KING CRIMSON?
Tide’s showing in SEC title game will determine who gets CFP spot
IMAGINE this: Alabama loses a heartbreaker on Saturday. It makes Georgia sweat, taking a lead deep into the third quarter and nearly handing the powerhouse Bulldogs their first loss.
In postgame press conferences, both Nick Saban and Kirby Smart say the Crimson Tide prove they are one of the four best teams in the country, if not No. 2.
What does the College Football Playoff committee do? Does it buck history and invite a two-loss team for the first time? Does it pass on the big brand that is Alabama with the likely Heisman Trophy winner in quarter- back Bryce Young?
The biggest storyline entering the final week of the season revolves around Cincinnati and Oklahoma State for the last spot in the playoff. Both teams are favorites in their respective conference title games — Cincinnati meets Houston and Oklahoma State faces Baylor — but Alabama’s role in all of this is intriguing because of the decision the committee could be faced with.
There’s always been this argument when it comes to the playoff of what is more important, résumé or the eye test. The committee has gone different ways depending on the year. The historically strongest programs tend to get the benefit of the doubt.
Alabama has two wins over teams ranked by the committee (No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 25 Arkansas) and owns six victories over teams above .500. It has failed to show “game control” in recent weeks — a popular phrase of the committee’s — beating its last three conference opponents, Arkansas, Auburn and LSU, by a combined 15 points. But by playing Georgia close, it would prove it is an elite team.
Now, maybe we get some unexpected results. It is possible that Michigan, Oklahoma
State or Cincinnati lose, and possibly more than one of them. Alabama could get blown out by Georgia or pull the upset.
This would create an extremely difficult decision: The better team or the better résumé?
Yes he Michi-can!
Saturday was a win for patience. It was a win for staying the course. It was a win for not making rash judgements. Michigan could’ve made a move after last season, parted ways with Jim Harbaugh after his ballyhooed return didn’t come close to living up to the immense hype. He went 2-4 last year, and is 1-4 in bowl games.
Instead, the school reworked his contract while adding on years, making it more tenable to let him go if last season’s struggles continued. And now, after vanquishing their Ohio State demons, snapping the Buckeyes’ eight-game winning streak in The Game, the Wolverines are headed to the Big Ten Championship game for the first time as a heavy favorite to reach the playoff.
Everything worked in Michigan’s favor. The game was in Ann Arbor. The wintry weather conditions favored its groundand-pound style. Ohio State had struggled with consistency all year, and played a ‘C’ game. But the Wolverines earned it by owning the line of scrimmage to the tune of 297 rushing yards and not sitting on the lead. The school didn’t take the easy way out, when so many other big programs have after a few underwhelming seasons. It deserved this.
Land of Lincoln
We told you the coaching carousel could be wild a few weeks back. This certainly is one helluva way to get it going, as Lincoln Riley is leaving Oklahoma for USC, it was announced Sunday night. This is a home-run hire for the Trojans. Riley is an offensive mastermind and quarterback guru who has reached the playoff four times and has produced two Heisman
Trophy winners in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray.
USC has fallen on hard times, ever since Pete Carroll’s departure in
2009. Lane Kiffin, Steve Sarkisian and Clay Helton weren’t the answer. Recruiting hasn’t been the same. The 2022 class is ranked 67th, behind the likes of Coastal Carolina, East Carolina and Tulane. It has two losing seasons in the last four years and last won double-digits in 2017. Riley will change that. A win for both sides.