From the moment the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was revealed, a debate raged over who was and wasn’t included in the field.

Should SMU, despite a loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game, have earned the final at-large berth over Alabama? Was Indiana, even with a gaudy 11-1 record, worthy of a spot despite what ended up being a softer-than-expected schedule in the Big Ten?

The start of playoff games this week didn’t end those arguments. If anything, it only intensified them.

REQUIRED READING: Indiana’s loss to Notre Dame was College Football Playoff mistake that can’t happen again

The Hoosiers and Mustangs both suffered double-digit, largely lopsided road losses in the first round of the playoff. On Friday night, No. 10 seed Indiana fell to No. 7 seed Notre Dame 27-17 in a game it trailed by 24 with two minutes remaining while No. 11 seed SMU was drubbed by No. 6 Penn State 38-10 Saturday afternoon.

People from across the country who follow the sport — broadcasters, writers, analysts and even coaches — reacted to the results, with some using them as a justification for their belief that the playoff selection committee made mistakes on who it allowed in the field. Many of the loudest complaints came from the SEC, which had the second-most teams in the field, with three, but had three three-loss teams — Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina — among the first teams left out of the playoff.

Here’s a sampling of the reaction to Indiana and SMU’s CFP losses:

REQUIRED READING: College Football Playoff first-round picks, predictions. Who advances to quarterfinals?

Social media reacts to Indiana, SMU College Football Playoff losses

Indiana and SMU losing their College Football Playoff games by a combined 38 points in dominant fashion raised a variety of opinions, with some believing it to be an indictment of the playoff committee for selecting the Hoosiers and Mustangs for the final two at-large spots.

Others, though, countered with an argument that Indiana and SMU had pieced together playoff-worthy resumes and deserved to make the field, regardless of how they fared in their games this week.

Lane Kiffin trolls CFP committee

The loudest, or at least most prominent, voice piling on Indiana and SMU’s struggles was Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin, whose squad was the third team left out of the playoff.

Many, however, rightfully pointed out that Kiffin’s 9-3 Rebels team could have made the playoff had it simply won at home against a 4-8 Kentucky team that managed only one victory in SEC play this season.

“Don’t write a check with your mouth that your ass can’t cash.”

My mom once told me that growing up. Can’t quite remember why. Somebody should probably tell that to Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti, who did a lot of talking all season long just to get demoralized in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Way back when Cignetti got hired in November 2023 after a successful run with James Madison University, he was asked about how he plans on getting recruits to come to an Indiana program that appeared to be rebuilding.

“Google me,” Cignetti said. “I win.”

Cignetti backed that statement up. He landed starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke in December and running backs Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton. 

The season could not have started any better for Cignetti’s Hoosiers, as their unbeaten 10-0 record had the attention of the nation before getting curb stomped 38-15 by Ohio State.

Before his first real test against the Buckeyes, Cignetti said, “Ohio State sucks,” at halftime of an Indiana basketball game. Bulletin board material? Sure seemed that was as Ohio State quarterback Will Howard went viral for “putting out the cig” celebration after thrashing the Hoosiers in Columbus.

That should have been Cignetti’s first lesson: to keep his yap shut. He did not learn.

Indiana bounced back from that loss with a 66-0 rout of the Purdue Boilermakers. Despite Purdue’s hapless 1-11 record, that victory put the wind right back in Cignetti’s sails before their College Football Playoff matchup with Notre Dame. 

“We don’t just beat top 25 teams, we beat the shit out of them.”

That’s what Cignetti actually said on the set of ESPN’s College Game Day just hours before the Hoosiers kicked off with the Fighting Irish. It’s important to note that despite Cignetti’s impressive 11-1 record in his first year coaching Indiana, literally none of those victories came against Top 25 teams.

To make things even more hilarious, No. 5 Notre Dame completely embarrassed Indiana in a game where the Hoosiers looked like they did not belong on that same stage.

