COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAS GREAT STORIES AND BIG TV RATINGS BUT FIX THE PROBLEMS
A 12-team event is convenient — and the Freeman-Franklin story resonates with Ryan Day’s resurgence — yet all four No. 1 seeds missed the semifinals while leaving CFP executives with much work ahead
Call it industry intelligence or menacing greed — or both, silly — when the first College Football Playoff attracts 68.1 million people to watch quarterfinal games. That should quiet anyone who thinks the postseason parlay isn’t effective. Once the Supreme Court allowed NIL compensation for athletes, who previously received nil, the strategy thrives even after the Sugar Bowl was blown up and delayed by a terrorist.
What we have, of course, is dysfunction among top executives and selection committee members who’ve tainted the inaugural tournament. The sport has expanded the event to 12 programs, and yet, the same men and women in their leisure wear create the same old mess. Should we wipe out luxurious room service at a Dallas hotel and give them knockout margaritas and frozen pizza?
Try to decipher how all four No. 1 seeds missed the semifinals, which means what we watched from late August to early December means little. The CFP should pick the best four teams, with eyeballs dominating over data and political fondness, rather than placate various conferences. Megamillions are at stake when Boise State winds up with a final-eight bye when it should have squeezed in as the 12th and final qualifier, which enabled an easy victory by Penn State. Ohio State pulverized Oregon in the quarters and might seize a national championship, but at 13-0, the Ducks deserved simpler early prey. There must be a better way to choose the elite instead of playing Twister and ignoring money-generating conference title games.
This week, thanks to equilibrium, we do have four bluebloods remaining: Notre Dame against Penn State on Thursday in Miami, followed by Ohio State and Texas on Friday in Arlington, Texas. The TV ratings, on average, will be vast. The stories are wonderful — from Ryan Day’s resurgence at Ohio State to whether Marcus Freeman or James Franklin becomes the first Black coach to represent a college team in the national championship game. At first glance, let’s order the Southeastern Conference to shed its nickname — “It Just Means More” — when one more Cam Skattebo vomit session might have led to a Texas loss and no teams for the football-is-religion league. The Big Ten is king, with Ohio State and Penn State earning $28 million in bonuses so far from the revenue distribution system, with the CFP offering another $6 million to each school by reaching the finals.
And for those who believe Notre Dame’s helmet paint is made of 23.9-karat gold flakes — it’s true — the Fighting Irish could prepare for domination in the NIL era. Thanks to a huge assortment of transfers, including quarterback Riley Leonard and defensive end RJ Oben, they’ve already earned $14 million as an independent that keeps the money. Ohio State, Penn State and Texas split cash with other schools in conferences of 18 and 16 teams, which gives Touchdown Jesus a makeover and a studio showing of “Conclave.”
Already, we have new flowers atop the sport. Say goodbye to Alabama, Georgia, USC and other traditional bullies. Still, who was taking charge to flip the semifinal dates: SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, who loves power when he has none. He wanted to help Notre Dame, which was forced to play late Thursday afternoon because of Wednesday morning’s tragedy in New Orleans, and switch the Penn State game with Ohio State-Texas. That’s a valuable thought for the Irish and Freeman. What about fans of four teams who already have made flights and hotel reservations for certain days? And was he, um, trying to help the SEC with a larger Thursday night TV audience for Texas?
“I recognize that's difficult. I don't know if it is impossible,” Sankey told ESPN. “This is not an SEC-related issue; it's for both teams. What I've not heard back from anybody after having asked the question is really directly a yes or no answer to the question I asked.”
Sankey eventually heard no. “Logistics are very complicated, disruptive to the other teams involved that have schedules in place, especially Texas and Ohio State,” said Rich Clark, CFP executive director. “Fans have made arrangements already, and this creates issues for them. There's more, but these are some of the major points.”
The co-star of the tournament, along with Day, is Freeman. Vowing to “expedite the preparation,” he said: “How you handle the unpredictable things in life will determine the success. So the greatest thing about this week is it's just a normal game week. Now what we've got to do is utilize the time. What you miss in terms of not having those couple days is the mental preparation of knowing exactly what to do. We've got to make sure we utilize every hour of the day to capitalize the preparation.”
And the nice words spoken and written about the Irish, who have stumbled since last winning a championship in 1988? “I think it's human nature to enjoy people saying good things about you," Freeman said. “But we've talked all year about being misfits. That's what we must continue to be. You have to make the choice to either waste time listening to people tell you how good you are or you're going to put your time into preparing for this opportunity right in front of us. That's been my message loud and clear, and we all have to make that choice.”
Say what you will about Notre Dame and Penn State in recent time, but they’ve reached the final four. Imagine Freeman or Franklin heading for a place in racial history. After taking a position at a school scandalized by Jerry Sandusky’s sex abuse conviction, Franklin said, “I don’t usually talk about this publicly, but my goal is to be the first African-American football coach to win a college national championship.”
Today? He remembers 2007, when Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith were the first Black men coaching in a Super Bowl. He also knows the number of Black coaches in FBS has risen to 16. “I thought, as a coach, how significant it was in the profession, and how significant that was for young coaches coming up in the profession, to see those guys in that role,’’ Franklin said. “I also remember, at that time, there were a lot of conversations about, ‘Will this impact the profession? Will this impact opportunities for guys?’
“I know some people will say, ‘Well, that that's not a huge increase,’ but it’s an increase. At the end of the day, does this create opportunities for guys to get in front of athletic directors? Does this create opportunities for search firms? I hope so. I think at the end of the day, you just want an opportunity, and you want to be able to earn it through your work and through your actions. I take a lot of pride in it.”
Franklin was born to a white mother and a Black father. Freeman was born to a half-Korean mother and a Black father. “It's a reminder that you are a representation for so many others that look like you, and I don't take that for granted,” Freeman said. “I’m going to work tirelessly to be the best version of me, and it's great, because even the guys in our program can understand, ‘Don't put a ceiling on what you can be and what you can do.’ Now, with that being said, it's not about me. It's about us. More than anything, I want to achieve team glory with this program.
“If you want to impact the young people in this profession, you probably should do things to help them, and those are things that maybe after the season I could focus on trying to do. I want to be a representation. But that's not enough. If you want to truly help some people, then you got to be one to make decisions and actions that truly help people.”
Their words and thoughts define why the tournament is great. Notre Dame and Penn State are playing third games. In the past, neither would be in the semifinals because of the system. At least the CFP is established at a dozen teams. Fourteen or 16? Does college football have enough worthy teams to expand?
The executives and committee members should rework their splattered clay layers. Start over, so college football can showcase the second-biggest event in American sports. Right now, we’re sort of cringing.
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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host. Living in Los Angeles, he gravitated by osmosis to film projects.