Penn State fans, frustrated by another loss to Ohio State, are likely to lighten up when they realize the Nittany Lions are still in line for a playoff berth. (Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch-USA Today Network)
Is the new Cheaper-By-the-Dozen playoff a trick or a treat for the regular season?
Depends on whether you liked the tightrope walk of the past or prefer the second chances this world of the future provides.
This uncharted college-football experience is exactly why I remain skeptical of the 12-team Big Box playoff. Well, one of the reasons why, anyway.
Ranked teams were dropping like prices at Walmart on the Saturday after Halloween. Five Top-25 schools tumbled against unranked teams on the recently concluded Flummoxed Saturday. Texas A&M, Clemson, Iowa State, Kansas State and Illinois were reduced for clearance. All but Illinois were in the hunt for playoff berths—and still might be.
And while Georgia, Tennessee and Miami survived after trailing at halftime, they all showed that this season’s unwieldy new playoff could be chaotic fun—if you like that sort of thing.
In the marquee matchup of top-five teams, Ohio State slammed the door on Penn State, leaving James Franklin 1-899 against Top 25 teams since he arrived in Happy Valley. Actually, he’s only 1-13, but it sure seems like 900 games to disappointed Nittany Lions fans.
Meanwhile, the Buckeyes, who were catching heat a week ago, even had their ordinarily clenched coach, Ryan Day, beaming after their tough 20-13 win. Ohio State’s offensive line, maligned after the Buckeyes rushed for only 64 yards against Nebraska, powered the Buckeyes to 176 rushing yards. The defensive line stuffed Penn State with a stout goal-line stand, denying Franklin’s squad a potential game-tying touchdown. And the Buckeyes defensie played tough after spotting Penn State an early 10-0 lead.
A week after looking very shaky, the Buckeyes looked like a very serious threat to go all the way. Although quarterback Will Howard still has doubters who raise legitimate concerns.
The real takeaway: The expanded playoff opens the door to a very unexpected national champion.
Which would be very different for College Football, which always advertised that it had the most meaningful regular season.
Everybody hated the two-team BCS, where cold-blooded computers and biased voters chose the combatants and left out that deserving third school. But that duo/trio had earned the right to be selected/scorned—by having stellar regular seasons.
The flaw in the four-team College Football Playoff was that it emphasized the “best teams,’’ instead of the “the teams that had the best seasons.’’ That often led to too many SEC teams, and occasionally too many Big Ten teams.
That diminished the regular season. And made hash out of my contention that the best way to preserve the magic of the regular season is to give conference champions the playoff berths. That way, a minimum number of teams are selected by committees/voters/computers, rather than earning their spots on the field.
Now comes the 12-Headed Monster, which is destined to be the Big Ten/SEC Invitational.
That has some appeal, if you’re one of The Haves.
No less than four Big Ten teams—Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State and Indiana—are in the discussion for post-season berths.
It’s pretty much the same in the SEC, where Georgia, Texas, Texas A&M, Tennessee, LSU and Alabama all remain in the hunt for up to four berths in this pro-style playoff.
It’s not all gloom, though. There are now a jumbo-sized number of games that will pare the number of teams from Costco and Sam’s Club—oops, the Big Ten and SEC.
There are Georgia-Tennessee and Alabama-LSU this Saturday. on Nov. 9. And Texas and Texas A&M square off on Nov. 30. Those matchups will do some whittling. And spoiler candidates abound in the SEC.
In the Big Ten, only one head-to-head meeting remains between contenders. On Nov. 23, Indiana will travel to Ohio State. That will show whether the Hoosiers, who have been crushing a slate of lightweights, have the right stuff. Then again, if Indiana loses a tight game at Ohio State, would the Big Box committee dare to leave out the one-loss Hoosiers?
Next to Cinderella, Hoosiers is the ultimate Cinderella movie.
My best guess: Four Big Tens. Three or Four SEC teams. The ACC and Big 12 champions. A Notre Dame here. A Boise State there.
If you’re a runner-up in the ACC, Big 12 or anywhere else, Good Luck with that.
Mom-and-pop stores cannot compete with the Big Box Duo.
