Nothing is perfect with college football, but the bubble watch is a thing in September. How fun is that? Is the cart before the horse? And can’t we just enjoy football…without all the contingencies?
Are we having fun yet?
I am.
Not that Ohio State’s pre-Big Ten schedule brought roller-coaster thrills. That’s never the goal against such teams. The feel of freshly paved highway under your wheels is the way you want to cruise through softly scheduled September Saturdays.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes concluded their non-conference schedule the way the No. 3 team in the nation is supposed to handle a Sun Belt Conference team like Marshall…after subduing MAC opponents Akron and Western Michigan the way Big Ten teams are supposed to. Score early and often and don’t allow many touchdowns.
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Next stop is Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan, to begin Big Ten play.
“Everything’s got to ramp up,” head coach Ryan Day said Tuesday. “Now we’re into game four and we’ve got to keep upgrading this week.”
The Buckeyes will finally face some real-life schedule upgrades. Win, and win convincingly when the oddsmakers say you should, and this part of the schedule will add credibility to the expectations that have existed since January.
Should be fun.
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But what’s been the most fun for me during this preseason, if you will, is the playoff chatter. I know everyone’s not a fan of the change. I will explain.
But first, when I ask if we are having fun, here’s what I don’t mean about the state of college football and college athletics at large. These things don’t anger me in any way. What’s the point of that?
Many say – myself partially included – they’ve ruined college football because of NIL, the transfer portal, conference realignment and the 12-team playoffs. That’s a common reaction to change. We hate it, at least at first.
I’m not here to say NIL money or the new idea of revenue sharing is a good lesson for young men. Some are grounded enough to handle it well. Some will struggle with the added accountability that comes with money. No different than the rest of us.
I’m not here to say the transfer portal is a good lesson either. Easy come, easy go isn’t a well-worn path to maturity. However, when you assess the people Ohio State brought to campus – Will Howard, Seth McLaughlin, Quinshon Judkins, Caleb Downs – you can’t say the portal isn’t good for some.
Furthermore, I’m not here to say it’s wrong for players to profit off their abilities or have the option to seek a better opportunity. I am saying that doesn’t necessarily make those good ideas for all. Hopefully the education football players are getting includes some personal finance and career advice. College is the time to come of age. And sometimes the more challenges the better for long-term success.
I’m not here to praise conference realignment. The fact that geography doesn’t matter is weird. Pro leagues have realigned to correct geographic oddities. But TV money rules the day, a fact we complain about but ignore on Saturdays when we watch on multiple screens. It did create a Big Ten game next month that sends Ohio State to Oregon. Yeah, that’s weird.
The money belongs to the conferences. TV networks pay for the right to show the games because we keep watching. They can spend and make money however they want. And the most successful industries are agile, open to change and innovative.
What I am here to praise, without reservation, is the new playoff format.
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That’s what we now care about – or will soon – second only to our own teams’ successes.
I just don’t buy the argument of the regular season being cheapened and that fans will care less about losing because one loss doesn’t necessarily keep your team out of the playoff. If Ohio State loses to Michigan and still makes the playoffs, will that soften the blow? I know how much Ohio State fans hate Michigan. You might get over it more quickly because other goals remain, but that loss won’t be any easier to accept.
They said the BCS that set up 1 vs. 2 every year would make the regular season mean less. Didn’t happen.
They said the four-team playoff would do the same. Two teams are enough they said after they’d gotten used to the two-team format and liked it.
Now they say 12 are too many.
Not sure who all the “they” are. I just know I’m not one of them.
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Other sports are instructive.
Imagine March without 68 teams. Imagine the NFL without wild card teams that reach the Super Bowl. Imagine only four baseball teams in each league with something to play for right now. I could go on.
If you bristle against 12 teams in the college football playoff, give it a couple years. You’ll start looking forward to it.
I’m not claiming some genius insight. It’s what history has taught us in other sports.
The big media companies know the public will lap it up like a dog at his water dish on a hot September day. We are three weeks into this new paradigm and ESPN.com is publishing a bubble watch.
That’s right: a bubble watch. Not by March Madness bracketologist Joe Lunardi, but I’m sure he is the inspiration for Heather Dinich’s rankings.
The four highest-ranked conference champions get a first-round bye. See, conference championships still mean something. For now, she is predicting Texas, Ohio State, Miami and Utah as those champs and seeded in that order.
The next four highest-ranked teams will host first-round games. The rest will be based on committee rankings. The fifth highest-ranked conference champion also gets a spot. Most likely that will be the 12th spot because that team will come from a league like the MAC, Sun Belt, Mountain West, etc. But an unbeaten in one of those leagues could be higher than 12.
ESPN’s watch is just like the basketball watch. It slots teams where it believes the committee would put them based on season-to-date results.
If the season ended today, the current first-round speculation is this: No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Georgia, No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oregon, No. 11 Missouri at No. 6 Tennessee and No. 10 Penn State at No. 7 Ole Miss. See, we are getting far better matchups in the dead of winter than we are in September.
And what would a bracket prediction be without a first four out and a next four out? First four out: Clemson, Notre Dame, Michigan, USC. Next four out: LSU, Iowa State, Illinois, Indiana.
But what’s the fun in picking as it stands now.
If I had to pick a 12, which I don’t, but I will just for fun, here’s my list.
Georgia, Ohio State, Miami and Utah to start.
Next up: Texas, Penn State, Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Notre Dame, USC and Boise State.
If you hate the 12-team playoff, you must admit it’s kinda fun to be dreaming about this now.
And you’ll watch. You’ll most definitely watch.
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