Fab Final Four Shows That Expanded Playoff Will Be a Whole New Ballgame
Be careful what you wish for, College Football Edition. . .
From a drama standpoint, the two semi-finals were top-notch. . . Great theater. . . Great fun.
In a sport that has it all, this pair of showdowns was as good as it gets.
But if ever there was a year where the old way of matching the two best season-long teams would have been a no-brainer, this was it. It would have been a Georgia-Michigan championship game.
Instead, the four-team playoff came within one botched field goal of producing a TCU-Ohio State championship game.
All credit to the Horned Frogs, a superior team from a supposedly lesser conference that outplayed mighty Michigan 51-45. And all condolences to the Buckeyes, who let a shocking upset of all-mighty Georgia slip through their determined fingers and errant toes, losing 42-41 in a game they .had led until the final minute.
Oh, and by the way, if Ohio State had finished what it started against the Dawgs, guess who would have met in the title game?
A pair of teams that lost their conference championship games. When TCU lost to Kansas State, everyone said, ``Told you so,’’ about a team that had lived on the edge all fall.
When Ohio State was humiliated 45-23 at home by Michigan, everyone said, ``Exposed!’’ The Wolverines were anointed the new rulers of the Big Ten roost.
Michigan emerged, though, as the most puzzling team of a memorable pair of New Year’s Eve semi-finals.
Ohio State may be hurting more because it came so close to doing what its doubters said it could not do. But Michigan should be aching because it did not muster its best effort. The Wolverines seemed surprised by TCU's toughness.
Would injured running back Blake Corum have helped? We'll never know. But there's no excuse for not being ready to go when the playoff bell rings.
All credit to Georgia for finding a way for the third time this season in Atlanta at ``neutral-site’’ Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Which is about as neutral a site as Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati would be for the Buckeyes.
Georgia undoubtedly will be a heavy betting favorite to win its second straight national championship on Jan. 9 in Los Angeles.
For those who don’t have a Dawg in this David-and-Goliath hunt, though, tiny TCU will have plenty of rooters on its purple-clad side.
But here’s the big takeaway: The old days, when college football champions were crowned based on their season-long accomplishments, are on the wane.
A four-team playoff came within one botched field goal of knocking ``the two best teams'' of the regular season out of contention. How is that going to go in a 12-team format?
This was not an anomaly. This was the future.
The burden of expectations on heavy favorites is real. The adrenalin that comes from being the underdog is real.
Teams change over the course of a season. Some of the ones that lose early can and will get better. In the past, they lost their chance. In the future, they will rise up and do things.
In addition, teams from lesser conferences that supposedly played easier schedules won’t be as easily dismissed in a future where they have an actual opportunity to prove themselves on the field.
In short, there will be lots of surprises in a 12-team playoff. It is basically a new season. This will have moments of March Madness—in December and January.
It will be entertaining. And surprising. Just like this New Year’s Eve extravaganza.