The Miami Hurricanes, Oregon Ducks, Indiana Hoosiers and Ole Miss Rebels won the College Football Playoff quarterfinals. But game winners only tells us so much about who actually benefited the most from the New Year’s slate of games. And it certainly doesn’t tell us who truly lost.
In the literal sense, Ohio State, Texas Tech, Alabama and Georgia lost. Losers come in many forms though.
Winner — The 12-team College Football Playoff
Listen, I know sports fans want the big brands competing for the titles, but this edition of the College Football Playoff is exactly why expansion was needed.
Last year’s champion was on the outside looking in at the top four. In the previous playoff format, Ohio State would have been left out. This year, three of the four teams in the semifinals wouldn’t have been in the four-team field. Oregon, Ole Miss and Miami have proven their worth by beating teams that would have been chosen over them on paper. This is the proper way to decided a championship: On the field instead of in spreadsheets.
Loser — The Big 12
Did you know the Big 12 has exactly one College Football Playoff victory to its name? Now you do. It was TCU in the 2022 CFP, upsetting Michigan before getting blown out in the title game. The conference is 1-5 all-time. And the only team that’s even played a CFP game under the Big 12 banner is Oklahoma, which now plays in the SEC. The now defunct Pac-12 never won a CFP title, but they at least won two games out of five.
Meanwhile, the Big Ten and SEC have firmly established themselves as the Power 4 power players. The ACC may trail those conferences in prestige, but they’ve got the brands and recruiting edges to be competitive. As for the Big 12, they’re a distant fourth.
Winner — Mario Cristobal
Miami Hurricanes head coach Mario Cristobal | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images
Remember when Mario Cristobal’s game management was always a certainty to cost Miami games? Don’t look now but Cristobal’s Miami Hurricanes have won not one, but two close College Football Playoff games without blowing it.
Cristobal landed at Miami in 2022 with the goal of bringing The U back to its former glory. Notable miscues in his first two seasons made him the butt of the joke far too many times. The only ones laughing now are the Canes. Miami isn’t just winning these games, they’re outphysicaling teams. By humbling Ohio State, Cristobal proved he’s close to his goal. Even if Miami doesn’t win it all this year, the future looks bright.
Loser — Bye weeks (unless you’re Indiana)
Being one of the top four seeds in the College Football Playoff is supposed to be an advantage. We now have a sample size of eight games featuring teams coming off a bye. More often than not, it has gone wrong for those teams.
Last year, all four teams on byes lost in the quarterfinals. This year, three of four were knocked out: Ohio State to Miami, Texas Tech to Oregon and Georgia to Ole Miss. Only Indiana, who beat Alabama, got out unscathed.
Everything about Indiana is special, so it’s no surprise they happened to be immune to the bye week curse. As for the rest of them and the College Football Playoff as a whole, this trend is worrisome. When 87 percent of your top four teams lose coming off a bye, it doesn’t seem like much of a reward.
Winner — Pete Golding
Lane Kiffin was the loser last week. That hasn’t changed after Ole Miss upset Georgia to advance to the semifinals. But Pete Golding is simply a bigger winner than Kiffin is a loser. The Rebels have responded to Golding’s leadership with enthusiasm. Trinidad Chambliss hasn’t skipped a beat. They’re playing as well as they have all season with Golding proving maybe he is the right man to lead the program going forward.
I’m generally opposed to hiring the guy with the interim tag, but Golding is proving to be the exception.
Loser — Notre Dame (again)
Maybe Notre Dame should have spent more energy complaining about Alabama getting into the College Football Playoff instead of being so laser focused on Miami. As it turns out, the Hurricanes very much belonged to be there. The Crimson Tide at least won their first round game before being torn asunder by Indiana.
How ever it shakes out, nothing about how this playoff has played out has gone in the Irish’s favor.
