Throughout the first seven years of the College Football Playoff’s existence, Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma were responsible for 20 of 28 available appearances and six of the seven national championships. As the regular season comes to a close in Week 13, it’s highly likely that none of those four stalwarts will be represented as contenders in the 2022 College Football Playoff field.
Instead, welcome new money to the table: Georgia and Michigan. The No. 3 Wolverines shocked rival Ohio State on its home field thanks to a breakout performance from quarterback J.J. McCarthy and now will join the short list of consecutive playoff participants. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are the reigning national champions and should be overwhelming favorites to repeat.
College football has always been cyclical, but we’re witnessing the sport cycle in real time. Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State still rank among championship contenders, but the stranglehold has been loosened as new programs have an opportunity to crash the oligarchy for the first time in years. Lincoln Riley’s USC and Sonny Dykes’ TCU are programs with an immediate chance. Brian Kelly’s LSU, Josh Heupel’s Tennessee and Dan Lanning’s Oregon are programs that could be making their cases sooner rather than later.
Granted, it’s technically possible for Ohio State or Alabama to sneak their way into the field. A second loss for USC in the Pac-12 title game could cause chaos in the No. 4 spot. Regardless, the new era is clearly upon us.
Here are more winners, losers and overreactions from the Week 13 action in college football.
Winners
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh: Most of the attention has shifted to Ohio State’s collapse over the past two years, but Michigan’s rise is impossible to ignore. The Wolverines had not beaten Ohio State since 2011 before Harbaugh and his team shocked the Buckeyes in Ann Arbor, Michigan, last season. Michigan had not beaten Ohio State in consecutive seasons since 2000. Now that’s over. Harbaugh was saddled with nearly impossible expectations for a Michigan program that has not put together consistent Big Ten dominance in 20 years, but after six seasons, Harbaugh has evolved and transformed this program into one that is ready for the national stage.
Texas Tech: The Red Raiders took a chance by hiring former high school coach Joey McGuire, but the decision has quickly paid dividends. Texas Tech…
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