This very reason is why the Oklahoma Sooners will be announced as the fourth team to get into the College Football Playoff, and not the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Oklahoma came into yesterday’s Big 12 Championship Game ranked fifth in the country, one spot ahead of Ohio State. Ohio State needed to beat Northwestern, and hope at the very least one of the teams above them lost with some level of conviction.
Alabama was down 14 points in the second half of the SEC Championship Game against fourth-ranked Georgia, and came back to win. They’re in.
Clemson beat up on Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship Game. They’re in.
Notre Dame did not have a conference championship game, but ran the table in their regular season, joining Alabama and Central Florida as the only unbeaten teams left in Division I-A. They’re in.
All Oklahoma had to do was in, and hope Alabama held serve, and they would be in for the second straight season. The Sooners’ lone loss on their schedule was the annual Red River Shootout against arch rival Texas. That loss to the Longhorns was way back in early October, by a 48-45 score. The Sooners and Longhorns would meet up again yesterday, with Oklahoma coming out a 39-27 winner. Texas came in ranked #14 in the BCS standings.
Yes, not only did Oklahoma avenge their lone loss, but ended up with a +9 point differential between the two meetings with Texas.
Ohio State on the other hand, had to topple #21 Northwestern in the Big 10 Championship game. The Wildcats were making their first ever appearance in a conference championship game. The Buckeyes rode the wave of momentum from their pasting of Michigan last week, and won 45-24.
Now the BCS committee has a decision on their hands. Does Oklahoma get in with the Georgia loss? Does Ohio State jump Oklahoma with their larger margin of victory, despite playing a lower-ranked opponent?
The fact remains that Oklahoma’s loss was early in the season, to a team they would meet again in a conference championship. Ohio State lost by 29 points, on the road, ranked second in the country, to a Purdue team that finished the regular season 6-6. Purdue will be playing in some fourth-tier bowl on ESPN2 or Fox Sports 2 likely the week before Christmas, if they get invited to a bowl at all.
Ohio State also squeaked by 52-51 to a Maryland team who finished 5-7, and had coach D. J. Durkin fired amidst the Jordan McNair heat stroke scandal. Let us not forget that Ohio State had the Zach Smith domestic violence scandal hanging above their program the entire season. The committee does not just measure wins and losses when taking into account the four best programs in the country.
Sure, if it comes out something illegal occurred at Alabama, Clemson, or Notre Dame, their 2018 season will be vacated, and additional penalties would occur.
The bottom line is for the second straight season, Oklahoma had a better resume than Ohio State. Oklahoma did not lose on the road by 31 to Iowa, while ranked sixth, in 2017. Ohio State did. Notice how both losses were by more than four scores, on the road, to barely bowl-eligible teams, while Ohio State was ranked in the top 10 both years?
Oklahoma Head Coach Lincoln Riley has been connected with the Cleveland Browns’ job for 2019, where he would be reunited with last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Baker Mayfield. Urban Meyer cannot decide whether or not to take yet another sabbatical, and spend more time with his family, after another season mired in controversy over how his program is run.
In fairness to Meyer, his upcoming offseason treatment for a brain cyst garners my sincere sympathies. His professionalism, and lack of institutional control over his players and coaches gets nothing. If the Buckeyes' do not plan on changing the narrative of their program, including losing very winnable games, why should the committee reward them?
-JC24