With college football playoff committee in place, the real work begins The world in 1959 was introduced to the famed Mercury 7 astronauts, who led America's epic race to the moon. They were "The Right Stuff." The world on Wednesday was introduced to an inaugural 13 members of the College Football Playoff selection committee, charged to lead America's epic race out of BCS orbit. If they don't get it "right," they may get "stuffed." This group should in no way be confused with our space heroes of yesteryear even though the committee does include Mike Gould, a lieutenant general from the Air Force. We'll soon see, though, if getting to the moon was easier. The panel, starting next year, has the arduous task of picking the top four teams in college football. "There will be people upset," playoff Chairman Jeff Long guaranteed on an introductory conference call. The idea of a selection committee sounds promising because it replaces the demonized Bowl Championship Series. It's feasible to think 13 people can sit around a table and select four teams with less nuclear fallout than a system that used polls and computers to pick two teams. That system was so wacky that, in 2003, it left No. 1 USC out of the title game. Those who are worried this is just another scam designed to help the Southeastern Conference win national titles have no reason to be worried ... oh, wait. The BCS was created and implemented by former SEC commissioner Roy Kramer and the standings, for years, were run out of the league office in Birmingham, Ala. The new system will be chaired by Long, the athletic director at SEC-member Arkansas. Also on the committee is Archie Manning, a Mississippi grad who sent one of his quarterback sons to Ole Miss and the other to Tennessee. "I can do it," Archie said Wednesday when asked if he can be impartial. The SEC is thrilled because the new system allows all four playoff schools to be from the same league (the BCS permitted only two schools from each conference in the major bowls). The SEC, with a record eight schools in this week's Associated Press poll, must be licking its chops for 2014-15. In truth, College Football Playoff Executive Bill Hancock and the commissioners assembled a stellar panel of distinguished scholars and citizens. The committee includes Athletic Directors Pat Haden (USC), Barry Alvarez (Wisconsin), Oliver Luck (West Virginia), Long (Arkansas) and Dan Radakovich (Clemson).