The final year of the four-team College Football Playoff features two intense games and one major controversy, giving us a glimpse of what’s next for college football.
The era of SEC and Big Ten supremacy has already begun, officially starting next season with the addition of a number of powerhouse programs to the conference.
The playoff and bowl brackets are revealed, and who won on Sunday?
Big Ten, as the University of Michigan is the No. 1 seed.
The SEC is due to one-loss Alabama sneaking in at the expense of undefeated Florida State.
Who are the remaining two teams in the semifinals? Washington will leave the Pac-12 and become the Big Ten, and Texas will leave the Big 12 and become the SEC.
All four participants will be attending two of the most productive conferences this time next year.
Other leagues are left with nothing but frustration and destruction.
The Pac-12 (as we know it) will disappear.
The Big 12 is losing its blue blood.
And if the ACC isn’t furious that 13-0 champion Florida State was eliminated from the playoffs, they’ll be concerned about the situation.
Commissioner Jim Phillips called it “incalculable” in a statement.
That’s not the case when you look at Power Two and other sports for what they are.
“What happened today is contrary to everything that is true and right in college football,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said in a scathing public rebuke.
Those elements were abandoned long ago.
Certainly, there will be room for the ACC, Big 12 and Group of Five in the 12-team playoffs starting next season.
However, the two dominant conferences will account for seven to eight bids each year. Everyone else will be marginalized – and the beginning of that process was clear on Sunday morning.
There will be more winners and losers…
Winner: SEC Media Machine. For 48 hours, we were treated to a nauseating story about the 12-team playoffs that were supposed to begin in 2023 (avoiding the Florida State controversy), but the delay in approving the new format. I received it. According to the story, what caused the delay in the summer of 2021? The alliance between the Big Ten, ACC, and Pac-12. Meanwhile, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has been appointed the sport’s white knight, pushing for expansion of the sport because it’s in the best interest of all parties.
Loser: SEC Media Machine. Unfortunately, the story fails to acknowledge that this alliance was a response to Sankey’s secret negotiations to add Texas and Oklahoma. when he served on the Playoff Expansion Committee.. The realignment lightning bolt led directly to delays in the formation of the alliance and subsequent approval of the event by 12 teams. Of course, other conferences will be suspended. And what will happen? The SEC would have done the exact same thing if the Big Ten had secretly added USC and UCLA while then-commissioner Kevin Warren was working on the CFP expansion plan. In sports without a true governing body, all actors act in their own self-interest. No one or everyone should be blamed for not having a 12-team playoff this year.
Winner: Alabama. The Crimson Tide needed a miracle to beat Auburn and stay in the playoff race, but then became a lock with an upset of No. 1 Georgia. There was no chance the SEC champion would be eliminated (none, zero, zip). That being said, the Tide’s improvement during the season has been remarkable. 2023 ranks as one of Nick Saban’s best coaching jobs.
Loser: Florida State. The Seminoles became the first Power Five conference champions to miss the playoffs with a 13-0 record. Due to an injury to quarterback Jordan Travis, FSU finished in fifth place, one spot behind Alabama, as the committee decided it wasn’t good enough to earn a spot.
Winner: Mike Norvell. Florida State’s coach turned red after the announcement. “I am disgusted and outraged by the committee’s decision today to strip us of what we earned on the field because a few people decided they knew better than the outcome of the game. What’s the point of playing the game?” He’s not wrong, but a four-team system isn’t built to accommodate the five players a conference winner deserves. CFP has been fortunate to have avoided this situation for most of its existence.
Loser: ACC. I can’t help but wonder if being eliminated from the playoffs will hasten Florida State’s exit from the ACC. After all, the Seminoles had made no secret of their desire to join the SEC or Big Ten. The cost of terminating the contract would soar to more than $100 million, but schools must consider the price of keeping the contract.
Winner: Steve Sarkisian. The former USC and Washington coach battled demons (alcoholism) but straightened out his life and lifted the Longhorns to the playoffs in just his third season. Good for him.
Loser: Rose Bowl. Sure, Michigan vs. Alabama is a great matchup. But if Georgia had won the SEC title and retained the No. 1 ranking, Grandpa would have faced No. 2 Michigan State and No. 3 Washington State, Big Ten vs. Pac-12, for one last shot. It would have been.
Winner: Orange Bowl. For event organizers, there could be no more attractive matchup than Florida State vs. Georgia. Both teams have experienced major disappointments. FSU was eliminated from the playoffs. and Georgia’s loss in the SEC title game. But if the Seminoles beat Georgia and Alabama wins in the playoffs, it would open the door for FSU to claim a national championship. The Bowl and ACC would be wise to hammer that talk into next month.
Loser: Fiesta Bowl. It’s hard, even impossible, for Oregon to imagine a worse opponent than Liberty. Good luck selling those tickets, everyone. The committee tainted the fiesta.
Winner: Rece Davis. The ESPN host deftly navigated the long selection show through the Florida State controversy and heated debates in the studio. He added context when needed, asked appropriate questions of his interviewees, and never let the conversation stray too far off course.
Loser: Oregon. Three days ago, the Ducks were ranked No. 5 and looked very likely to beat Washington and compete for a spot in the CFP. Now they must find the motivation to prepare Liberty at Fiesta. In a sport without a leader, fortunes can change quickly.
Winner: Pac-12. In its final year, the conference secured bids to both the CFP and the New Year’s 6, doubling its single-day performance by sending six other teams to bowl games. A great end to the sterling season.
Loser: Pac-12. Of course, this is the last year of Pac-12 football as we know it. If leadership had been stronger, both at the commissioner chair and board level, the conference could have bet on hosting the event in 2023. In other words, they may have delayed signing a media rights deal until this winter, after a season in which TV ratings skyrocketed. And a playoff contender. Leverage would have been high. There would have been many suitors. And the future would have been secured.