Steve Sarkisian has an interesting perspective about the College Football Playoff.
This marks the first year where an expanded 12-team College Football Playoff has been in effect. Since the field is much larger than when it was just a 4-team playoff, the barrier to qualify for the playoff is lower. Teams can now lose two games during the regular season and still make the playoff.
Sarkisian, who has his Texas Longhorns in the semifinals, noted how the expanded format changes things.
“We’re in this NFL format. It’s not about who’s the best team for 12 games, it’s who’s playing the best football this time of year,” Sarkisian said.
In past years, teams like Ohio State and Texas might not have even made the playoff, while a team like the Oregon Ducks would have been rewarded for going 13-0. These days, a team doesn’t have to run the gauntlet in the regular season. Like Sarkisian said, you just need to do well enough to make the playoff, and that’s when you have to start playing your best ball.
The Buckeyes are an example of this concept. They lost to Oregon and Michigan in the regular season but still qualified as the 8-seed. They hosted Tennessee in the first round and faced the Ducks in the quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl, and won both games easily.
Sarkisian is hoping that the Longhorns will prove to be the hotter team at this point in the season. But Ohio State enters the game looking as good as possible.
