Stop Complaining: College Football Has A True Champion

“How do you like a sport without a true champion?”

I’ll never forget my college buddy Kenny posing this question to me in December 2000, after #2 Miami was passed over the national title game over #3 Florida State, which they had beaten during the regular season.

To be honest, I don’t remember my answer, but I doubt it was very convincing. College football has been my favorite sport since I was 6 years old and I celebrated Notre Dame’s national championship with my Notre Dame alum dad on Jan. 2, 1989, after a long, glorious day of football.

I probably told Kenny about how much I loved New Year’s Day and bowl games. I may have talked about tradition and rivalries. I likely threw in something about the purity of the college game, or maybe a bit about the unique offenses.

Regardless, Kenny was right - college football didn’t crown a true champion every year and it was frustrating.

College football fans fooled themselves into thinking controversy helped the game grow, but it essentially did the opposite. Just look at the ratings for title games in the BCS era with controversy - think 2000 or 2003 - compared to games that clearly matched up #1 and #2 - think 2005 or 2009.

The two team format never got us that true champion because #3, in many years, had a legit case for being #1 or #2. That’s the beauty of the four-team playoff and why I wish people would stop complaining because we’ll never have another split National Championship again (sorry UCF).

The Fifth-Best Team Will Never Be #1

The glaring weakness of the BCS was teams that could legitimately challenge for #1 were not even getting a shot. We don’t need to run through the list, as college football fans can rattle them off like the alphabet. Miami in 2000. Oregon in 2001. Auburn in 2004. Texas in 2008. Oklahoma State in 2011. Etc, etc.

In the playoff era, thankfully, that has completely disappeared. Instead, we focus our discussion on the fifth-best team, who always has a signature flaw that prevents them from being in the discussion for #1, usually relating to a bad loss

The past two years, that team has been Ohio State. Sure, they had a legitimate argument for being the #4 team in the country, but they had no argument for #1. They had no one to blame but themselves for being left out. In 2017, they got destroyed by Iowa. In 2018, they got destroyed by Purdue. Does any team that loses by 4 touchdowns to Purdue really deserve a national title shot?

That’s why the push to increase the playoff field to 8 seems insane to me. Regular season ratings, despite so many concerns, have remained strong in the playoff era because it’s still really, really, really hard to be one of the best 4 teams in the country. It’s not quite a single elimination tournament, as in the BCS era, but one loss immediately puts you at the mercy of the playoff committee. It means every game still matters.

Most upsetting about the push to expand the playoff field is how it’s exactly what college administrators worried about when going to four team, when they coined the dreaded “playoff creep” term. Having seen the NCAA Tournament hurt itself with a stupid expansion to 68, it makes sense.

What’s really upsetting about this “playoff creep” phenomenon is that it obscures how well the playoff is working.

Three Undefeated Teams? No Problem

The BCS failed because 3 does not go into 2. Most years, there are 3 deserving teams for the #1 spot, which led to the string of satisfying conclusions in that era.

The college football playoff removed this glaring problem because 3 easily fits into 4. Think about how awful this past college football season would’ve been in the playoff era with Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame all cruising to undefeated seasons. What sort of hell would have been unleashed if an undefeated Notre Dame didn’t get a chance to play for a national title?

Instead, the narrative was completely different. Those three teams entered November knowing they controlled their destiny to a playoff berth. It added intrigue to their games, though their opponents were unable to keep up their end of the bargain.

For the one opponent that did, Georgia’s challenge of Alabama resulted in one of the biggest regular season ratings in the history of college football. It was an amazing game and easily college football’s game of the year.

Let’s Enjoy the Lack of Controversy

The beauty of the four-team playoff is the lack of offseason controversy. For the rest of time, Clemson will be the 2018 national champion and there will be no debate. Ditto for every other winner of the championship in the four-team playoff era. There are no asterisks. No questions. No “what ifs?”

I’m worried college football fans cannot see the forest for the trees because controversy had become so ingrained in the sport, as if it was an actual part of its identity.

It turns out college football can survive and thrive without a split national champion. Maybe it’s time we take a step back and breathe in these sinus-clearing controversy-free air.

Sure, I think the playoff could be improved, namely by putting more emphasis on non-conference scheduling and ensuring the semifinals are played on New Year’s Day every year.

Those, though, are minor complaints. The four-team playoff had one ultimate goal - deliver a true, undisputed national champion every year. The playoff is five for five. Maybe we should celebrate that.

Email me