If any college football fan doubts the wisdom of a four-team College Football Playoff system, this past weekend should eliminate those doubts. The Selection Committee has no choice under the current system. They can choose four and ONLY four. The idea in the beginning was that conference champions would fill the four slots. The only problem there is that there are five power conferences, but I’m sure the founders felt they could surely eliminate one of the champions. But this year, the committee eliminated two – the Big 12 champions and the Big 10 champion. The ACC will send Clemson; the Pac 12 will send Washington; and the SEC will send Alabama. It is hard to argue with any of those choices.
Now we come to Ohio State. Should they go or should the committee have chosen Penn State – the Big 10 champion? I have no argument with Ohio State’s pedigree. They lost only one game; they beat Michigan; they were ranked in the top three all year; and they beat Michigan. That’s good enough for me. EXCEPT….
Penn State won the Big 10 championship, while Ohio State did not play at all last week. Penn State gave Ohio State their only loss of the year 24-21. Penn State’s losses were to Pitt, which, by the way, beat Clemson and they lost to Michigan. Both of those losses were on the road. And if “playing well at the end of the year” means anything, Penn State has not lost since September. They have won nine games in a row. Ohio State lost to Penn State in October and Michigan lost two of their last three.
Winning a conference title is supposed to give the winning team a 13th data point. Penn State earned that point; Ohio State did not. Conference championships should matter. For two teams, it did not.
As I said earlier, Ohio State, with only one loss should be in the mix for a national championship. My fault with the system is four teams. If you make it eight you add only one more week to the schedule and that should be palatable. I know if you add eight, then nine and ten will feel shunned. But eight gives you the five conference champions, (the Big 12 will start playing one next year) and three “wild cards”. A similar system works quite well for the NFL and six of those teams have gone on to win the Super Bowl.
So Penn State will play in the Rose Bowl against USC and that certainly is a justified reward for their season, but should they have been playing for a national championship? What if you were on the committee – how would you have voted?
ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)
- I really started to watch Penn State because of Saquon Barkley, the former Whitehall Zephyr. Now I watch them because they are one of the most exciting and dramatic teams in college football. Their win over Wisconsin, after being down by 21 points and being totally dominated early in the game, was nothing short of miraculous!
- The Bethlehem Catholic Golden Hawks played almost as well on Friday night against undefeated Imhotep Charter out of Philadelphia. Imhotep is the defending state champion and has won 28 games in a row. No team stayed within 30 points of them this season. Until they met the Hawks! The Hawks lost 24-13 when Imhotep scored a TD late in the game. Beca was in it right up until the very end of the game and actually led at one point. It was a great year for Coach Kyle Haas and the Beca football team.
- Notre Dame High School did not win a game two years ago. On Friday night, they played in the PIAA state semifinal game against undefeated Middletown. The Crusaders lost that game, but their resurgence in the past two years has been amazing.
- The Eagles looked like a team that cannot make the playoffs this past Sunday. The Bengals just crushed them. Maybe it’s not a good thing for the coach to say they are looking towards the future before the present is completed. The Eagles took major steps in the wrong direction this past Sunday.
- High school basketball begins next week with Freedom-Allen and Liberty-Easton on Tuesday, December 13. We will have Liberty-Central and Saucon Valley-Wilson on Friday, December 16. The wrestling season begins on Wednesday, December 14, with Liberty taking on Nazareth.
Gary’s Guesses: NFL Picks – (Last week – 12-3; Overall – 119-72-2 – 62%)
Week Fourteen
OAKLAND
PHILADELPHIA
MINNESOTA
DETROIT
CINCINNATI
ARIZONA
INDIANAPOLIS
DENVER
CAROLINA
PITTSBURGH
JETS
TAMPA BAY
ATLANTA
SEATTLE
DALLAS
NEW ENGLAND
