As I head toward the top of the hill and - barring an unexpected tragedy - the late third quarter of my life, the prospect of three undefeated teams has me more thankful than many of you can possibly imagine that this scenario will play out deservedly, and regardless who wins the national title, we will crown an undisputed and deserving champion.
This phenomenon is recent that a lot of you find it the norm, but for the first 62 years of the AP poll, it wasn't. Let me take you through a few dreaded scenarios and point out why all of us need to be thankful for the four-team playoff we are about to witness. Let's go back in time to the pre-BCS time frame and see what might could happen that has no way of happening this time.
Imagine that we awakened this morning after the stunner yesterday to the following AP poll:
1) Notre Dame
2) Clemson
3) Alabama
4) Oklahoma
5) Ohio St
6) Georgia
Now let's go back and apply the mandatory bowl tie-ins as they would have been some years.
SCENARIO ONE
The Citrus Bowl tie-in with the ACC began in 1987, so assuming this scenario, we would have this pending disaster:
Fiesta: Notre Dame versus Clemson
Sugar: Alabama versus Michigan
Orange: Oklahoma versus Georgia
Rose: Washington versus Ohio St
Cotton: Texas vs UCF
It's easy to imagine now that, "But we're Alabama, and we blew everyone out." That might be true, but there's a time that would not have mattered. There would have been justification from other voters, "Yeah, but Alabama didn't really play anybody, and the only time they did, they really should have lost. They got outplayed."
In this scenario, it wouldn't matter who between the Irish and Clemson were 1-2. The WINNER would win the national championship....and we would be left on the outside screaming bloody murder. We MIGHT possibly have a split national championship, but it would require:
a) Clemson to barely beat Notre Dame
b) Us to blow Texas off the map
And even that might not be enough given the media obsession with the Irish.
SCENARIO TWO
Or fast forward to 1987-1991, and imagine:
#1 Notre Dame decides, "To hell with everybody, the Fiesta offers us the most money (plus we can avoid the better teams) so, we're going to the Fiesta Bowl." Don't laugh - 1991 Miami ducked out on a Sugar Bowl date with Florida so they could stay at home and maul Nebraska.
Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Michigan (because, hey, we already beat them!)
Sugar: Alabama vs Georgia rematch (which could only hurt us)
Citrus: Clemson vs UCF
Orange: Oklahoma vs Nebraska (just seeing if you're paying attention, it would be Florida, LSU, or Penn St)
Rose: Of course
That's bad enough.....but then imagine the disaster in determining a champion if:
a) Notre Dame, Alabama, Clemson, OU, and Ohio State ALL lost - two-loss Michigan might well be the national champion
b) Or maybe UCF, unbeaten in 26 games, would be the champion
Don't laugh - similar things have actually happened.
SCENARIO THREE
OK, go back to the pre-1987 tie-in and imagine this:
Fiesta: Notre Dame beats Georgia by 2
Sugar: Alabama smokes Michigan by 31
Orange: Clemson beats Oklahoma by 41
Notre Dame argues they're undefeated and should remain on top, and they beat Syracuse by more points than Clemson did.
Alabama argues they beat both common opponents by substantially more points
Clemson argues that they beat Pitt by more points and OU is a better team than Notre Dame anyway
SCENARIO FOUR
1) Alabama
2) Clemson
3) N Dame
4) Oklahoma
5) Ohio St
6) Georgia
Btw - this is how the AP and coaches would REALLY have ranked them were this not the CFB playoff.
So imagine this one:
Michigan beats Alabama narrowly in the Sugar
Oklahoma beats Clemson narrowly in the Orange
Georgia mauls Notre Dame in the Fiesta
Ohio St blows out Washington in record fashion in the Rose Bowl, 66-7.
WHO IS NOW NUMBER ONE????
Is it OU for barely beating #2 Clemson?
Or does Ohio State blowing out UW combined with Michigan (who they also blew out) beating Alabama give it to the Buckeyes?
Or does Georgia get a phantom credit loss because they beat number one? (No, they would not).
Believe it or not, these things used to happen.
For the first time in the playoff era, we actually have a playoff. Of course, the funny thing is this: the four-team playoff was being bandied about in 1966 (if you read my write-up you know this, if not - SHAME ON YOU!) and even earlier by Bud Wilkinson. The very same whiners nowadays - Tim Brando, Danny Kanell, et al - who CRY about a four-team playoff would have been leading the charge back then to say, "We don't want to devalue the regular season, we can just fix it all with a FOUR-TEAM playoff"..........
I realize, of course, that it's easy if you're us NOW and sitting in the catbird seat. And I know a lot of folks don't think Notre Dame belongs. Hell, I'm not sure if I think they belong.
But I heard the same thing said about 1983 Miami (who was merely in the game because Nebraska had to play one), 1990 Georgia Tech, 1992 Alabama, 1993 Nebraska, and even 2002 Ohio State. Four of those teams won it all, and the other one should have.
===========================
In conclusion (he says like a Baptist preacher with still 20 minutes to go)...........this REALLY IS a very good system. And the debate as the esteemed krazy has pointed out was NEVER about number four (which is what today was about), it was always about number three. Number three did their job going undefeated. And now we reap the rewards.
