The first college football playoff rankings were released last night, and the teams were placed thusly, please.
FUGA 8-0
Bama 7-1
Mich. State 8-0
Oregon 7-1
Ohio State 7-1
Cincinnati 8-0
Michigan 7-1
Oklahoma 9-0
Wake 8-0
Notre Dame 7-1
It’s a certainty that it will look nothing like this in 3-4 weeks. tOSU has to play both Michigan State and Michigan. Bama comes to Auburn, and if they get past us, will play Fuck Georgia in the SECCG. A ton of football left to be played and it will all shake out. However, lemme’ bitch about something for a minute. Not that I’ve ever griped about anything before, but this just sticks in my craw. Whatever a craw is.
Once again, I’m reminded that with the exception of that stint where the right to play for the championship was decided by a computer program, that entitlement is based strictly on the eye test. Whether it was the AP, UPI, Coaches Poll, or even the selection committee putting out this ranking, college football is the only sport I can think of in the entire universe, yeah, I’m talking galaxies here, where teams are ranked solely on opinion. At least ranked with respect to the “playoffs”. You have roughly 130 D-1 teams, and a bunch of people will get together in a room and decide which 4 get a shot at the ring. They can give us all the BS they want about the “criteria” they use, but that’s just what it is, bullshit. It’s all determined by who they think is better.
So, the case for Cincinnati. No, maybe the case for a 12 team playoff. Let me say first off, I have zero dog in the fight. I can tell you two things about the Bearcats. Their Head Coach is Luke Fickell, and their QB is Desmond Ridder. Well, maybe more than two. I can tell you they’re undefeated. I can tell you they went on the road against top 10 Notre Dame, gave them their only loss, and controlled that game from the outset. I can tell you they were the talk of college football until a lackluster last couple of games. Cincinnati may lose the next two games and fade into the sunset. They may win out by an average of 30 point a game. Either way, they ain’t sniffing of the college playoff. Why? Because they play in a “Group of 5” conference. I get it.
I recall Dan Patrick saying last season, when Cincy was making a similar incredible run, that nobody is saying they’re better than Alabama or Clemson or Ohio State. I’m just saying, give them a chance. I agree, and a 12 team playoff does just that. Every other sport on the planet (Okay, I’ve narrowed it back down to Earth) does just that. From high school, to college and throughout all professional sports, if you have a good season, you get a chance. Not college football. I’ve heard countless people say, “Nobody wants to see Cincinnati make the playoffs and get their doors blown in by 30”. Let me throw out a few scores. Okay, more than a few.
59-20
37-17
38-0
24-7
31-0
30-3
63-28
31-14
49-28
42-20
44-16
42-25
52-24
Any of those look familiar? Not random games from this past weekend. These are all random scores of games from the college football playoffs since they started in 2014-2015. These are the “elite” teams playing each other. All shitty, dog ass, mismatch games. Let me give you another score. 24-21. That would be the final of the Cincinnati/FUGA Sugar Bowl last season, that was won on a last second field goal. Oh, but it was a meaningless Bowl game. FUGA wasn’t even trying. Maybe they should have been. I know one thing they were doing….fighting for their lives.
Again, I’m not saying Cincinnati is the shizznit. They may lose out. Just saying that right now, they’re another prime example of why, until we really expand the playoffs, we’ll never get stories like Coastal Carolina winning the College World Series. Auburn or Butler or George Mason making the Final 4. Villanova or NC State pulling off miracle upsets. That’s what happens when you leave it up to a select few getting a chance to select a few based solely on their opinions.
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