For some, Cheez-It Bowl as good as it gets
- Tom Rife: Livin' the Team
- December 24, 2020
- 884
All rise. The College Football Playoff spirits have spoken. The “Who’s in?” brackets are in.
You’ve probably heard: Come New Year’s Day, it’s top-seeded Alabama vs. fourth-seeded Notre Dame in the 4 p.m. semifinal, and second-seeded Clemson vs. third-seeded Ohio State in the 8 p.m. semifinal. Both absolutely titillating games will air on ESPN, and the two winners will collide Jan. 11 for all the face masks and hand sanitizer in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
The big-boy pundits all ruminate that, given the body of work of the four top contenders and the 2020 season’s extenuating circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, the selections couldn’t have come out any other way.
Everyone associated with the semifinalists should be ecstatic, should be licking their chops in “can’t wait” mode, right? After watching their team slither past Northwestern this past Saturday in the Big Ten title showdown, Buckeyes fans by the quadrillions (to the fourth power) unanimously concur that “6 and 0” translates into “undefeated” any way you slice it.
Speaking of translations, there is, thanks to former Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens, another way to respond to the CFP process:
“Whooptyhell.”
In other words, in the opinion of this not-so-big-boy pundit, the CFP is balderdash, claptrap, twaddle, bunkum, hooey, tripe, humbug, gibberish, codswallop, bunk, drivel, hokum and, well, malarkey (thanks, Joe).
What the CFP does is make the rest of college football irrelevant. If you ain’t one of the top four, you ain’t worthy. And that’s an unsavory insult to so many meritorious teams, inspiring coaches, deserving players and great universities who, despite their unwavering commitments even in times of mayhem, are doomed to wind up back markers.
Not fair.
And it’s not just Texas A&M or Cincinnati, who certainly have made it known they are not exactly smitten with being cast as also-rans. The Aggies’ Jimbo Fisher has mastered the art of blowing smoke. As for the Bearcats, I still haven’t forgiven them for their comeback victory over Ohio University in Nippert Stadium last year. (The loss was actually OU’s fault because the Green and White had a first-and-goal at the UC 1-yard line in the last minute and didn’t have enough savvy to punch it in for the win.)
If the bigger educational institutions throughout America had a real playoff system instead of a scheme that caters to the exalted Power 5 conferences, the overall health of the game this time of year would be a whole lot more palatable. Obviously, 64 teams wouldn’t fly. But 12 or 16 might. The bottom line is that too many “good guys” have a snowflake’s chance in Mar-a-Lago of ever spraying the bubbly.
Oh sure, there are always myriad conference titles to be added to a school’s trophy case. And even in this season of coronavirus chaos, there still remains a pittance of bowl-game invites to be deliberated. No. 5 A&M will play No. 13 North Carolina and No. 8 Cincinnati will face No. 9 Georgia.
Still scheduled are such nuggets as the Myrtle Beach Bowl, Cure Bowl, SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, LendingTree Bowl, Cheez-It Bowl, Duke's Mayo Bowl, Montgomery Bowl, R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and, last but certainly not least, the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.
One has to wonder how many of those jewels will be canceled by Commissioner COVID between now and kickoff. Expect a bundle of brutes bound for the NFL to take a vacay too. Risk vs. reward, remember?
Given the hullabaloo over this year’s CFP pronouncements, some even have suggested a return to the old BCS system, or perhaps a throwback to computer rankings.
Whatever the future holds, in these parts it’s always “Go Bucks!”
And don’t forget: Happy New Year!