee’s meeting location, a board room overlooking the atrium at the Gaylord Texan Resort, was secure. After all, when it hosts the committee members’ deliberations, the room includes a giant projection screen and two flat-screen monitors that display the rankings and other pivotal information. Could people in the atrium see through the floor-to-ceiling windows…