One year later, as Rice heads into her second season on the selection committee, her role and influence on the group remains somewhat of a mystery to fans and coaches outside of the meeting room. Why is Condoleezza Rice on the College Football Playoff selection committee? Stanford coach David Shaw has heard the warning from Rice more than once."If she ever sees us play a prevent defense," he said, "she's going to be in my office. She wants to be aggressive." (Maybe Stanford should think about blitzing more.)The longtime friends were chatting one day early in Shaw's career, when Rice somehow steered the conversation toward Stanford's tight ends.Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama) is the 66th United States Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President George W. She succeeded Colin Powell on January 26, 2005, after his resignation.

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“She wants them to feel like they can talk to her, because that’s the feeling here at Stanford,” Shaw said.

When Condoleezza Rice was named to the first College Football Playoff selection committee there was a lot of silly criticism that she wasn't qualified because she had never played football.

One ESPN college football analyst actually went so far as to say women don't belong on the committee at all.

But based on how much of Rice's life is dedicated to the sport now, one would be hard-pressed to find anybody else on the panel — or any voter in one of the traditional college football polls for that matter — who is putting more time into deciding which are the best teams in the country.