Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Penn State and the CFP

While the Pitt-Syracuse game of two weeks ago may have been the most entertaining football game of the year to watch, the BEST game of he year my well have been the Big Ten Championship game between Penn State and Wisconsin.  Anyone who says they saw a Big Ten Championship after their 2-2 start, which included an 39 point loss to Michigan, is a liar.  Not even the most optimistic bleeds-blue-and-white Penn State fan would have said that.  They were too busy at the time trying to figure out who would replace James Franklin, who would surely be fired at the end of the season.

You know, James Franklin, right?  He's the guy who was just named the Big Ten Coach of the Year.

So the four teams for the College Football Playoff have been set, and has ANY subject been talked to death more that this one was in the days leading up to the announcement?  I'm not going to add to it other than to say this.  All the conversation centered Washington, Penn State, and Michigan as to who would be the fourth team in the CFP.  I have two thoughts: (1) When Michigan lost two of its final three games, they should no longer have been in the discussion.  You simply can't lose two games in November.  (2) Why was the inclusion of Ohio State a fait accompli  all along?  They did not win their conference championship, and their one loss was to the team that DID win the conference championship.

Going forward, please spare us the eyewash about how important it is to win your conference championship because, clearly, it is not.

In spite of all that, however, a trip to the Rose Bowl is a pretty nice consolation prize for Penn State.  The alternative, as U-Dub will soon find out, was the opportunity to get drubbed by Alabama.




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