Deal with it, Ohio State fans — committee got it right by giving No. 1 ranking to LSU
No, the Buckeyes never wavered all season. But the Tigers had the best regular-season win — 46-41 at Alabama — by any team. They won the best division in college football, the SEC West. And they blew out the toughest opponent any conference winner faced, Georgia, on Championship Saturday.
Three points in 10 minutes. That’s how far, and how fast, the point spread moved for the playoff semifinal between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson after the pairings were announced Sunday.
Betting opened with the Buckeyes favored by a point. A blink of an eye later, the line had already moved dramatically, with the defending national champion Tigers favored by 2.
That development spoke to a pair of realities about this year’s playoff.
One is that Clemson — like No. 1 LSU and Ohio State, a 13-0 conference champion — is the team nobody wants to face. LSU and Ohio State may be as strong a 1-2 as we’ve seen in six years of the playoff, yet it’s Clemson, peaking and terrifying, that looms largest.
The second reality is that this is the best field yet. How to define “best”? Look at it this way: We’ve got four conference champs, including No. 4 Oklahoma, with a combined record of 51-1. We’ve got the top Heisman Trophy candidates — LSU’s Joe Burrow, Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, OSU’s Justin Fields and Chase Young — as well as Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, whose talent arguably outshines them all.
There’s LSU in the top spot, with its gilded path through Atlanta for the semis and to New Orleans for the final. And there’s Oklahoma, which some want to portray as the weak link of the final four. The Sooners are in the playoff for the third season in a row and the fourth time overall. Sooner or later, right?
Bonus: For those who suffer from Crimson Tide fatigue, there’s no Alabama. See? The show goes on without Nick Saban after all.
On to the rest of the “Big 10” (where 10 actually means 10):
2. They got it right: Buckeyes supporters aren’t going to be swayed by this, but the playoff committee made the right call by flip-flopping LSU and OSU for the final 1-2.
No, the Buckeyes never wavered all season. But the Tigers had the best regular-season win — 46-41 at Alabama — by any team. They won the best division in college football, the SEC West. And they blew out the toughest opponent any conference winner faced, Georgia, on Championship Saturday.
It stings, but it’s fair.
3. New Year’s Six: Big Ten runner-up Wisconsin vs. Pac-12 champ Oregon in the Rose Bowl? That’s pretty sweet. Georgia vs. Big 12 runner-up Baylor in the Sugar Bowl gets the job done, too.
As for Florida-Virginia in the Orange and Penn State-Memphis in the Cotton: Um, yay?
4. Camping, not glamping: A Camping World Bowl date with Iowa State in Orlando isn’t the most glamorous assignment for 10-2 Notre Dame, but it isn’t bad, either.
For one thing, the game is on Dec. 28 — playoff semifinal day — as a nice noon lead-in to the must-see action. Also, the Cyclones are just dangerous enough to warrant the Irish’s full attention. If Brian Kelly’s team lets its guard down, it could be an upset.
5. Tough sledding: Illinois (6-6) drew a difficult Redbox Bowl opponent in California. The Bears (7-5) — who will travel all of 44 miles from their home turf in Berkeley to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara — have an outstanding defense and a wicked pass rush. Lovie Smith’s Illini will have to really bring it.
6. Lane Kiffin and Mike Norvell, your tables are ready: Kiffin, 44, is a little over six years removed from the infamous night when he was left at the airport after being fired by USC. He takes over at Mississippi, an ace recruiter and self-styled bad boy certain to stir things up the already suffocating SEC West.
Norvell, plucked from Memphis by Florida State, could be the more impactful hire, though. If anyone is going to take on the Clemson dynasty in the ACC, it’s still FSU. Can Norvell — only 38 and full of Dabo Swinney-like enthusiasm — lead the Seminoles back to glory?
“I can tell you that this is going to be an incredible journey,” Norvell said Sunday at his introductory press conference.
We shall see about that.
7. The Heisman: I can’t tell you how I’m voting — major violation of Heisman Trust policy, bub — but that doesn’t mean we can’t be honest about the fact that LSU’s Burrow is going to win in a landslide. And he should. Read into that what you will.
8. More votes: Players who got No. 1 nods from me for other awards included Burrow (Davey O’Brien), Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor (Doak Walker), LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (Biletnikoff) and LSU safety Grant Delpit (Jim Thorpe).
9. That’s what he said: “Clemson may be better than when they won it all a year ago.”
That was ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit on the champs, who obliterated Notre Dame and Alabama in last season’s playoff by a combined score of 74-19. If Herbie’s suspicion is accurate, forget about it — this thing is over before it starts.
10. And another thing: Georgia at No. 5 in the final playoff rankings? Seriously? Sheesh, like it wasn’t enough to leave the Pac-12 out of the field altogether. Oregon deserved to at least have the distinction of being the first team on the outside looking in.