First thoughts
OHIO STATE, No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and No. 2 Notre Dame hardly played the
TEXAS TECH statement games that would close the door on a party-crasher when the pairings come out Sunday (noon, ESPN). Ohio State trailed Northwestern These logos are provided to you for use in an editorial news until the final 17 minutes of the context only. Other uses, including as a linking device on a
Web site, or in an advertising or promotional piece, may violate this entity’s trademark or other intellectual property Big Ten championship. Notre Dame,
rights, and may violate your agreement with AP. thought to be a lock win or lose, laid an egg the size of the golden dome in a 34-10 loss to Clemson in the ACC. Door open? Jimbo Fisher is ready to come banging. Said Fisher after No. 5 Texas A&M dispatched Tennessee, 34-13, to finish 8-1: “Seven straight SEC wins. Some schools ain’t even playing seven games. I don’t care what league you’re in. If you’re going to pick the best four teams, we’re one of them.” WHAT OHIO STATE failed to do as a team — dominate Northwestern — one player did by himself. RB Trey Sermon rushed for 331 yards and scored two second-half touchdowns. Whether it was enough to cover for a host of sins in a 22-10 win in the eyes of the CFP committee (the Buckeyes were favored by 221⁄ 2) won’t be known until this aftermoon. But in its own right, Sermon’s was a performance that ranks alone in the history of title games. In addition to breaking Eddie George’s single-game school record (314), 331 yards are the most in any conference championship. MAYBE it’s a sign; a sign that 2021 will begin a return to normal and that college football will lead the way come January and the playoffs. Alabama will be No. 1 and Clemson No. 2 Sunday. As it was in 2018. And 2016. And 2015 (though reversed). “In this weirdest of seasons … Four months of stops and starts and diversions and digressions could end with the same two teams doing as they always do,” wrote Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal Constitution last month. Alabama is 7/10 to win its sixth title under Nick Saban. Clemson is second choice at 11/4. Boring. But after 2020, wouldn’t the same ol’, same ol’ be nice?
Game ball
BALL STATE DEFENSE: The Cardinals held Buffalo RB Jaret Patterson — the FBS leader at 205 yards a game — to 48 on 18 carries Friday as they upset the Bulls, 38-28, to win the Mid-American Conference title. KAYSHON BOUTTE: LSU WR had a school-record 308 yards receiving on 14 receptions in a 53-48 win vs. Mississippi.
Numerology
6Consecutive
conference titles for Oklahoma (Big 12) and Clemson (ACC). They are the longest streaks for any Power Five conference school since Oklahoma won 12 in a row from 1948-59.
A question worth asking: Was it worth it?
With COVID-19 cases surging and the season’s final chapters being written (and rewritten) like a Ben Roethlisberger play in the dirt, the common question seems to be: Was it worth it? A study from The Associated Press won’t answer that question fully, but it might surprise. The AP reports that, despite all the cancellations and program shutdowns, 86.8% of the scheduled season was completed. Yet if perception is reality, then the numbers might not mean much. Consider: No league got in a higher percentage of its regularseason games than the Sun Belt (39 of 40). Yet the Sun Belt was also the only league that was forced to cancel its conference championship.