The national championship game is all set. Notre Dame will take on Ohio State on Monday January 20th for the title in Atlanta. As critical as many people have been when it comes to the College Football Playoff, there is no denying that both of the semifinal games lived up to the hype.
The Penn State vs. Notre Dame game came down to a field foal while the Texas vs. Ohio State game went down to the wire. But before we look ahead to the big one, I wanted to give my thoughts from the semifinal round from a Big 12 football perspective.
Would Arizona State Beat Ohio State?
Coming into Friday, the only thing that I could think about was Arizona State playing in the Cotton Bowl facing Ohio State. Lets be real here, if not for a blown targeting call in the Peach Bowl, the Sun Devils’ season may still be going on as you are reading this. But after watching Texas play Ohio State, my mind changed a little bit.
The Buckeyes defense is off-the-charts good. They not only had the best scoring defense in the country, but they also had the No. 1 total defense and finished fifth in run defense. Ohio State dominated Texas up front and it was clear that the Longhorns had no chance of running the football effectively against them.
Obviously, Cam Skattebo is a one-of-a-kind running back and there is no doubt that he would have made chicken salad out of chicken shit, but he hasn’t seen a defense like Ohio State’s. And as good as Sam Leavitt has been, how would he have done against them? Plus, their best receiver Jordyn Tyson would still have been out as well. As much as I like Arizona State, I would have had a tough time seeing them take down Ohio State on Friday night.
Join a Conference
James Franklin may have lost the game on the field but he damn sure won the game off the field in a press conference before the Orange Bowl. “This is no knock at coach or Notre Dame, but I think everybody should be in a conference,” Franklin said. He went on to say that everyone in the playoff should be playing the same amount of conference games. What James wants to see is consistency across the board when it comes to college football. And while I may not always agree with James Franklin on certain things, he is 100% right here. Every team should be in a conference.
If Notre Dame wants to play an ACC heavy schedule, then they should join the ACC and play in a conference championship game to possibly get into the playoff. That’s why I believe that unless Notre Dame joins a conference, they should not receive a first round bye no matter what. They already get to play one less game than almost everyone else in the playoff, so why should they get a big break? What did they do to earn a bye? Is there some make believe independent trophy that I don’t know about? As we mentioned earlier this past week, Notre Dame has the biggest scam going in college football and it’s time to put a stop to it.
It’s Time to Stop Kissing the SEC’s Ass
Dear national media, will you please stop kissing the ass of Greg Sankey and the SEC? They had their historic run with the title games, but this is now two in a row where there will be no SEC team in the national championship game. Remember when Paul Finebaum and Lane Kiffin were running their mouths on social media in the opening round of the playoffs? They have been dead silent since then and are now eating a big plate of humble pie.
As we all now, the SEC is still undefeated in hypothetical matchups. In fact, they haven’t lost a single one of those games in decades. But when the games actually get played on the field, it’s a different story. I just wish that the rest of the country would get up off their knees and realize that the SEC isn’t all that and a bag of chips. Those days of the SEC dominating the sport are dwindling and the last two years have proven that.
