College Football Playoff chairman says committee has discussed the start time of Stanford's loss to Northwestern

By foxsports
Published

Much has been made of the 9 a.m. kickoff time in Stanford's 16-6 season-opening loss to Northwestern. 

While it's not an excuse for the performance, College Football Playoff chairman Jeff Long said on Tuesday night that the committee has "absolutely" factored the game's start time into how it views Stanford and it's only loss. 

The Cardinal (8-1, 7-0) jumped from No. 11 to No. 7 in the second installment of the College Football Playoff rankings following its 42-10 victory over Colorado.

Long said that the committee "would not be doing our due diligence" if it did not take into consideration the start time of Stanford's loss. 

Stanford has three remaining games this season: Oregon, California and No. 4 Notre Dame.