By Cody Soto
Sports Writer
With the crowning of the Ohio State Buckeyes as the 2014 NCAA national champions on Jan. 12 in Arlington, the college football season has officially come to an end.
The No. 4 seed was the final team to receive a bid in the inaugural college football playoff after knocking off both No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Oregon to claim the brand new national championship trophy.
There was plenty of controversy on whether or not the Buckeyes deserved the final spot in the college football semifinals, but head coach Urban Meyer and his team was able to silence any doubt with a 42-20 win over Oregon in the title game.
Were the other three teams the correct teams to include as well? Yes. However, did a Big 12 team deserve to make the playoff as well? Yes. The four-team playoff system excluded several quality teams who were all national title contenders.
No. 5 Baylor was the first team out, and the adversity the team overcame to capture its second Big 12 title makes them stand out. However, the Bears didn’t have a convincing enough resume following the team’s 38-27 win over Kansas State in their final regular season game.
No. 6 TCU was left out to dry after dropping three spots even after the Horned Frogs smashed Iowa State 55-3 on Dec. 6. Head coach Gary Patterson and the team embarrassed No. 9 Mississippi 42-3 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Jan. 1, proving they deserved a spot as well.
However, the Big 12 conference’s decision to not name an outright champion hurt both Baylor and TCU in the long run. Baylor and TCU play a high caliber of football, and for both teams to not be included in the first college playoff shows there weren’t enough spots in the postseason system.
It’s been a crazy ride for all college football spectators, fans and analysts, but the end of the season leaves great anticipation for August to come around quickly.
Many people may not want to admit it, but the college football playoff worked. The champion was a team that deserved to win, and that’s the reason for the new system. End of story.
