Ohio State Football: Semis proved Buckeyes belonged in the CFP

The Ohio State football team was left out of the playoff because of a bad loss but the semis yesterday proved the Buckeyes belonged.

Despite the blowout semifinal wins in the College Football Playoff Invitational, I am still a huge advocate for expanding the playoff to eight teams. Teams like Ohio State and Georgia deserved a shot at the title.

Purists will argue that Alabama and Clemson are dominating college football right now for a reason. They have the best players and expansion is pointless because both teams will crush any team that emerges from the Power Five conferences.

That is a weak reason to refrain from expanding the pool.

The current system relies on an eye test from a committee made up of members that are well qualified to make sound judgements about the strengths of each team.  I would argue they are also prone to error.

I agree that the committee attempts to make its best judgement based on the results of the regular season. The problem is not all schedules and conferences are equal.

Notre Dame went 12-0, but navigated through a manageable schedule. Oklahoma avenged its only loss in the regular season by beating Texas in the Big 12 Championship game.

Both teams were selected by the Committee over Georgia and Ohio State.

The Big Ten went 3-1 against the Big 12 with wins over Texas, Iowa State and TCU.

That may be a small sample, but it is enough evidence to suggest the Big Ten was better and Ohio State might be better. Notre Dame beat both Michigan and Northwestern giving it solid on the field proof that it may be equal to Ohio State.

The issue is the Buckeyes beat both teams more soundly and the eye test leans toward Ohio State.

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The Buckeyes definitely had an embarrassing loss, but the body of work for Ohio State given the loss of Nick Bosa and the defensive injuries, was impressive. Georgia also had a legitimate argument to be included.

I accept that the losses to LSU and Alabama were enough to keep the Bulldogs out of the existing system, but anyone with an ounce of football knowledge recognizes Georgia deserved a shot to play for a national title.

I know the naysayers will argue Georgia had its shot in the SEC Championship game.  There is validity to their position, but what is wrong with throwing the Bulldogs in the mix to see if they could win the title?

The FBS gets it post season wrong to protect the sanctity of its regular season.  Adding four teams to mix won’t kill the significance of the regular season.

Milestones to be reached in the Rose Bowl

I think it will strengthen it while giving us a true champion. That is worth the fight to change to the system.