Tom Luicci's Mild Musings From An Event-Filled Final CFB Weekend

College Football Playoff Committee Got It Right With The Top 4

Observations from a final weekend of college football (except for Army-Navy) before heading into bowl season:

· Kudos to the College Football Selection Committee. They got it right (this time). It was only fair to elevate LSU to No. 1 after beating No. 4 Georgia when the same committee elevated Ohio State to No. 1 on Nov. 24 after beating Penn State. Consistency is all we ask.

· Saw Clemson’s pizza watch party on ESPN for the playoff show. First – that is not pizza. Second – cannot root for a team that has containers of marinara sauce next to slices of pizza. Moral of the story: Never order pizza in South Carolina.

· Thank you to Utah for reminding us that dominating mediocre to bad teams, and inflating your statistics as a result, does not make you a playoff-worthy team. The Utes played two good teams all year and lost to both. They’re a good team. They’re just not a playoff team. Not with that limited offense.

· A someone who has always known and appreciated the passion of SEC football fans, a reminder of how deep and strong that passion is was served up following a tweet on Friday. I tweeted the following: “Let’s be real here – there are five SEC teams better than Oregon and Utah.” As of mid-Sunday, it had been viewed by more than 206,000 people – almost all SEC fans in agreement.

· Plenty of college teams have had NFL-caliber quarterbacks through the years. Few have had an NFL-caliber QB running an NFL-style offense as effectively as LSU does with Joe Burrow. That was one of the most remarkable and impressive regular seasons ever by a college QB.

· The notion that Ohio State has three Heisman candidates is ridiculous. Justin Fields, we get. Don’t care how good Chase Young will be in the NFL or how dominant he was for a stretch early. He missed two games due to suspension and then was basically invisible in the final two games. Sure, he was double teamed those final two games. But if a player can be negated that easily he is not the best player in the country. Love J.K. Dobbins too. But he’s the third best RB in the country behind Chuba Hubbard and Jonathan Taylor.

· Is it a one-year aberration or a new trend that three of the four starting quarterbacks in the playoffs are transfers?

· Have come to the conclusion that Georgia cannot win a championship with Jake Fromm at quarterback. He was victimized by too many drops against LSU, no doubt. But he was also under 50 percent on completions his final five games. In this era, that won’t get it done. He has become more of a game manager than a quarterback who can carry a team (ala Joe Burrow. Justin Fields and Jalen Hurts).

· Which team now regrets its one inexplicable loss more – Oregon or Georgia? If the Ducks don’t lose at Arizona State, they probably make the playoffs over Oklahoma. If the Bulldogs don’t lose to 4-8 South Carolina they definitely make the playoffs over Oklahoma.

· Remember when LSU critics were saying the Tigers can’t be the best team in the country with their defense? Crickets the past two games from those folks. And this is when it matters.

· Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit are the best in the business at calling games, especially big ones. But they were both off their games in the Pac-12 championship game. Lots of mistakes. Go back and watch.

· Lane Kiffin at Mississippi just might work -- if he has learned from his USC and Tennessee experiences. But what’s realistic for Ole Miss most seasons? Maybe 8-4, 7-5?

· Lock of the year in college football – go back and see the Locksmith’s Friday’s picks and comments on the game on this site for documentation – was the “over” in Clemson-Virginia in the ACC championship game. Once Dabo Swinney played the disrespected, woe-is-us card you knew he was laying the groundwork to put up a big number on the overmatched Cavs. The over/under was 55½. Clemson alone scored 62.

· Early lines have LSU as a 9½-point favorite over Oklahoma and Ohio State as a 2½-point favorite over Clemson. No problem with LSU-Oklahoma. But Ohio State-Clemson should probably be a pick ‘em.

· Be honest here: Is anyone revved up about any of the New Year’s 6 bowls? Oregon-Wisconsin might be the most interesting one to watch in the Rose Bowl. But what about the once-prestigious Sugar Bowl? It will feature two teams coming off losses (Georgia and Baylor). And four-loss Virginia in the Orange Bowl? Come on. The Cotton Bowl’s only real hook is whether Memphis can prove itself against a Big Ten team (Penn State) that might be the third or fourth best team in the league. For this year, the playoffs have ruined the New Year’s 6 bowls.

· Most intriguing aspect to the New Year’s 6 Bowl lineup? No Alabama. That's a pretty dramatic fall from grace.