College Football Cavalcade: The New Normal Bowls, Playoff, Fans, Schedules

What I think, know and believe about college football, and the new normal we’ll have to live with, in the latest College Football Cavalcade.

Five Cavalcade of Whimsy footballey opinions and, like, other stuff

1. The polls need the Electoral College

To sum up the creation of the Electoral College in one sentence, it was formed because – to be too glib, and to gloss over several massive issues in a fight for a compromise – the founders wanted a backstop in case the unwashed masses and uninformed boobs elected a doorknob.

The college football polls need an Electoral College.

I care, because it offends my sensibilities, and people really do care and pay attention to the polls, even though they have nothing to do with the College Football Playoff now.

Texas is ranked in both polls. TCU isn’t.

Tulsa lost to Oklahoma State a few weeks ago in a close battle. It’s the team’s only loss, and it beat UCF at UCF. UCF is ranked in the Coaches Poll, and Tulsa isn’t.

Arkansas lost to a Georgia team good enough to be ranked in the top four in both polls. It beat Mississippi State in Starkville. Mississippi State beat LSU. LSU is ranked higher than Mississippi State, and both teams are ranked ahead of Arkansas, who isn’t ranked at all.

There needs to be some sort of Electoral College type of check and balance with these polls before they’re released to the public, but I’ve been a part of “expert” polls and those weren’t any better. So there’s only one conclusion …

I alone can fix this.

Let me be the one who throws out the ballots put Oklahoma in the top 25.

2. Your 2020 BYU Cougars

BYU is doing exactly what a team that wants to get noticed is supposed to – be utterly dominant against inferior competition.

The Cougars beat Navy, Troy and Louisiana Tech by a combined score of 148-24, and next up is UTSA. Yippee – I need more.

Boise State, Houston and San Diego State are on the schedule. That’s fine, but that’s not enough for a team that’s been cartoonishly amazing so far. Originally, the Cougars were supposed to play Utah, Michigan State, Arizona State, Minnesota and Missouri.

That. I want that.

3. The quietly interesting team over the next few weeks is …

NC State.

Some programs simply have an off year.

NC State was the model of mid-level consistency under Dave Doeren with four straight winning seasons and two straight 9-4 campaigns before a 4-8 2019. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year, and it was.

Beating Pitt 30-29 with a last second touchdown for a 2-1 record doesn’t mean the Pack is “back,” but with at Virginia this week, Duke to follow, then at North Carolina, and then Miami, all State has to do is not crash.

The finishing kick? Florida State, Liberty, at Syracuse, Georgia Tech. Get through the next four games 3-1, and look out.

Meanwhile …

4. Has any major program fallen as far as fast as …

Florida State?

The program reracked under Jimbo Fisher, won 78 games and a national title from 2011 to 2016, and now …

This.

Yeah, it woke up in time to beat Jacksonville State, but who’s this team beating?

Notre Dame? North Carolina? Is it winning at Louisville, against Pitt, at NC State, Clemson, or against Virginia? At Duke is possible, and there will be a win or three somewhere along the way, but the mere thought that Florida freaking State going 1-9 isn’t crazy is … crazy.

5. As bad as your day is, at least you’re not a New York football team

I’ll do a bigger blurb on this in the near future, but if you’re the New York Jets, do you ditch the Sam Darnold experience for Trevor Lawrence if you have the No. 1 overall pick?

Uh, yeah.

How about after all the guff the Giants took for inexplicably taking Daniel Jones with the sixth overall selection in 2019?

Duh.

What about the team with the No. 2 pick with Justin Fields on the board? Or KJ Costello? Or Trey Lance? It’s going to be a blast of a draft process.

NEXT: The sure-thing picks of the century for this week