What Ohio State’s journey has taught us about flaws in the new College Football Playoff
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State, the sudden betting favorite to win the national championship, has undoubtedly been the most dominant team in the first season of the 12-team College Football Playoff.
The Buckeyes, as the No. 8 seed, opened their postseason run with a home victory in the first round. With its defeat of No. 9 seed Tennessee, Ohio State earned a trip to the Rose Bowl for the quarterfinals.
OSU dominated in Pasadena, California – making No. 1 seed Oregon look like easy work.
The redemption tour after closing the regular season with a loss against rival Michigan has been resounding.
It has also exposed flaws and generated questions about the new CFP format.
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Are byes as beneficial as expected?
The five highest-ranked conference champions earned an automatic bid into the CFP. Among that handful, the top four got a first-round bye and an instant spot in the quarterfinals.
That wasn’t beneficial in this week’s games, reigniting the debate of rest vs. rust.
Teams that had a bye before the quarterfinals – Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State – combined to get outscored 42-3 in the first quarter.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning refused to use the bye as an excuse for his team’s poor start in the Rose Bowl, but Ohio State felt it benefited from the spark that came as a result of a 42-17 win against Tennessee in the first round.
The argument in favor of keeping the byes is clear. In a sport as physical as football, a week without risking injury is favorable.
However, the ability to ignite momentum seemed to outweigh the rest.
After closing the regular season with a loss vs. Michigan, Ohio State has regained momentum in the College Football Playoff.AP
Should automatic bids lead to guaranteed byes?
Arizona State’s near-upset of Texas proved that there are benefits to allowing the top five conference champions into the field. However, the seeding of the 12 teams has sparked debate.
Much of it centers around Ohio State and Oregon. The Ducks, as undefeated Big Ten champions, had to face the Buckeyes – the sixth-ranked team that was seeded at No. 8 because of automatic byes – in their first game.
As a result, reports have surfaced about the potential of a new seeding format in the future.
The conference champions would keep their automatic bids, but it wouldn’t guarantee a bye. Instead, once the 12-team field is decided, the four highest-ranked teams would get a bye.
Based on this season’s rankings, here’s how the seeding would look:
No. 1 Oregon
No. 2 Georgia
No. 3 Texas
No. 4 Penn State
No. 5 Notre Dame
No. 6 Ohio State
No. 7 Tennessee
No. 8 Indiana
No. 9 Boise State
No. 10 Southern Methodist
No. 11 Arizona State
No. 12 Clemson
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