By Woodrow Carroll
Last season college football expanded its major college (Football Bowl Subdivision) playoff system to take in 12 teams. By all odds, the expanded format worked out well, although there were a few teams left out who felt slighted when the 12 teams were announced.
The Ohio State Buckeyes emerged victorious when all was said and done. In the title game, the Buckeyes beat Notre Dame, 34-23. Perhaps the most interesting statistic to come out of the playoffs was Ohio State’s final record. And, where Ohio State was seeded when the playoff pairings were announced.
The Buckeyes’ final regular-season record was 10-2. Along the way, the Buckeyes lost to Big Ten rivals Oregon and Michigan. The loss to Oregon was avenged in the playoffs while Michigan, the defending National Champion, failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The most interesting thing about Ohio State’s final record might be the two defeats suffered by the team from Columbus, Ohio. Not since 1960, when Minnesota closed the season with a record of 8-2, has a team with two losses been given any sort of recognition as National Champion. And, at the time Minnesota was playing, there was little in the way of consensus as to which team deserved to be crowned National Champion.
In more recent times, a team with a lone setback has occasionally emerged from the playoff pack as National Champion. As recently as 2021, Georgia closed with a 14-1 final record to claim the collegiate football crown. Georgia’s lone regular-season defeat was a 41-24 setback to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. The two teams then faced each other a little over a month later in the National Championship contest won by Georgia, 33-18.
While most were happy to see the college football playoffs expanded, you knew there would be a few claiming they belonged. And, were left out!
To claim the National Championship last season, the Buckeyes had to take down four foes in the course of their playoff run. In a 12-team playoff format, the top four seeded teams are given a first-round bye. The two defeats suffered by Ohio State were not enough to keep the Buckeyes out of the playoffs. However, the Buckeyes were seeded No. 8. Meaning Ohio State would need four victories to win it all.
Ohio State opened its playoff run with a 42-17 win over No. 9 Tennessee. What that victory over the Vols did was give the Buckeyes another shot at Oregon who had downed the Buckeyes 32-31 during the regular season.
The playoff meeting between Oregon and Ohio State saw the Buckeyes come away as convincing winners with a 41-21 score. It was on to the Final Four where Ohio State locked horns with the Longhorns (Texas). The final score was 28-14 in favor of the Buckeyes.
The first National Championship Game determined using the 12-team playoff format pitted No. 8 Ohio State against No. 7 Notre Dame. Before moving on, one has to keep in mind that there were automatic seedings given to conference champions. To some, seedings were not always a true ranking as conference champions were slotted automatically. Ohio State was listed as the No. 3 at-large pick.
The National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame was a well contested contest. Notre Dame, which suffered a shocking early-season 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois, recovered nicely from that setback and remained unblemished thereafter in reaching the titular affair.
The final in the National Championship Game went Ohio State’s way, 34-23. Anyone familiar with college football will quickly let you know that the two programs in the title game have known considerable gridiron success in the past. And, most likely will again in the future.
Given the success of the 12-team playoff format, don’t be surprised if there is mild expansion in the future.