College football is one of the most popular sports in the United States today. It is continuing to grow each year based on the great reviews and new changes. One of the great things about the sport was the consistency and the players’ striving for excellence each season. This past season, the NCAA made some major changes, and we as fans got to see it all play out.
To start off, the Power 5 (five major conferences) chose to realign. The PAC 12 had ten of twelve of their teams leave the conference. They spread across the BIG 10, ACC, and BIG 12. This was unprecedented. The conferences in college football were iconic and have not changed this significantly in many years. Usually, a major conference change would include one or two teams joining, not eight. Moreover, the conferences were largely determined by geographical location. The PAC 12 on the West Coast, BIG 12 in the South West, BIG 10 in the Midwest, ACC in the East, and SEC in the South. How many West Coast schools were in the Eastern conferences and Eastern schools in the Western conferences.
The other large change that happened this season was the expansion of the playoffs. Usually in college football, only the top four teams would make the bracket. Now the bracket has been expanded to twelve teams. This allows for more meaningful games towards the end of the season and a higher chance for more teams to make the playoffs. The 12 participating teams are the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, plus the next seven highest-ranked teams. The four highest-ranked conference champions get seeded one through four and receive a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion is seeded where it is ranked or at No. 12. The eight teams seeded No. 5-12 will play in the first round with the higher seeds hosting the lower seeds on campus. This is all something that has never been done before. Many people were very excited about their schools having a greater chance and a potential home playoff game. So, how did it play out?
Notre Dame hosted Indiana in the first matchup. Many were intrigued by the in-state rivalry and the Cinderella story of Indiana. Previously, Indiana had the worst record of any team of all time. This season they had an amazing run winning 11 games. In the game, Notre Dame won somewhat easily. The final score was 27-17 with Indiana scoring some garbage time touchdowns. The next game was Penn State hosting SMU. Another interesting matchup with a Texas school coming up to the snowy north to play a BIG 10 school. Quickly, Penn State dominated, scoring 38 points before SMU got involved with the final score being 38-10. Texas hosted Clemson next. This was a nice change from all of the snowy northern weather. Texas looked like they were going to pull away multiple times, however, Clemson kept it close until the very end. The final score from Austin was 38-24. The fourth and final game from the first round was Ohio State hosting Tennessee. Ohio State was coming off a loss to their rival Michigan, and many did not believe in their ability to bounce back. Tennessee on the other hand was a young team with lots of determination. Ohio State ended up boat racing Tennessee 42-17. This dominant performance would not be the last out of Ohio State.
In the quarterfinals, the teams with Byes finally got to play. Oregon, Boise State, Arizona State, and Georgia all received first-round byes. Unfortunately for them, they all ended up losing their games. Ohio State killed Oregon in the Rose Bowl, Arizona State lost a thriller to Texas in the Peach Bowl, Boise State got run out of Glendale by Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl, and Notre Dame beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. In the Semi-Finals, Ohio State faced off against Texas in the Cotton Bowl and Notre Dame faced Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame and Ohio State were both victorious in thrilling finishes. The National Championship was set. This was significant because it featured two teams who would have most likely not made the playoffs if the old format was still in place. Notre Dame (7) and Ohio State (8). In the Championship, Ohio State took an early 28-7 lead. Notre Dame stormed back to within eight with four minutes remaining. Notre Dame desperately needed a stop on 3rd and 11 to get a chance to tie the game. On this play, Quarterback Will Howard threw a 56-yard pass to Freshman Jeremiah Smith to seal the Championship.
This meant that Ohio State, an 8 seed, was the National Champion. This is why the playoffs were expanded, so more teams could get a shot even if they slipped up in the regular season. Overall, the season as a whole was a great success. The games got the highest ratings ever and the playoffs did not disappoint. As a fan, the future’s looking bright for the sport and I can’t wait to see what changes are next.