The college football playoff picture could use a dash of mayhem - Whitley
During the intro to the latest College Football Playoff Selection Show, host Rece Davis said the natural tendency is to “root for chaos and see what happens.”
But, he added, “that almost certainly just benefits the old guard.”
I have no special affinity for the old guard. But if you’re a fan of deranged entertainment, there’s only one thing to root for this weekend.
Team Chaos.
By “deranged,” I mean the anger, joy, intrigue and nose-thumbing that will erupt if there are a couple of mild upsets in conference title games.
I mean, what could be more fun than watching the state of Ohio melt down if TCU loses and still gets in the playoffs ahead of the Buckeyes?
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That’s one of the many deranged possibilities, any of which beat a historically dull and orderly march into the playoffs. The mere thought reminds me of the scene in “Animal House” where John “Bluto” Blutarsky wandered the Faber College cafeteria with a tray full of food.
John Belushi’s character eventually slid into a booth and spewed a cheese ball on the snotty Omega Theta Pi bros, sprang up and yelled the words that will forever resonate in Hollywood history.
"Food Fight!"
What ensued was a lot more fun to watch than Bluto politely cleaning his plate and then excusing himself to go work on his 0.00 GPA. As Davis said, it was natural to root for chaos to see if Bluto would be corralled by the ROTC troop.
Fans love to argue so let's give them something to argue about
Half the fun of sports is sitting around and arguing about them. And in a normal year, few things spark as much debate as which teams should make the playoffs.
One or two teams always feel the CFP Selection Committee shafted them. This time around, committee members might not need to go into the Federal Witness Protection Program after announcing the Final Four.
Going into the weekend, their rankings are 1. Georgia, 2. Michigan, 3. TCU, 4. USC. Ohio State at No. 5 and Alabama at No. 6 have their noses pressed against the CFP window, hoping somebody loses.
So does UCF, which is ranked No. 22 but will still claim the national championship out of habit. But we digress.
If none of the favorites lose, the selection committee will just rubber-stamp invitations to the big party. Only the most deluded 3,000 or so Alabama fans will call “The Paul Finebaum Show” claiming the Tide got jobbed.
We must assume Georgia beating LSU in the SEC Championship Game and Michigan beating Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game are mere formalities. Even if one of the favorites lose, it will still make the playoff.
The fun could begin if Utah beats USC in Friday night’s Pac-12 championship game. The Utes already gave USC its only regular-season loss. There’s no way the CFP could still invite a team that lost twice to a team that lost to the Gators.
Ohio State would presumably slide into the No. 4 spot, which will fire up the Bama-Buckeyes debate.
The Crimson Tide lost two road games in the final seconds by a total of four points. The Buckeyes have only one loss, but it was by approximately 138 points last week at home against Michigan.
Which team really deserves the CFP invitation?
What happens if TCU loses to Kansas State?
The Mayhem Meter will really crank up if Kansas State beats TCU on Saturday. If USC also loses, would the old guard of Ohio State and Alabama both move into the Final Four? Or would the selection committee still invite TCU regardless of what happens?
The old guard would argue that TCU plays in the mediocre Big 12. It hasn’t sniffed a national title since FDR was in office. Its entire NIL budget wouldn’t cover Bryce Young’s monthly manicure bill.
And can we really have a playoff without Alabama and/or Ohio State?
If TCU barely loses, isn’t its resume still better than the Michigan-marred one Ohio State has handed in?
Could the two-loss Crimson Tide vault over the one-loss Horned Frogs?
These are the chaotic questions that make the college football world go around. They will be moot if all the favorites win this weekend. The next CFP selection show will be duller than an Omega Theta Pi pledge luncheon.
On behalf of Blutos everywhere, wouldn’t you rather see a food fight?
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidEWhitley.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: CFP Final Four chaos if USC, TCU lose with Alabama, Ohio State waiting
