After the University of Oregon put the bow on an undefeated season, they earned the right to a first-round bye in the college football playoff and the chance to face either Tennessee or Ohio State in the second round.
This has led to some grumbling from Oregon fans.
In years past, a 13-0 record would have put Oregon straight into the semi-finals as the No. 1 seed, straight into the championship, or had its strength of schedule digested by a computer or East Coach sports writers to determine if the Ducks’ undefeated record was, in fact, better than two-loss Georgia.
The 12-team college football playoff is far from perfect. Instead of a single post-season game or even two, teams will now have to play up to four games to win a championship. One look at the 12 teams involved will also tell you that with the playoffs, college football has officially entered a new era of parity. College football blue bloods like Alabama, Auburn, LSU, USC, and Oklahoma are nowhere to be seen.
Instead, among the field of 12 are perpetual outsiders such as Boise St., Indiana, SMU, and Arizona State. One of those schools has been trying to crash into the top tier of the college football ranks for two decades. Two others are basketball schools, and SMU still has a football program at all, which is something of a miracle.
Will it be an easy field for Oregon to run through? No, it will not.
Duck fans can rightfully complain about having to face Tennessee or Ohio State just to get to the semi-finals, but it is best to remember that if there had been a 12-team field last year, they probably would have been in it.
The bracket will giveth, and the bracket will take it. In previous years, teams complained that their record should have given them a championship. Then they complained that their record should have been good enough to get them a spot in the championship game. Then they complained that they should have been in the top 4.
Every year, fans of some teams will have something to complain about. This year has been no different. Just instead of complaining that they should be the No. 1 team, or the No. 2 team, or the No. 4 team, now teams complain that they should be the No. 12 team. Or teams that made the top 12 complain that they should have an easier road to the championship game.
Some years the top 4 teams may get an easier path, some years it may be harder. But if you are a fan of a team and want it to have the best shot possible every year and not get screwed in the rankings because a committee decides that a fourth SEC team deserves the spot, this is the best you are going to get.
Somehow, Dan Lanning has made an Oregon team that is even more formidable than the one he assembled last year. It’s a team that rolled through most of its schedule with relative ease and has already beaten three of the teams in the playoff field, including potential second-round opponent Ohio State.
They have nearly a month to prepare and then get to stay on the West Coast to play in the Rose Bowl. With that much time off, one of two things is likely to happen: Either the excuses will be true, and the Ducks will be flat after so much off time, or they will be ready to steamroll either Tennessee or Ohio State.
The 12-team playoff isn’t just a brave new world for Oregon; it’s new territory for every team participating. No teams have ever been asked to do this much after Thanksgiving. With the transfer portal, NIL deals, and free transfers, the days of constant powerhouses may be over. There is only a brief window for a team to become great. With modern-day super conferences, staying on top year after year will become even harder. A playoff field gives every good team a chance to finish with a title. After years of complaints that the system was skewed to favor the elites, any decent team now has a shot. Is it perfect? No. But no college football championship system ever will be.
While that system may make it more challenging for Oregon to win a championship this year, in future years, fans may breathe a sigh of relief when they are the last team in.
In any event, when you’ve already won 13 games, what’s just four more?
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