Former Colorado Buffalo star quarterback and current FOX college football analyst Joel Klatt released his top 10 teams. The Irish were just outside his top 4, coming in as the fifth best team in the country in his estimation.
“You can make a strong argument that the college football playoff has weakened our ability to be great fans of the sport in general.”@JoelKlatt digs into whether or not the CFP has benefited college football, and what we can do as fans to celebrate the sport more ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/D7OS80eNgO
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 15, 2020
It’s easy in the season, so some of these rankings don’t matter much, but what his thoughts on the College Football Playoff’s are very interesting. He argues that the CFP has been bad for the sport.
Klatt goes on the say that the have’s (Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma) have accounted for 17 of the CFP’s berth’s with just 7 times for other teams. He claims that this dominance isn’t good for college football. It’s hard not to agree with Klatt, as much as Clemson vs. Alabama has been in the CFP, wouldn’t it be nice to see other teams getting their crack at a CFP title?
Point one, recruiting has hampered teams that don’t consistently make the CFP. True, but recruiting isn’t an exact science. Plenty of 5-Stars fizzle out, but more high level talent does give these teams more room for error on the recruiting trail.
The second point Klatt makes is that commentators have become lazy. He shames himself, but it’s all about how you view the teams. Can you help it that some programs are clearly better than others? No, so I’m not buying this one.
Number three has Klatt looking that the excellence at the top and minimizing the dominance. I don’t think anyone isn’t giving Clemson and Alabama their due credit. They have been absolutely dominant the last 10 years, both programs.
His final point, I’m on board with. Klatt goes on to say that if you don’t make the CFP, it lessens what you did during your season. For instance, let’s look back on the Irish’s season last year. Brian Kelly guided the team to an 11-2 record, a bowl win and a top 12 ranking by the polls. Should last year be looked at as a failure because Notre Dame didn’t make the CFP? Hell no, it was a great season.
Klatt obviously makes some good points, but overall I have enjoyed the College Football Playoff era. I’d like it even better when the Irish break through and win a CFP title.