These are the fab four
Year 6 of playoff features best field yet, with three Power Five teams (lsu, osu, clemson) unbeaten in regular season for first time since ’04
Alabama fatigue? Surely, a lot of us have it. Consider the Crimson Tide’s first-time absence from the College Football Playoff as unofficial item No. 1 on the Best List. Year 6 of the playoff is, for a lot of reasons, the best one yet.
We needn’t overplay the Alabama angle, but we can start there. A playoff without Nick Saban’s dream-killing machine hovering over the proceedings is like a Super Bowl without the Patriots, an NBA Finals without the Warriors or a political discussion without twisted lies and bilious resentment.
It’s simply delightful.
Then again, there’s also Clemson. Head and shoulders above the rest of the four-team field in recent pedigree, the Tigers have been in four consecutive playoffs and won it all twice, including last season. So, in all truth, there’s a hint of “ABC” sentiment — anybody but Clemson — in the air, too.
What the No. 3 Tigers have going for them, though, is the chance to raise the national championship trophy again and, in doing so, actually vault ahead of Alabama as the preeminent program in the country. That would be compelling in its own way, a triumph at the expense of the Nicktator’s realm.
But enough about Alabama. Why are we always talking about Alabama? It’s embarrassingly Pavlovian.
No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona. Saturday’s semifinals add up to — have we said this already? — the best playoff yet.
And here’s the aforementioned Best List: In Year 6 of the playoff, six reasons to back up that claim.
1. Best field
For the first time since 2004, three Power Five teams — LSU, Ohio State and Clemson — ended the regular season unbeaten. And in the rarest of twists, all three are seen essentially as equals. This is a playoff without a favorite.
LSU won at Alabama, took care of business against Florida, Auburn and Georgia and emerged as one of the most pristine SEC champions on record.
Ohio State blew the doors off the Big Ten, scoring so many points and yielding so few that a debate about the conference’s best teams ever simply can’t be had without including these Buckeyes.
Clemson continued to do what it does — make mincemeat of the ACC — on the heels of last season’s stunning 44-16 blowout of Alabama in the playoff finale. As the next games near, many wonder if ranking any team ahead of the Tigers was foolishly misguided.
“The ROY bus is fueled up, for sure,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “It’s been easy this year. I really haven’t had to do a whole lot.”
“ROY” stands for the “rest of y’all.” It’s Swinney’s way of warning that his ridiculously talented team is being overlooked.
And then there’s Big 12 champ Oklahoma — a true blue blood that’s in the playoff for the fourth time.
Four conference champs, with a combined record of 51-1? We’ve never seen this level of excellence before.
2. Best star power
The name on everybody’s lips is Joe Burrow. LSU’s senior quarterback won the Heisman Trophy by a record margin, which only begins to tell his story. He is magically accurate and devastatingly clutch. His season performance — which includes 48 touchdown passes — has been as compelling as any we’ve seen from his position.
Yet there’s no reason under the sun to just assume Burrow will have the biggest impact of any of the four QBs on this playoff.
Oklahoma’s Jalen Hurts, the Heisman runner-up, has arguably been more valuable to the Sooners, because of his running, than either of their Heisman-winning QBs in 2017 (Baker Mayfield) and 2018 (Kyler Murray).
Ohio State’s Justin Fields, who finished third in the Heisman voting, has played near-perfect football statistically.
And then there’s Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence, who threw some interceptions early in the season and ended up a modest seventh in the Heisman voting. He was the best player — by miles — in last season’s playoff and is the most gifted college passer in the country. Only a sophomore, Lawrence is seen by many as a generational talent. There’s no argument with that sentiment here.
But it goes on: Ohio State also has the most fearsome defensive player in the country in pass rusher Chase Young, who finished fourth in Heisman voting, and elite running back J.K. Dobbins, who finished sixth. Clemson running back Travis Etienne, a spectacular player in his own right, finished ninth.
