75 days and counting: Sports stars celebrate as College Football Playoff championship approaches

View Photos

Jake Dean

Former University of Texas football coach Mack Brown said it's likely that many SEC teams will knock each other out of contention with several more weeks of games left in the season.

13 photos

Home of the Day

Sponsor Listing

Korri Kezar

Staff Writer- Dallas Business Journal

Email  |  LinkedIn  |  Twitter

With the first national College Football Playoff championship game only 75 days away, DFW's sports royalty partied in style – and anticipation – Wednesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington where the inaugural game will be played.

ESPN commentator Chris Cotter was joined by fellow commentator and former University of Texas football coach Mack Brown, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock and Cotton Bowl President Tommy Bain for a discussion of the first ranking of the CFP's top 25 football teams.

The list was released Tuesday night and includes games played through Saturday. The top four teams in the season's final ranking enter the first-ever playoff to determine a national champion.

Cotter was quick to note that most of the schools making the top 10 are from the Southeastern Conference. Three of the top five, including top-ranked Mississippi State, are from the SEC. Fort Worth's Texas Christian University and Kansas State University are the only Big 12 representatives in the top 10.

It's a fact that annoys some Texas college football fans, Cotter noted.

But Brown cautioned against putting too much stock in the first list. SEC teams could end up knocking each other out as they go head-to-head in coming weeks. This weekend's matchup between Ole Miss and Auburn, for example, could eliminate one of the teams from contention.

"By Monday morning, all of these will change," Brown commented.

Jones expressed excitement that the first college championship game would be played at the home of the Cowboys.

"Put me in, coach, I'm hot," he told the crowd.

Korri covers banking, finance and nonprofits for the Dallas Business Journal. Subscribe to our email newsletters.