An interesting thing happened this year’s college football bowl season; with the playoff expanded to 12 teams, it basically murdered any interest I could have in absolutely any other bowl game that wasn’t a CFB playoff game. Even Virginia Tech being in the Belk Duke’s Mayo Bowl, which is maybe like a C-tier bowl, instead of the E-tier that shit like the TransPerfect Music City Bowl or ReliaQuest Bowl couldn’t interest me in the least bit. And I don’t think such was the intention of the CFB committee, but at the same time I don’t think they should be surprised that fucks to give for any bowl that wasn’t a playoff game, actually ended up being quite minimal.
Anyway, the field is set for the National Championship, with it being The Ohio State University against Notre Dame, two schools I typically give no shits about beyond that I want to see them lose every time I hear their names in competition. Not that I had any real horse in the race, but I obviously hoped for Georgia to win a third natty in recent years for the fact that they’re the hometown team for me, but their chances seemed like a wash when Carson Beck was ruled out after hurting himself in the SEC Championship.
Texas was my B-pick, because I proclaimed that the Natty really was theirs to lose; and it’s not because I like Texas by any stretch of the imagination, but if we really did end up with a Texas vs. UGA III, I didn’t think there was any chance that Georgia could upend them a third consecutive time in a single season. And if there’s any consolation at all for me, there’s always some degree of satisfaction in being right.
However both schools shit the bed, and we’re stuck with TOSU and ND for the first-ever 12-team playoff version Natty, and I really couldn’t give a shit on who actually wins. Honestly, I think TOSU is probably going to win, like a 38-17 contest because they look like world beaters right now, and they did win the first-ever 4-team playoff, so it just seems like one of those kismet things that they’d win the first-ever 12-team playoff, out of some weird tradition.
But for the sake of picking someone to root for, I think I’m going to be rooting for Notre Dame; not because I like them in the least bit*, but because Notre Dame winning a National Championship is basically the worst thing to happen for the CFB committee, who will undoubtedly be facing a lot of difficult questions should ND win the Natty, and I like the idea of chaos being brought to their doorstep instead of TOSU getting to be National Champions.
*especially since they no longer have a Korean kicker
Notre Dame doesn’t play in a conference and remains independent. Meaning that after 12 weeks of football, they don’t have to play in a conference championship game, because they belong to no conference. This has remained problematic and a point of contention for years, especially with the advent of playoffs and all the conference realignments around them. Somehow, all the other sports are a part of the ACC yet their football program is allowed to remain independent, despite being weighted with ACC opponents, but the fact of the matter is that when the football regular season is over, Notre Dame only has to play 12 games, versus every other conference-affiliated school whom in most cases, if they want to make the playoffs, have to play in a 13th game, their conference’s championship, against in most cases, tough competition.
The competitive advantage of one less week is tremendous, especially in a sport where mountains of men crash into each other a hundred times, and every time ND is a good team probably gives the CFB committee fits, because few metrics and statistical ringers can possibly and appropriately try to even the playing field when there’s one full-ass game less than everyone else.
For context, this season, Notre Dame played their 12th and final regular season game on November 30th, a 49-35 slugfest win against USC. They didn’t play again until December 20th, when they had their first-round game against Indiana (who didn’t belong in the playoff in the first place, but had too good of a W-L record to ignore), but point remains a 20-day rest in between games.
Meanwhile, Texas, who played and lost, in the SEC championship on December 7th, their 13th game of the season, played against Clemson on December 21st, 14 days off in between games.
A week of rest in football is a massive span of time in which a litany of sports injuries and ailments can recover, especially in this day of sports medicine where football teams have medical teams probably more skilled than the Mayo Clinic at getting players up and running in optimal performance. Notre Dame did not earn a playoff bye this year, but they still had almost three entire weeks off because they didn’t have to play in a conference championship.
Imagine in a future year, where ND has an exceptionally good year, goes 12-0, and the Committee can’t ignore it, and they do get a first round bye? If the schedule were anything like this season’s, they’ll then have around 28 days off from their final regular season game and their first playoff game. Yes, rust could become a factor at this point, but it’s more likely their entire roster will be well rested and more than eager to trounce some battle tested plebe schools who will have had 13-14 games under their belts at that time.
Make me understand how this can be fair.
And it gets better too; one of my boys pointed out, that amid all the dollars that the playoffs are undoubtedly making a lot of rich white guys, all the playoff participants stand to make some money too. Long story short, teams gain basically prize money based on where they go through the playoffs, and the prize money is then divvied up within the schools’ respective conferences. Ohio State and Penn State earned $28M collectively, which is then split between the Big 10, and I’m sure anyone reading this knows what’s coming.
Notre Dame, not being a part of any conference, and reaching the National Championship game, has earned $20M; but because they are a part of no conference, they are now entitled to keep every single penny of that prize money. I don’t know what if any rules or restrictions there are to that money, but whether ND pays their players, or turns it around and uses it as NIL pool money, or they just reinvest it into their overrated school as a whole, there’s basically no negative outcome to Notre Dame coming into $20M dollars, while even the most talented of football royalty have to split it if I’m reading correctly, where Rutgers is entitled to the same amount as TOSU, despite TOSU having done all the work to get it.
Money makes the world go round, unfortunately, and Notre Dame being a place where more money is in circulation means that they’ll become an even bigger destination school than they already are. ND’s name will be attached to every single prep star, and every single prep star with dollar signs in their eyes will have ND’s name on their list, hoping to get a fat NIL offer.
Not to mention when the rich team that gets richer, they’ll also still have only 12 games to play instead of 13+, and if all this talent transforms them into a dynasty, then they’ll basically always have that first-round bye and nearly a month off before the playoffs.
All of which amounts to even more discontent and cries of competitive imbalance within the CFB landscape, and if Notre Dame wins the Natty or any future Natty, these cries will only get louder and louder, and lead to a whole lot of unhappy CFB committee members. And if those greedy crooked cocksuckers are unhappy, then that definitely gives me all the reason to root for it.
So despite the fact that I don’t think they’ll actually win, for one night only, Go Irish. When the night is over, I still won’t care either way.
