We’ve done it. We made it to the end of this grand achievement of a college football season. And our reward?
Alabama. Ohio State. Same old, same old.
But that’s not necessarily bad. Let me explain.
Stability is most visible in times of chaos. The wise man builds his house on the rock, not the sand, because when the waves come, you don’t want your house washed away.
(Yes, I’m using one of Jesus’s parables to make a point about college football. Marvel at my superior writing talent.)
It’s been a crazy year. As I said at the time, it didn’t have to be. The Big Ten didn’t have to freak out in August and try to persuade every other major conference not to play football, only to be followed by the PAC-12 sheep alone and eventually realize they were being silly and shoehorn in a season late in the year.
How do we know? The SEC, ACC, and Big 12 proved it. No major hospitalizations. Zero deaths. Some cancellations, largely due to overzealous contact tracing protocols. But a season – a mostly normal one – was successfully played.
I maintain that the Big Ten and PAC-12 deserved, from an administrative and monetary standpoint, to be walled off from the Playoff this year. But it wouldn’t have been fair to the teams, the coaches, and the players in those conferences who wanted to play ball.
So, due to some last-minute rule changes that robbed Indiana of a chance at Playoff glory, Ohio State slipped into the season finale having played only 6 games INCLUDING their conference title matchup.
But they’re playing like a team who deserves to be there. It’d be one thing if the Buckeyes were squeaking by teams. No, they’re hot right now, obliterating seriously skilled squads like Northwestern and Clemson – the latter while missing a ton of starting players. Justin Fields is on another level, and absolutely should have been a Heisman finalist. There’s not a serious weakness I can see on this Buckeye team.
It’s for that reason that I’m fine with their arguably undeserved presence in this game. They’ve proved on the field – regardless of the off-the field politicking – that they’re elite. And that’s what matters.
They’d better hope they can replicate that success on Monday because Alabama, the behemoth meat processor that also plays football games, is their opponent.
This year’s model of the Crimson Tide is headed by a devastating offense managed by Mac Jones, with carries taken care of by Najee Harris. Heisman winner and unreal athlete Devonta Smith, bolstered (hopefully) by returning receiver Jaylon Waddle, should catch most of what Jones throws their way.
Like I said, stability is revealed in chaos. Alabama and Ohio State, every year, churn out exceptional football teams and incredible games. Their programs are unquestionably two of the three best and talent-richest in the nation. This is the way things are.
So in a chaotic season, it makes sense the stable teams would remain after everything.
Would I like things to be different? Would I like there to be more than three or four teams that can win a national title every year, taking all the drama out of the Playoff race, squashing the many incredible teams not in that elite tier below them into an unsaid second-class status? Would I like to see the Playoff expanded?
es. Yes, I would. Given enough time, it would revitalize recruiting, spreading talent more evenly through the sport, and ESPN would be happy because there’s more football to bloviate endlessly about and sell commercials for.
But this is the system we have. And this is the game we get. And given every indication, it will be spectacular. So here’s my preview, and my pick.
The Crimson Tide have had issues on D all year. Remember their escape against Ole Miss? They even had trouble handling Notre Dame with their usual breed of dominance. And the Tide haven’t faced a team like Ohio State all year long.
So much hinges on whether Justin Fields is healthy enough to be a truly mobile QB. Performers like that always give Bama fits. Fields looked fine throwing-wise against Clemson after his scare, even if he did break a rib. So I expect him to hurl it well. Clemson’s D is statistically tougher than Bama’s.
Another wrinkle: who’s out for Ohio State? How many players are back after COVID and contact-tracing issues sidelined a good chunk of Buckeyes in the semifinal matchup with Clemson?
Like I said, this is shaping up to be a battle for the ages. In situations like this I default to – you guessed it – stability. The team that’s proven for years it belongs here is Alabama. They know what to expect. I think the Tide squeak out a victory with a last-minute Najee Harris TD.
PICK: Ohio State (+8.5)
O/U: UNDER (75.5)
FINAL SCORE: Alabama 37, Ohio State 34