I, for one, do NOT miss the old system of "okay, if they lose then who is the champion." It may have helped get me to watch more games, but it was maddening on multiple levels.
RTR
This phenomenon is recent that a lot of you find it the norm, but for the first 62 years of the AP poll, it wasn't. Let me take you through a few dreaded scenarios and point out why all of us need to be thankful for the four-team playoff we are about to witness. Let's go back in time to the pre-BCS time frame and see what might could happen that has no way of happening this time.
Imagine that we awakened this morning after the stunner yesterday to the following AP poll:
1) Notre Dame
2) Clemson
3) Alabama
4) Oklahoma
5) Ohio St
6) Georgia
Now let's go back and apply the mandatory bowl tie-ins as they would have been some years.
SCENARIO ONE
The Citrus Bowl tie-in with the ACC began in 1987, so assuming this scenario, we would have this pending disaster:
Fiesta: Notre Dame versus Clemson
Sugar: Alabama versus Michigan
Orange: Oklahoma versus Georgia
Rose: Washington versus Ohio St
Cotton: Texas vs UCF
It's easy to imagine now that, "But we're Alabama, and we blew everyone out." That might be true, but there's a time that would not have mattered. There would have been justification from other voters, "Yeah, but Alabama didn't really play anybody, and the only time they did, they really should have lost. They got outplayed."
In this scenario, it wouldn't matter who between the Irish and Clemson were 1-2. The WINNER would win the national championship....and we would be left on the outside screaming bloody murder. We MIGHT possibly have a split national championship, but it would require:
a) Clemson to barely beat Notre Dame
b) Us to blow Texas off the map
And even that might not be enough given the media obsession with the Irish.
SCENARIO TWO
Or fast forward to 1987-1991, and imagine:
#1 Notre Dame decides, "To hell with everybody, the Fiesta offers us the most money (plus we can avoid the better teams) so, we're going to the Fiesta Bowl." Don't laugh - 1991 Miami ducked out on a Sugar Bowl date with Florida so they could stay at home and maul Nebraska.
Fiesta: Notre Dame vs Michigan (because, hey, we already beat them!)
Sugar: Alabama vs Georgia rematch (which could only hurt us)
Citrus: Clemson vs UCF
Orange: Oklahoma vs Nebraska (just seeing if you're paying attention, it would be Florida, LSU, or Penn St)
Rose: Of course
That's bad enough.....but then imagine the disaster in determining a champion if:
a) Notre Dame, Alabama, Clemson, OU, and Ohio State ALL lost - two-loss Michigan might well be the national champion
b) Or maybe UCF, unbeaten in 26 games, would be the champion
Don't laugh - similar things have actually happened.
SCENARIO THREE
OK, go back to the pre-1987 tie-in and imagine this:
Fiesta: Notre Dame beats Georgia by 2
Sugar: Alabama smokes Michigan by 31
Orange: Clemson beats Oklahoma by 41
Notre Dame argues they're undefeated and should remain on top, and they beat Syracuse by more points than Clemson did.
Alabama argues they beat both common opponents by substantially more points
Clemson argues that they beat Pitt by more points and OU is a better team than Notre Dame anyway
SCENARIO FOUR
1) Alabama
2) Clemson
3) N Dame
4) Oklahoma
5) Ohio St
6) Georgia
Btw - this is how the AP and coaches would REALLY have ranked them were this not the CFB playoff.
So imagine this one:
Michigan beats Alabama narrowly in the Sugar
Oklahoma beats Clemson narrowly in the Orange
Georgia mauls Notre Dame in the Fiesta
Ohio St blows out Washington in record fashion in the Rose Bowl, 66-7.
WHO IS NOW NUMBER ONE????
Is it OU for barely beating #2 Clemson?
Or does Ohio State blowing out UW combined with Michigan (who they also blew out) beating Alabama give it to the Buckeyes?
Or does Georgia get a phantom credit loss because they beat number one? (No, they would not).
Believe it or not, these things used to happen.
For the first time in the playoff era, we actually have a playoff. Of course, the funny thing is this: the four-team playoff was being bandied about in 1966 (if you read my write-up you know this, if not - SHAME ON YOU!) and even earlier by Bud Wilkinson. The very same whiners nowadays - Tim Brando, Danny Kanell, et al - who CRY about a four-team playoff would have been leading the charge back then to say, "We don't want to devalue the regular season, we can just fix it all with a FOUR-TEAM playoff"..........
I realize, of course, that it's easy if you're us NOW and sitting in the catbird seat. And I know a lot of folks don't think Notre Dame belongs. Hell, I'm not sure if I think they belong.
But I heard the same thing said about 1983 Miami (who was merely in the game because Nebraska had to play one), 1990 Georgia Tech, 1992 Alabama, 1993 Nebraska, and even 2002 Ohio State. Four of those teams won it all, and the other one should have.
===========================
In conclusion (he says like a Baptist preacher with still 20 minutes to go)...........this REALLY IS a very good system. And the debate as the esteemed krazy has pointed out was NEVER about number four (which is what today was about), it was always about number three. Number three did their job going undefeated. And now we reap the rewards.
I, for one, do NOT miss the old system of "okay, if they lose then who is the champion." It may have helped get me to watch more games, but it was maddening on multiple levels.
RTR
