A funny thing happened with the first-ever College Football playoffs: two teams notorious for being chokers have broken through, and will play for the National Championship in ten days. For better or worse, between Oregon and Ohio State, one of two teams that have been known for being #2 ranked, or should’ve beens is actually going to come out of the game as the National Champion of college football.*
*Speaking of should’ve beens, not to be ignored are the losses suffered by both Mississippi State and Ole Miss in their respective bowl games over the weekend. The sound of bandwagon football fandom in the state of Mississippi is a lot like the sound of a hearty toilet flush.
Honestly, I don’t really have much care for either team going for the National Championship. Oregon is a team that I always felt has been kind of overrated, playing in a patsy conference, and has never really truly been tested by an SEC school in like, ever.** Sure, they’re a high-tempo, exciting team to watch, but I think there’s a clear reason why they’ve never actually won the whole thing, in spite of their perpetual top-5 rankings every year.
**1-2 since 2010, with the one win coming against Tennessee, which is the equivalent of a wrestler beating Virgil, and then bragging about having a win against an nWo member.
Now, I’m definitely grateful and pleased with how they absolutely punished and demoralized Florida State to the point where the entire Seminole team quite literally gave up while on the field, but let’s be realistic here, it’s not like Florida State was expected to compete against the Ducks in the first place. As much of an ACC guy I am, even Khal Drogo’s resurrected carcass could tell that FSU wasn’t for real, and he was an invalid. So it’s hard to say that the Ducks had really faced any stiff competition en route to the National Championship game, and if it were against basically anyone else, I’d be inclined to believe that Oregon could get upset.
But then we have Ohio State, whom pulled the upset over Alabama, whom in spite of the fact that it took them most of the year to claw themselves back to the #1 ranking, was still expected to pretty much go all the way again, given the way they’d been playing up to this point. Like, when I think about Ohio State, I can only think of stuff like the time they got blown out in the National Championship against Florida, or like last year when I deftly picked Michigan State to win the Big 10, and watched them systematically defeat the Buckeyes to fulfill that prediction.
They’re a team notorious for high expectations and falling short. They’re literally a .500 team in their last ten bowl games, which doesn’t sound like what a perpetual contender should be sounding like, not to mention 0-2 in their last two attempts at the National Championship.
But if I had to pick one to want to win it all, I’m going to have to go with Ohio State. I don’t like the Buckeyes, I think they’re overrated, and I love to shit on the Big 10 and their stupid logo, but there’s one reason why I feel that I should root for them.
Because their one defeat all season came at the hands of Virginia Tech. Wrestling logic dictates that if Ohio State wins the National Championship, then the following equations take effect:
Virginia Tech > Ohio State
Ohio State = National Champions
Virginia Tech > National Champions
In the world of wrestling, after Ohio State is crowned champions, the day later at whatever celebratory parade or festival there is for the Buckeyes, Virginia Tech’s music will abruptly hit out of nowhere, and then they can cut a scathing promo about how Ohio State should be congratulated for their National Championship, but by virtue of their one loss to the Hokies, that logically, Virginia Tech is the uncrowned REAL National Champions, and should be the number one contender.
And then there could be birth to yet another bowl game, like “The Coca-Cola REAL Bowl” where Virginia Tech could defeat Ohio State again, and despite the fact that they finished the season 7-6, come out as the real National Champions.
Seriously though, it would kind of cool to make any future National Champions have to play in extra games after winning the whole thing, to rectify any losses if they incurred any on the way to the title. If such ever happens, you heard it here first.
Whatever though, basically we have two teams known for choking, and one of them is miraculously going to be National Champions in ten days. This playoff thing is off to a rousing beginning, and I kind of love the chaos.
Go Buckeyes. Ugh.
