The College Football Playoff's history being written by its broadcasting home is apropos of the year 2025.
ESPN's Bill Connelly listed three SEC teams (2020 Alabama Crimson Tide, 2019 LSU Tigers, 2022 Georgia Bulldogs), in the wrong order, might I add, as No. 1-No. 3 in his list. Connelly listed TTUN's 2023/2024 team at No. 4, the 2018/2019 Clemson Tigers at No. 5, and, quite frankly, had the gall to list the 2014/2015 Ohio State Buckeyes at No. 10 and last year's team at No. 9.
Only the 2015/2016 Crimson Tide and 2016/2017 Clemson were the only champions ranked lower. Even the runner-up 2018/2019 Alabama non-CFP champion team was ranked higher.
Connelly might've been hopeful about this year's Buckeyes, but he reduced last year's title team to their 13-10 Week 14 loss to the Wolverines at the "Shoe."
"Apparently, the trick is finishing with a loss. Guess it adds motivation. The 2022 Ohio State team lost to Michigan, then nearly beat an incredible Georgia team in the CFP. The 2024 team lost to Michigan, then ripped off a four-game run that will stand as the model moving forward: Four top-10 opponents stood in the way, and four fell by an average of 17 points," Connelly prefaced before saying, "Hmm ... Ohio State finished the 2025 regular season with a loss, too. Huh."
Then, he reduced the 2014 team to "getting hot at the right time" without even mentioning the "Magnificent Three" quarterback trio of Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett, and Cardale Jones, who all helped the team close the deal in the very first CFP.
"The ultimate 'peak when you most need to' team. Ranked 16th in the initial CFP rankings, Ohio State kept getting better and rising down the stretch. Needing a huge statement in the Big Ten championship game, the Buckeyes unleashed the hugest statement, beating Wisconsin 59-0 to eke out the No. 4 CFP seed. They then proceeded to beat Bama with a 28-0 run and take down Oregon with a late 21-0 run. Late arriving? Nope, just in time," Connelly wrote.
If you have three starting quality quarterbacks, one in Miller who never even got a snap that season, Barrett, who helped the team go undefeated in the regular season before an injury, and Jones, who won the biggest games at the end and later became an infamous sports culture figure because of his outlandish personality, you're probably deserving of a higher ranking than No. 10.
Ditto for a team that had to beat four top programs (Tennessee Volunteers, Oregon Ducks, Texas Longhorns, Notre Dame Fighting Irish) in the first-ever 12-team field.
From a business perspective, it's clear ESPN hates Ohio State. Their recollection of 2014/2015 and 2024/2025 shouldn't shape anyone's view of the CFP's 11-year history.