There's CFP Clarity after Championship Week, and a Legend Is Born

Now that the dust is settled, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee can begin its annual task of cramming ten pounds of potatoes into a five-pound bag.

Of course, that means anyone waiting to receive those extra five pounds are gonna go hungry.

Kinda weird when dudes holding the bag are raking in all that dosh.

Seems like more could be done for the membership, but when was gratification ever about the great unwashed?

 

Ironically, the poster boy for this weekend's spectacle of haves slugging it out for CFP favor is one of college football's most unselfish -- if not the most -- unselfish players.

It was in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in last season's FBS national championship game -- for some, but not all -- where Jalen Hurts got benched and watched understudy Tua Tagovailoa lead a second-half charge against Georgia to claim the crown.

 

Totally displaced for the 2018 season, Hurts coulda done the done thing these days -- incidentally, in the wake of Gardner Minshew II, why didn't Kelly Bryant call Mike Leach at Wazzu? -- but instead stuck it out in Tuscaloosa.

And now, Nick Saban and Bama Nation is glad he did after leading this year's 35-28 comeback victory in relief of an injured and relatively ineffective on the day Tagovailoa:

 

About that fake punt ...

The Bulldogs now have their own moment that will live in infamy. It's incredible that someone didn't at least call a time out when they saw the Bama D still on the field.

And hell, Justin Fields still had time to punt it himself.

 

No one ever won a big game by panicking. Maybe that's why Jake Fromm was still starting over the nation's No 1 QB recruit.

There's a time to gamble and a time to ramble. Kirby Smart rolled snake-eyes for an ill-conceived decision with no recognition of the situation and no escape plan.

Never mind the two losses and no conference title. This play alone confirmed Georgia doesn't deserve a spot in the CFP's Anointed Four.

 

Oklahoma did what they had to do to pay homage to the ivory tower by gaining revenge against Texas for the sole defeat they suffered this season.

Odds are the Sooners were ecstatic with that fact on its own.

As to the bigger picture, it surely added to their case for a spot in the Anointed Four that their defense actually logged a solid performance in the 39-27 triumph:

 

No doubt those unconventional Oakland Athletics were looking on with interest, hoping that their No 1 draft choice this year stayed healthy.

Kyler Murray did, and then some:

 

With rare exception, the smart money's in a baseball contract, but Murray's gonna have other things on his mind in the near future.

This had all the makings of an Anointed Four outing.

 

Ohio State had to know they had a hard act to follow, and from this vantage point, it doesn't look like they did it.

Yes, the Buckeyes crushed Northwestern, 45-24, but perspective's a powerful thing.

Dudes were supposed to crush the Wildcats. They won the game, but in the bigger scheme of things, they were in a no-win situation.

 

So, the interest here is in ascertaining how these highlights will play in the Rose Bowl against the best defense they'll see all season.

Not sayin' Nostradamus penned a quatrain about it. Just sayin' ...

 

About the only thing Dwayne Haskins didn't do in that five-TD display was get fitted for a cape.

Now, it's all down to the judges, and here's their likely view from the spa:

• Knucklehead longshot plays that blow up in faces are not a good look;
• Revenge is a dish that tastes just fine even when it's still hot; and
• Defying expectations is a bitch.