Sports: The College Football Playoffs

The teams are set for the 2nd 12-team college football playoffs. This imperfect system created by the NCAA showed its ugly head again as Notre Dame was left out of the tournament. It really boils down to giving too much opportunity to the non-power conference schools. There should have been a rule that only one of those schools can make the playoffs. If you want to have equal footing with the big boys, then you need to join and play the big boys. Simply put, to have both Tulane and James Madison in the playoffs is ridiculous. I don’t care if one or both pull off the big upsets. We all know at this point that the NCAA does not really have any empathy for the student-athlete. Every decision it has ever made has always punished the players and not the coaches and boosters that are at the heart of the corruption and greed of college football. But enough of that; it has been hashed out in many other media outlets. Let’s get on with the games that are set to begin December 19th.

The first game is by far the most intriguing. Oklahoma vs Alabama. Oklahoma, to me, is the most dangerous team in the playoffs. For parts of almost of every game they have played, they look terrible, especially on offense. They have had virtually no running game, and their defense has been given most of the credit for their success. After 8 games, their record stood at 6-2 and looked like they might be headed for another disappointing season under coach Brent Venables. Then they won 3 games in a row over Tennessee, Alabama on the road, and Missouri at home. In all 3 games, they were outgained by the opposition but managed to squeeze out victories. Then they dominated LSU, but 3 interceptions kept LSU in the game and in the lead midway through the 4th quarter. They scored on a 58-yard touchdown pass to take the lead 17-13 with 4 minutes to go in the game. Any misstep in those last 4 games and they would be sitting home as these playoffs begin. Will Oklahoma be able to keep the magic up? I think they will against an Alabama team that is reeling. They barely beat Auburn and were pretty much destroyed by Georgia. Oklahoma by 10.

The next game is Miami vs. Texas A&M. Texas A&M would have had the first-round bye if they had not lost to Texas in the last game of the season. The Aggies had many close calls against inferior opponents. They had the big comeback against South Carolina after trailing 30-3 at halftime. Miami, during this season, lost to Louisville and SMU. Other than their Notre Dame win, Miami never beat what you would call a playoff contender. Both of these teams did beat Notre Dame early in the season, which is what really knocked Notre Dame out of the playoffs. In Texas A&M’s only loss, they lost the turnover battle by two. In Miami’s loss to Louisville, they lost the turnover battle by three. Miami lost to SMU in overtime when they threw an interception at the goal line. They lost the turnover battle by one. They held SMU to 23 yards rushing but still lost. This should be a close game, with turnovers being a big factor. Miami does have a tendency to blow games. Whoever wins, it will be their last win of the season as they go on to face Ohio State. I feel Texas A&M will pull it out.

I will lump the last two games together. If Tulane or James Madison win their first-round games, it will be the biggest shock of the college football season. It will just add fuel to the fire that these non-power conference schools should be given more consideration, which I think is very wrong. This is really what kept Notre Dame out of the playoffs: both of these schools getting in. What even makes things worse is that neither team looked very good winning their conference championship game. Tulane, despite getting 5 turnovers, only won by 13. James Madison was only up by 3 going into the 4th quarter. Troy had lost to such powerhouses as Old Dominion and Arkansas State. Do I think that either one of those teams can pull off the upset? Not really. Tulane, I think, has the best chance since they took the pounding 45-10 earlier in the season to Mississippi. If they can keep it close going into the 2nd half, they might make a game of it. Certainly, Oregon and Mississippi look like shoe ins to get to the next round.

One of the most interesting things about last year’s playoffs was the fact that all the teams that had 1st round byes lost. If this happens again this year, it will be an even bigger surprise because the bye teams are much stronger this year. The most vulnerable of the group looks to be Texas Tech as they most likely play Oregon in the quarter-final round. Even though the bye teams look very strong, nobody will be playing any slouches if everything goes according to Hoyle. Despite some of the flaws in the selection process, it is so good to have a 12-team college football playoff. I will write a blog after each round with an analysis and fearless predictions. It all starts a week from Friday. We will all find out how right Hoyle is.