“I think we’re No. 1, point blank, period,” Young said.
Maybe Clemson will be intimidated by that statement. Probably not.
But that’s seven of the top 10 in the Heisman rankings in one playoff. Again, we’ve never seen this before.
3. Best NFL angle
With the first pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, the Bengals select . . . Joe Burrow? Anyone else would be a major upset. As for the second pick, well, we’ll see if it becomes Young. He won’t be on the board for long.
Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons, Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah and Oklahoma wideout CeeDee Lamb project as top-10 picks, too.
And if one looks at 2021 mock drafts, they begin with Lawrence. Most of them have Fields going second among quarterbacks, and in some cases going No. 2 overall.
Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas, Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade and LSU linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson and wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase are very high on 2021 draft boards, too.
Some people are so NFL-oriented that they watch college football through the lens of the pro game. If the passion and pageantry of the college game isn’t their cup of tea, fine. They should be thrilled just the same by the talent in this playoff.
4. Best success stories: players
Three of the four quarterbacks — Burrow, Hurts and Fields — are transfers. How about that?
At Ohio State, Burrow was a backup to J.T. Barrett for two seasons. When his time finally came, well, it didn’t. Dwayne Haskins grabbed the reins and wasn’t about to let them go. Burrow had to leave if he was ever going to play.
Hurts famously lost his job at Alabama smack in the middle of the national championship game. After leading the Tide throughout the 2017 season, Hurts was pulled against Georgia. Tua Tagovailoa became an instant
hero and was the starter in 2018, while Hurts bit down hard on his disappointment. He graduated before leaving Tuscaloosa with one season of eligibility remaining.
Fields arrived at Georgia in 2018 as one of the most ballyhooed recruits in school history. But Jake Fromm — only a sophomore himself that season — only tightened his grip on the starting job. Fields went from Mr. Big Time to just another guy, just like that. After a humbling season, he began his search for a different path.
Who would quibble with any of the three for doing what they had to do? They continued to believe in themselves, and just look at them now.
5. Best success stories: coaches
Swinney was a no-name interim coach when he took over the faltering Tigers after Tommy Bowden resigned midway through the 2008 season. Fans were outraged — and national-media members shocked — when Clemson ended up giving the young position coach with the funny name the head gig for real.
By the time Swinney was getting things started at Clemson, Ed Orgeron had already bailed on college football for the NFL after a failed head-coaching debut at Mississippi. His second crack at steering the ship would come at USC, but only on an interim basis. USC didn’t see him as true head-coach material.
Did LSU? Eventually, but only after Orgeron had won a lot of people over with an impressive interim stint there, too. Only 47 games into his run with the Tigers, the barrel-chested Bayou creature with one of the most distinctive voices in sports is a straightup superstar.
And don’t forget about Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley and Ohio State’s Ryan Day. All they had to do was follow the acts of legends Bob Stoops and Urban Meyer, respectively. Riley is 36-5, with three playoff trips to his credit. Day is 16-0, his first three games having come in 2018 as Meyer served a suspension.
“When people are given opportunities in life, and there’s certain high expectations, you can’t worry about those things,” Day said. “You have to believe in yourself.”
Given weeks to prepare for a big postseason game, Meyer was wickedly good. Day is two victories away from putting Meyer in the rearview mirror permanently.
6. Best argument for the current system
Expand the playoff!
That’s something many people clearly would like to see. But what makes the college game successful? What makes it different from the NFL? It’s the extreme importance of the regular season. It’s the epic regularseason clashes. It’s LSU-Alabama, Ohio State-Michigan, Clemson-Florida State, Oklahoma-Texas.
After it all, we have the dream scenario: a top four that feels utterly complete. Nary an argument has been heard that any other team — not Georgia, not Oregon, not Baylor and so on — deserved to be in the four-team field. So why should four have been eight or more?
It would’ve been a complete waste of time. Instead, we have the best final four yet — not a moment to be missed. ✶