I have in my hands the greatest argument yet against a college football playoff. It is Monday’s New York Times, featuring a computer ranking of the nation’s top 25 semipro teams.
Notre Dame is No. 3, bereave it or not.
Florida State, despite losing Saturday to the Fighting Irish, held on to the No. 1 spot. Nebraska, which vanquished ferocious Iowa State, remains No. 2. And Notre Dame is No. 3, up from No. 8 a week ago.
Now, our point here is not to bash the New York Times, one of the finest newspapers on the planet. If it’s Somalia or the Pentagon or crossword puzzles you want, you can’t do much better than the New York Times. Whether you trust it to rate a bunch of Cornhusker athlete-students who might think Bosnia and Herzegovina are foreign cars is another matter.
But bless these cockamamie polls, which create more fun and conversation than any playoff ever would. Take the USA Today/CNN poll of coaches. Please. It has Notre Dame first, Nebraska second and Florida State third. Two of the 62 coaches voted Nebraska No. 1. They remain anonymous. Stranger yet, they remain employed. And we let these men teach character to America’s children?
The Associated Press poll relies on the wisdom of sportswriters, and hold the laughter. Notre Dame was selected No. 1 on all ballots, Florida State came in a comfortable No. 2 and Nebraska took No. 3, which it probably deserves unless it deserves No. 6. The media, no doubt captivated by Saturday’s Notre Dame-Florida State thriller-the first game of the century in 10 months-could be accused of voting for a rematch. But that ulterior motive is preferable to the coaches’ agenda, whatever that might be. Do not discount spite, jealousy or pettiness.
This human element is dismissed by the New York Times computer that assimilates data only on who won, by how much and against what quality of opposition. We should not be surprised. Printouts aren’t sprintouts. If machines could spin out of control and start a global conflict, they certainly can swallow North Texas State on Nebraska’s schedule and spew out whatever they want. No wonder we’ve witnessed another new animal-the Bowl Coalition Poll-concocted to put teams in their proper places come New Year’s Day.
There is no way a single playoff taffy-pull-the SAT Bowl?-or series of games could replace the harmless confusion that exists. College football is unique because it reaches no final conclusion. Every other sport resorts to demolition derbies that produce champions, and by the very nature of these elongated endurance tests, the best team doesn’t always survive.
College football gives us grist for weekly arguments, leading up to the best argument of all when the last votes are cast. Why, we can argue on into the spring, long past when the football stars have returned to class. Well, on second thought, we can argue into the spring, anyway. Ever heard anybody argue about a Super Bowl the Tuesday after it’s played? The NFL could stand to catch some of college football’s fever.
If television simply must get involved, television should realize it’s already missing a bet under the present system. Everything else is a program now. The NCAA basketball seedings, the Heisman Trophy ceremony, the “Beano Cook Hour.” Instead of antiseptic announcements about who’s No. 1, why not a prime-time show devoted to the subject? Do it like an election, with numbers tabulated on a huge tote board. If it’s a tie, both coaches report immediately to Larry King for a debate.
You’ve got to like Lou Holtz in that arena, too. He talked a blue streak before Saturday’s contest for the ages, even hailing such touted Irish adversaries as the “University of Navy.” But he’s the best coach in college football and he won’t have to beat Bobby Bowden again because Florida will beat him first. Then the public can have a rematch of the real rivalry, Notre Dame vs. Miami. Stick that in your computer.
Nebraska? No. 1 in next year’s preseason poll, of course.