We all wanted a white knuckle ride, this chaos-fueled November that funneled into a 12-team playoff that changed college football forever.
But there’s a teeny-weeny problem: there is no consequence for chaos.
We’ve expanded the College Football Playoff, but haven’t expanded the consequences of losing.
You can’t move the slide on the slide rule without correspondingly moving the cursor.
“Our full focus is on the College Football Playoff and making a strong run,” Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told the Columbus Dispatch on Monday, a vote of confidence of sorts for beleaguered coach Ryan Day.
A statement that, intended or not, underscored the absurdity of a lack of CFP consequences for losing late.
Bjork’s statement came two days after the Buckeyes lost to unranked Michigan at home, after a second loss for the team that spent $41 million this offseason to win that game, and win the national title.
But Ohio State can still win the national title, and that’s the problem. There’s no consequence for chaos. And it’s not just the Buckeyes, it’s the new normal in college football.
Ohio State lost at home to six-win Michigan, won’t play in the Big Ten championship game — and will likely host a College Football Playoff game.
Clemson lost at home to South Carolina last weekend, and though it wasn’t a conference game, a Tigers team that has lost twice in November can still advance to the playoff by beating SMU in the ACC championship game.
Alabama lost its third game of the season two weeks ago – this time by 21 to an Oklahoma team with one SEC win – and only had to beat pitiful Auburn to find a way back.
Tennessee got drilled by Georgia, and only needed to beat Texas-El Paso and Vanderbilt to back door into the CFP — and possibly host a game.
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The only team that (apparently) is dealing with the consequences of a November meltdown is Ole Miss, which lost at Florida as a double-digit favorite and has now been reduced to coach Lane Kiffin reposting fan arguments (you say arguments, I say rationalizations) on X — and tagging the CFP selection committee.
Lane, babe, if you don’t know it by now, that 13-member committee isn’t exactly playing by a clearly defined set of parameters. Logic hasn’t been invited to the party.
“I don’t think (the selection committee) says, well, this is better than that,” said Georgia coach Kirby Smart, whose team lost by 18 at Ole Miss in November, and still advanced to the SEC championship game after others in the league kept losing. “They just say this record’s better than that. That’s the most simple way to do it. It’s not necessarily the 12 best.”
Translation: that “slotting” process of media and coaches polls that the CFP was designed to eliminate won’t die off. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss — only worse.
These 13 voters actually watch the games, and are then intimidated (you say steered, I say intimidated) by the four former coaches in the room, who clearly believe winning games supersedes all. Until it doesn’t.
Until an 11-win season of beating the worst teams in the Big Ten and avoiding those with a pulse isn’t derailed by showing up in Columbus, Ohio, and losing by 23.
The same place Michigan, with a walk-on quarterback and passing game that netted 62 yards, strolled into and won a November game to remember.
But Indiana has 11 wins, so it must be good. The loss to Ohio State is merely a blip on the radar, not a clear indicator of a team with a fortunate path to the playoff.
Next we’re going to hear that SMU — which has rolled through an Indiana schedule in the ACC — deserves a spot in the playoff win or lose in the conference championship game. Of the top six teams behind SMU in the ACC standings, the Mustangs have played two (34-27 win over Louisville, 28-27 over Duke), and avoided playing four (Clemson, Miami, Syracuse, Georgia Tech).
A loss in the ACC championship game to Clemson, which has lost twice in November, should be disqualifying.
You can’t expand the CFP without expanding the consequences of losing.
You can’t say Colorado’s loss to Kansas is worse than Alabama’s loss to Oklahoma — especially since wins and losses has been the backbone of the voting process since the first playoff ranking in November.
“They place (teams) based on a column,’ Smart said. ‘A column of wins and a column of losses.”
And November losses, apparently, mean nothing.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.