Robert Griffin III Takes Other Side Of College Football Playoff Argument

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Former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III is taking the opposite side of the current College Football Playoff argument right now.

RGIII, who starred collegiately at Baylor, was watching the College Football Playoff first round games on Saturday with the rest of us. It wasn't much of a show, though. Miami topped Texas A&M in a close one, while Ole Miss and Oregon blew out Tulane and James Madison, respectively.

Many have been arguing that Tulane and James Madison, Group of 5 schools, were not deserving of College Football Playoff bids. They certainly didn't play like it on Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening.

But RGIII, the former star NFL quarterback turned broadcaster, is taking the opposite side of that argument.

Griffin believes that Tulane and James Madison both earned their spots in the College Football Playoff – along with their blowouts.

RGIII speaks out on social media

The former NFL star took the opposite side of the common argument.

"The Results of the JMU and Tulane game don’t matter,” Griffin wrote on X. “They earned their way into the College Football Playoff and earned their butt whopping like: Alabama lost 44-16 to Clemson-2019, Oklahoma lost 63-28 to LSU-2019, OSU lost 31-0 to Clemson-2016, OSU lost 52-24 to Alabama-2021.”

Josh Pate, meanwhile, made a similar argument with a different take.

“One of the worst stances you can take about the G5 view is, ‘I don’t think G5 team should be in cause they can’t compete in the Playoff. I don’t think JMU should be in because they’re going to get blown out by Oregon,'” said Pate. “It leaves this really obvious hole in your theory, and that is, what happens if they go out there and it’s a competitive game in the fourth quarter? Your argument is shot. That shouldn’t be your argument.

“Here’s my argument. I don’t think G5 teams should be in the Playoff because they don’t meet the minimum baseline of struggle during the regular season that it should take to merit playoff inclusion. I was looking at the schedule last night. I took JMU, and I took Oklahoma, and I just looked at our power ratings. They’re going to be similar with everyone’s power rating. JMU played no teams power-rated Top 30. They played one team power-rated Top 50, and they lost to them by 14 points. That’s Louisville. Oklahoma played eight teams power-rated in the Top 30. They’re not playing the same sport.

“My argument about the G5 would be the same whether JMU gets beat 50 to nothing or whether they legit go and upset Oregon. I don’t judge you based on what I think you would be capable of. I judge you based on what I think you earned. My very simple stance on G5 is the strength of schedule that they play does not warrant inclusion into the playoff because you’re not playing the same caliber of football.”

Where do you stand?

This story was originally published by The Spun on Dec 21, 2025, where it first appeared in the Sports Media section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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