It’s a friendly reminder for the new coach of Indiana to just keep his mouth shut. Every time he opened it this year, he paid the price. It’s part of what made Indiana a story for a little while, but when the lights were the brightest, Cignetti’s team wasn’t as bold as his comments to the media.

That’s never a good thing.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Indiana suffered a season-ending 27-17 loss at Notre Dame Friday in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Here’s everything Indiana defensive lineman James Carpenter and linebackers Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker said in their postgame press conference.

On Jeremiyah Love’s 98-yard touchdown run… 

Fisher: “Just a misfit on the front seven really. We knew what we were going to get. We played it a little too aggressive. Some guys jumped out of their gaps. I’ll take the fall for that one. We have to play our gaps better and play more disciplined.” 

On his late hit penalty, blocked field goal and emotions in the second half…

Carpenter: “It was disappointing. Obviously I can’t be doing that. It was full speed, kind of bang, bang play. But as a senior leader I can’t be doing that. But this team, we don’t quit. That’s what we’re built on. And, yeah, I mean, we’re going to fight until the end.”

On Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard’s ability to keep plays alive…

Carpenter: “One of our main focuses going into this game was to limit him on the ground. When the play breaks down we know he can get out. He’s super athletic and super fast. It’s a big part of his game. We didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight. You really have to be sound when it comes to that. It’s on the front four, just good lanes, good pass rush lanes, stuff like that. And we just didn’t do a good enough job of that tonight.”

On if Indiana set the foundation for a better future…

Fisher: “Yeah, for sure. You look at the track that Indiana football is on previously before we got here. Then you look now, it’s kind of a full 180. I think we’ve laid a foundation of what Indiana football can be and what it is now, and I expect to be right back here next year.”

On how much of Indiana’s defensive identity can be retained next season when they’re gone…

Walker: “100 percent. That’s the image of the defense being fast, physical, relentless. When me and James are leaving, we still have Aiden Fisher and Mikail Kamara. We still have leaders on this team that’s been with the system. It will still keep going. We’re not letting up.”

Carpenter: “He said it well. It’s kind of our identity of the defense, play fast, get up field, make plays in the backfield. That’s kind of what this defense is built on, and I know Coach Haines will keep that going.”

On what separates Notre Dame and Ohio State from Indiana…

Fisher: “Definitely two great teams. They definitely played a great football game today, as did Ohio State when we played them. I would just say we made a lot of critical errors that was hard to play two teams – playing against yourself and playing against the opposing team. A lot of things I think we could control and we kind of let it affect us a lot. Just looking back on it, just two great teams. I’m not really going to compare them. But they’ll both be making a run here in the playoffs. So good for them. They deserved to win today. They played a better game today than we did.”

On what he’ll remember about this season and what people should remember about this team…

Carpenter: “I could go on and on for that question. Coming into this year, no one thought we’d be here. A lot of doubters, a lot of haters. For us to kind of make this run, get to this point, it’s been surreal. It’s been unbelievable. Something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. These guys up here, the rest of the guys on the team, they’ll be at my wedding, brothers for life. That’s the kind of bond we have. And this program is only going up. Coach Cig is just getting started here. He wins. He’s going to get it done and this program’s on the right track.” 

On why Indiana was successful defensively this year and how they can maintain that…

Fisher: “First, you start with the scheme. We had a really good scheme. Coach Haines puts us in, he puts us in positions to succeed. We’re a fast defense. A lot of people look at our defense, you know, we’re not the biggest guys. But we do have speed, which kind of combats a lot of the things that these offenses do. And then moving forward, I would just say we’ve got to stay disciplined. You look at the two losses we had last year, we’re just getting outleveraged in angles. One guy just trying to do a little too much and he doesn’t need to. We got to this point just being ourselves and playing the way that we play, and in these big games you can’t defer from that, you’ve got to just play your game and just be disciplined in the way you play, and just things like that, just the little things that ultimately amounted to the big things tonight.”