College Football Playoff coming off just like NCAA Tournament with complete madness

CFP is showing that, just like NCAA tourney, the best team doesn’t always prevail

Jeremiah Smith and Ohio State are headed to the College Football Playoff semifinals after blasting Oregon. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How many times has the No. 1 seeded team entered the NCAA Basketball Tournament and cut the nets down in the end? The answer is not many.

Gonzaga, Saint Joseph’s, the list goes on and on over the years where the No. 1 ranked AP or Coaches Poll team enters March Madness and is unable to even reach the Final Four.

Call it the schedule, call it the wear-and-tear of a long season; whatever the reason, we are constantly seeing someone rise through and survive to reach the Final Four and win it all. 

Maybe that is what we are going to need to expect out of the College Football Playoff.

Remember just a few short weeks ago, nobody was giving Ohio State a chance to make it out of even the first round, yet alone still be playing in the semifinals. In fact, the Buckeyes are now the odds-on favorite to win it all.

Crazy how a couple big wins can change things. 

Was Oregon the Gonzaga of the college football world? Maybe. The Ducks were the lone team to go undefeated throughout the regular season, making them the easy No. 1 seed. 

Oregon handled its business, topped fellow qualifiers Ohio State, Penn State and Boise State during the season. 

But they ran into an absolute buzzsaw in the Buckeyes this past weekend inside the Rose Bowl. 

OhioState is creating wide open touchdowns purely off scheme. This is schematically excellent 🔥🔥🔥

Don’t just watch football. Learn football.#AchoAnalysis | #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/fLnCvpgGLe

— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) January 1, 2025

Texas had a phenomenal season, but played a horrible second half against a hyped up Arizona State team. They hung on, but are decisive underdogs to Ohio State. 

Penn State did what Penn State does, taking care of Boise State. We have one game left as Georgia meets Notre Dame, and even the Irish have proven doubters wrong heading into the contest.

Early on, I was against the idea of expanding the playoffs. I thought it would water down the regular season and make those games not matter quite as much. I can admit I was wrong, as this was an exciting past few months of action.

But with the field going from four to 12, we have to admit there is a very good chance that we do not get the best teams in the final two or even semifinals, and maybe the best team from August through November does not win it all.