Ohio State vs. Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff final Monday night will be a different type of National Championship than we’re used to. But different doesn’t mean bad.
This marks the second year in a row that the championship game will be contested between two teams outside of the SEC, and it’s the third time since national championship games officially became No. 1 vs. No. 2 contests in 1999 that the two contesting teams sit above the Mason-Dixon Line. It’s different, yes, but the last thing this means is that the sport is broken or needs fixing.
Because of the combination of NIL and the transfer portal, five-star players aren’t going to wait their turn on a loaded SEC roster any longer. Instead, they’re going to chase a bag, so to speak, and find immediate playing time on a different Power 4 team before being able to eventually transfer to a top location – one they probably would have committed to out of high school in the old days – and find action there if applicable. So if these top schools still get their pick of the litter down the road, why aren’t they still dominant?
Depth is the answer. When one player goes down or doesn’t perform up to expectations, there isn’t that uber talented player gunning for their position as opposed to previous years. The days of, using Alabama as an example, having a single wide receiving corps made up of Jerry Jeudy, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Henry Ruggs and John Metchie at one time. Ohio State is close with receivers such as Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate, but even they don’t have the depth they once had in years’ past.
Look at Georgia, for example. The receivers they had on the field weren’t cutting it. Who was going to replace them? Exactly. And when quarterback Carson Beck had his season end due to injury, where was the savior? It wasn’t there for them despite having a good defense, which led to a shorter season than Bulldog fans have become accustomed to.
Texas went up against a buzzsaw in Ohio State, but even the Longhorns were flawed as the SEC’s last chance. Alabama was naturally going to take a step back after Nick Saban retired, but the flaws within this year’s team are cause for concern. Ole Miss impressed in its bowl game, sure, but South Carolina didn’t. Tennessee looked like it was completely outclassed against Ohio State in Round 1 of the CFP despite having a near 50/50 split in crowd support.
The SEC just wasn’t dominant this year. And that’s OK. It doesn’t mean that the conference is bad or still not the best, but it’s hard to be dominant year in and year out.
They didn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt this year like so many clamored for. They’ll still have the most players drafted over the Big Ten and others this April, but that didn’t result in more wins for the league where “It Just Means More.”
The SEC is not dead, far from it. But there’s been a shift towards more parity in the sport, which is anything but bad. More schools are afforded the opportunity to sit at the big kids’ table thanks to donor support. Ohio State, which isn’t a great example because they’re a perennial contender, spent somewhere in the ballpark of $20 million for its roster this year. Ole Miss was similar but didn’t reach the same success. SMU is a school that can now compete. Look at Indiana, too, who America owes an apology to. They were ridiculed for losing big to Ohio State and Notre Dame, who it just so happens will be the champion and runner-up this year.
The winner of Monday’s title game would have won four playoff games in order to reach the pinnacle of the sport. That’s no fluke. I don’t want to hear anyone say they had a soft schedule or that an Ole Miss or South Carolina or Alabama would have fared better.
The sport is not broken because these two teams had embarrassing losses during the regular season. Notre Dame’s loss to Northern Illinois was the worst loss in the country. Ohio State’s loss to Michigan was baffling. You want to know what these two squads have done since then? Dominate.
The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish deserve all of our respect, as does the 12-team College Football Playoff. Could it use a tweak or two? Maybe, but it’s done a lot of good for the sport. For those who say the regular season no longer matters, do you say that for the NFL? What’s wrong with a team suffering a setback only to bounce back and prove its worth? Isn’t that what sports is all about?
