Must-see TV: The committee got it right

Trey Vaughan, The Joplin Globe, Mo.
·4 min read

Dec. 7—On selection Sunday, the College Football Playoff committee decided the top four teams of the sport one last time.

Those four were: 1. Georgia (13-0), 2. Michigan (13-0), 3. Texas Christian (12-1) and 4. Ohio State (11-1).

There's only one thing separating these four teams — a conference championship. Georgia and Michigan both have theirs after 20-point wins on Saturday. TCU and Ohio State do not. TCU fell to Kansas State 31-28 in overtime of the Big 12 title game. Ohio State didn't even make it to the Big Ten championship because of their loss to Michigan to end the regular season.

With that being said, I still think the committee got it all right. TCU had an undefeated regular season and beat the Wildcats by 10 during that regular-season run. They were still one of three teams that finished 12-0. No one else deserved to be above them. The Horned Frogs earned the No. 3 spot.

Southern California was ranked fourth heading into the weekend. But USC was on thin ice before that Pac-12 championship against Utah even began. The Trojans had already lost to this team in the regular season, and the Utes were just ranked 20th at the time. USC needed to dominate and prove they were better than Utah, in my opinion.

USC lost that matchup 47-24. If you get two shots at a team outside of the top 10 and can't beat them either time, you don't belong in the College Football Playoff.

That left Ohio State, Alabama, Tennessee or Clemson. I would think the fourth team would have to be as obvious to you as it is to me: Ohio State. They've only lost one game. That loss was to one of the only two teams to cap a 13-0 season. Meanwhile, 'Bama, Tennessee and Clemson all have two losses. We don't need to go any further.

The four teams in the playoff finale are correct, and the order is correct. Back to the one outlier: conference championship. TCU at least made it to theirs, which was a tough task this year. Four of the five Power 5 conferences finished the regular season with an undefeated team. That holds enough power for me to keep TCU at three and move the Buckeyes into four just behind them.

As for the top two spots, just flip a coin. That's not important. They both get set up to play the lower two teams. If we're picking, I am going with Georgia at No. 1. I think they're just more complete. I like their quarterback play a little more, and I believe they've got more weapons overall. The two defenses of the Bulldogs and Wolverines are pretty similar, and both coaches do an excellent job.

HEISMAN TALK

The winner of college football's most prestigious individual award will be announced Saturday, Dec. 10.

The four finalists for the Heisman trophy are Ohio State's CJ Stroud, TCU's Max Duggan, Georgia's Stetson Bennett and USC's Caleb Williams.

Williams has a strong case here. He led his team to an 11-2 season. He was relied upon heavily in most games.

I believe Stroud has a similar case. Unfortunately for him, the Buckeyes didn't make that conference championship. How important is that to you?

I believe Duggan has just a strong a case as these two. TCU needed him at all costs in every game this season. The Horned Frogs played from behind a lot, and Duggan always found the play to answer.

I would say Bennett has the least strong case. He had a good season, but he has a lot of weapons around him and his defense might be the best in the CFP other than Michigan's.

Bennett has thrown for 3,425. He has 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. He's ran for 184 yards and seven more scores. Stroud has 3,340 passing yards, 37 TDs and six INTs. Duggan has thrown for 3,321 yards, 30 TDs, just four INTs while rushing for 404 yards and six more scores. Williams has the most passing yards at 4,075. He's also tossed 37 TDs and just four INTs. He adds 372 rushing yards and 10 more scores there.

It's undeniable, Williams has carried his team the most with 47 total scores and the most yardage. But one thing keeps me from leaning toward him for the Heisman trophy. He lost to the same team twice while Duggan led his team to a perfect season and was playing with all he had left in the tank Saturday in the loss to Kansas State.