The new college football playoff scenario was supposed to eliminate the controversy. It was supposed to solve the past issues of quality teams getting left out of the national championship picture.
But after the first season of it, fans are still furious about the committee's decision.
I think the committee got it right, but I also think Baylor and TCU are quality teams that deserve a shot.
Alabama, Oregon and Florida State were the easy choices. The Crimson Tide had just one loss in perhaps the toughest league in America and Oregon looked dominant in most of its game this year in the Pac-12. And the Ducks avenged their only loss in the league’s title game with a beat down of Arizona.
The Seminoles have not lost a football game in two years. So how can you leave them out.
But the final spot in the inaugural playoff was the controversial one.
Baylor and TCU were “co-champions” of the Big 12. And each team played well enough to be considered an elite team this year.
Then there is Ohio State, which completely destroyed a red-hot Wisconsin team in the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes came into the game as underdogs but won the game 59-0.
The committee, to avoid the controversy that took place, needed two of the top six teams to lose this past weekend.
That, unfortunately for them, did not happen.
The committee probably got it right. Ohio State looks like a top four team even with its third-string QB. But the system clearly needs a makeover.
Releasing the rankings as early as they did was a mistake. Placing TCU third one week and then out of the top four the next after a decisive win over Iowa State does not give them much credibility.
It can never be perfect, but the committee needs to figure out a way to make it less controversial. If that means going to an eight-team playoff, so be it.
And the fact that the committee couldn’t distinguish between Baylor and TCU even though the Bears beat the Horned Frogs in the head-to-head game may have been a reason for Ohio State getting the nod.
The Big 12 Conference began the season with the phrase “one true champion” but commissioner Bob Bowlsby changed his tune late in the year as it became evident that TCU could still get into the playoff despite not winning the league and losing to Baylor.
Bowlsby quickly started saying that Baylor and TCU would be considered co-champs and that in itself was controversial.
Bowlsby did the Big 12 no favors. He needed to stick with the “one true champion” motto.
Even if Baylor still missed out, at least then he could blame the committee. Because a lot of people today are blaming him.
Get ready for a wild bowl season. There are too many games and too many average teams get rewarded for being average, but there are some dynamite matchups.
Here’s a few of the ones I am intrigued by:
I won’t be watching many of the lower-level bowls. They just don’t appeal to me. But the ones that do are Marshall-Northern Illinois and Illinois-Louisiana Tech.
Marshall was this year’s Cinderella and the Thundering Herd will face last year’s darling in NIU and that Boca Raton Bowl should fun.
Illinois probably shouldn’t be a in bowl at 6-6 but qualifying definitely saved Tim Beckman’s job. But that’s not why I am intrigued. I am looking forward to watching Louisiana Tech’s quarterback — Cody Sokol.
Sokol is a former JUCO quarterback who started his Division I career at Iowa but transferred after not being able to dethrone Jake Rudock as starter or C.J. Beathard as the backup.
Sokol though has thrown for nearly 3,200 yards and 29 touchdowns and guided the Bulldogs to an 8-5 record.
Seeing how Sokol does against another Big Ten school in the Heart of Dallas Bowl will be interesting.
I think Nebraska-USC in the Holiday Bowl could be good. Seeing how the Cornhuskers play without Bo Pelini is intriguing to me.
Georgia-Louisville in the Belk Bowl could be wild. Expect a lot of points in that one.
Then we get into perhaps the best two back-to-back college football days in perhaps the last 10 years.
New Year’s Eve gives us No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 6 TCU in the Peach Bowl, No. 20 Boise State and No. 10 Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl and No. 7 Mississippi State and No. 16 Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
Then, as if we needed more great matchups, you can spend New Year’s Day on the couch or in your recliner watching No. 19 Auburn and No. 18 Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl, No. 8 Michigan State and No. 5 Baylor in the Cotton Bowl and No. 16 Missouri and No. 25 Minnesota in the Citrus Bowl.
And those are just the appetizers for the semifinals of the playoffs. No. 2 Oregon takes on No. 3 Florida State kick things off in the Rose Bowl at 5 p.m. and No. 4 Ohio State challenges No. 1 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl later that night.
I am always a bit sad when college football ends. After those slate of games and another Iowa bowl game, it may be hard to let go of another season.
Hopefully I can keep things together until my next favorite sports time — March Madness.