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Hours of airtime to fill + no controversy to fill it = some awfully slow stretches on the WWL.
Here we go …
Winner: The playoff system. Got the team (Alabama) and the conference (SEC) needed for maximum credibility, interest and eyeballs. (Good thing for ESPN that Florida has no offense.) The other three playoff entries aren’t bad, either.
Loser: The bowl system. Presence of 5-7 teams devalues the bowl season and the regular season. What’s next: 5-7 against 4-8 in Shreveport?
Winner: Selection committee (part I). A controversy-free top four. Considering the chaos that could have consumed the process over the sweep of two years, ruffling some Big 12 feathers once is fairly tame.
Loser: Cupcake lovers. Once again, the committee has sent a clear message: Schedule cupcakes at your peril, especially if you schedule more than one … but aren’t in the SEC.
Winner: Selection committee (part II). Treatment of Florida, USC, North Carolina and Iowa showed the committee didn’t punish the losers of conference title games. Bravo, Barry (and others).
Loser: Fans of the Michigan State-Alabama loser. As if elimination isn’t bad enough, they’ll have lost the best chance to wallow in sorrow (i.e., New Year’s Eve).
Winner: The old school. Worth noting that four of the top-six teams in the final rankings (Alabama, Michigan State, Iowa and Stanford) are straight out of the NFC North, circa 1973. Running the ball and keeping your quarterback upright? Hmmm. Maybe they’re onto something.
Winner: Big 12. So much for the narrative that the conference needed a title game to gain access to the playoff. That’s coming (probably), but it sure doesn’t seem essential.
Loser: Pac-12 (part I). At least one Power 5 league will be left out every year, and with a two-loss champ, the Pac-12 has no basis to complain. (Nor has it, by the way.)
Winner: Big Ten. Just a few short years ago, we were mocking the conference. Now, it’s fourth-best team (Michigan) would win the Pac-12 South.
Loser: Pac-12 (part II): The bigger issue for the Pac-12 is the financial impact of not making the playoff. Semifinal berths are worth $6 million, split 12 ways.
Winner: Fiesta Bowl (Notre Dame vs. Ohio State). For Phoenix hotels and bowl TV ratings, this makes up for the game’s past two matchups, and then some.
Loser: Fiesta Bowl. BattleFrog? What in the name of Poulan Weed Eater is BattleFrog? I bet John Junker hasn’t had a laugh like that in years.
Winner: Alamo Bowl (Oregon vs. TCU). Trevone Boykin is healthy, which means we could see a repeat of the 2011 game (Baylor 67, Washington 56).
Loser: Oregon fans. Have to be getting tired of Texas. Have to be.
Winner: USC. Lose five games and end up in the Pac-12’s No. 3 bowl? It’s nice to be the Trojans.
Loser: Utah. Lose three games and drop to the Pac-12’s No. 6 bowl? The Utes are no longer fresh and don’t generate the TV ratings many bowls covet.
And yet …
Winner: Las Vegas Bowl (Utah vs. BYU). The Holy War comes to Sin City. Spectacular.
Loser: The Mountain West. Ends up with two of its teams facing each other (Colorado State vs. Nevada in the Arizona Bowl), and commissioner Craig Thompson sounds off. The irony: The MW was a driving force behind the creation of the Arizona Bowl to gain more access bowls for its members. Mission accomplished.
Winner: San Jose State. It’s not the bowl game that matters – and that’s good, because Georgia State in the Cure Bowl? Yuck – it’s the bowl practices that matter.
Loser: Us. No games for two weeks. How will we pass the time?
I hear the Warriors are worth checking out.
xxxxxxx
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The post College Football Playoff: Winners and losers from bowl selection day appeared first on College Hotline.
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by Jon Wilner
