The bigger-but-not-necessarily-better College Football Playoff is at hand, and already that essential component of college football – angst – has taken hold. Tonight’s game will be staged in South Bend, Ind. Snow is in the forecast. Never has snow fallen on a CFP game, though rain fell so hard on our fair city that the roof at Mercedes-Benz Stadium leaked the first time Georgia met Alabama for the title.
Georgia and Alabama would meet a second time for the title. Clemson and Alabama met three times for the championship. The history of the four-team CFP involved somebody playing Alabama, which cannot happen in Year 1 of the Dandy Dozen. This year’s committee chose SMU over Bama, a development met with the equanimity we expect from the Tuscaloosa-based institution of higher learning.
Athletic director Greg Byrne has implored Tide donors to dig deeper. Byrne’s charge: “You have heard examples of other teams using promises of million-dollar paydays to lure away our players or convince them not to come to Alabama. It is time for the Bama Nation to fight back.” Next thing you know, Bama will be losing to Vanderbilt!
Friday’s first game will pair teams from the Hoosier State. One is Notre Dame, the biggest name – apologies again, Alabama – in the sport. The other is Indiana, which has exceeded eight wins for the second time over the 125 years it has had a football team. It helped that the Hoosiers played nobody who’s any good except Ohio State. Speaking of which …
The Buckeyes will play host to Tennessee on Saturday. Some believe the team representing THE Ohio State University would be better off playing in any of the 49 other states, the fear being that Buckeye fans will root against the Buckeyes. Among major college coaches, Ryan Day’s winning percentage (.868) trails only Knute Rockne’s. But, after a fourth consecutive loss to Michigan, his constituency seems ready for, er, a new Day.
Of the eight teams playing this weekend, three hail from the Big Ten. Only – only, we emphasize – two are from the SEC. Whenever Greg Sankey’s conference finishes second in any contest involving counting, the sport’s most powerful poohbah is mightily miffed. How can It Just Mean More if you don’t have more?
James Franklin coaches Penn State. He has concerns. His backup quarterback is unavailable, having succumbed to the transfer portal’s siren song. Also, there’s thought that the Nittany Lions’ massive stadium will be unfilled. This being the weekend before Christmas and finals being done, students have headed home. Imagine the mileage SEC folks would get from empty seats at a “B1G” site.
The middle game of Saturday’s tripleheader is the most intriguing. Texas is a 12-point favorite, though Texas was also favored – twice – against Georgia, and we know how that went. And, as if on cue, the coach a heavy favorite least wants to see coming will lead Clemson into Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
Dabo Swinney lives to prove people wrong. (Ask “Tyler from Spartanburg.”) Over his first 10 playoff games, his Tigers were underdogs seven times. They won four of those games and were 5-2 against the spread. These Tigers weren’t supposed to beat SMU for the ACC championship, but they did. They aren’t expected to beat Texas, but they might.
Dabo Swinney: easy to mock, impossible to dismiss. “I’ve been taking shots for 16 years,” he said this week, “and we just keep winning.” Twice his Tigers beat Nick Saban’s Alabama for the CFP title. This latest bunch knocked Kalen DeBoer’s Bama from the 12-team field. It would be hilarious if Little Ol’ Clemson further infuriated the almighty SEC by bouncing bloated Texas from the bracket.
Not going to lie: I saw no need for an expanded playoff. I’d be surprised if any team other than Georgia and Oregon prevails. But will I watch Round 1? Yeah. And do I expect to be entertained? Oh, yeah.
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