This is a silly thing to get into a twist over in 2020, and at the end of the day, if you REALLY think Ohio State is one of the four best teams, FIIIIIINE …
Yeah, it’s Ohio State.
I might not like it if it gets in after going 4-0 or 5-0, I’d argue against it, and it wouldn’t be fair, but if there isn’t an obvious fourth option, it’s sort of hard to get too insane about this program getting in.
But let’s not assume Ohio State is missing another game quite yet.
If Ohio State finishes undefeated with a Big Ten championship, no matter what, I absolutely 100% completely and totally agree that it should be in the College Football Playoff – mostly because I believe that any unbeaten Power Five champion has to be in the tournament, especially from the Big Ten.
Understand that this whole rant has nothing whatsoever to do with Ohio State.
If you’ve read me over the years, you might remember that I was HOWLING in 2017 to the point of getting into screaming arguments with a variety of sports radio hosts – I need help, I know – over Alabama getting into the College Football Playoff after not even winning its own division.
Of course, Bama went on to win the national championship, but that doesn’t necessarily make it fair that it got in.
In a Process Matters way, I was pounding sand for Ohio State, who suffered a blowout loss at Iowa, but won the Big Ten Championship over an unbeaten Wisconsin and had one other loss to an Oklahoma team that got into the CFP.
I’m an unwavering believer that if you can’t win your conference championship, you shouldn’t deserve to be in the College Football Playoff. Now, this year, if Florida beats Alabama in a close fight AND Clemson wins a thriller over Notre Dame, I’m totally cool on all four of them getting in …
Unless Ohio State wins the Big Ten championship, and then the Irish are out.
If Ohio State can’t even play in the Big Ten title game, then you can’t assume it’s the conference champion any more than you can assume Cincinnati would win the Big 12 or BYU could take the Pac-12.
But yeah, after ALL of that, if Ohio State can’t play in the Big Ten Championship and is 4-0 or 5-0, will I go crazy about it getting in? Ehhhhh, yeah, because it’s not fair – again, if it was Purdue, no way – but okay.
At the end of the day, give me the unknown – an unbeaten Ohio State – over a possible rematch of something we’ve already seen this year.
And yes, give me the unbeaten Power Five program with four or five Power Five wins over the unbeaten Group of Five or Independent that doesn’t have any.
– Ohio State’s Playoff problem
– I Think, I Know, I Believe
– 5 Footballey Opinions
– Sure-Thing Picks of the Century