The Pretenders
Every year it happens. College football teams play their regular seasons, a handful of the best teams win most of their games that season, and their fans get really amped up and loudly proclaim that of all the teams in the country, THEIR hometown heroes are the most playoff worthy. They think that their team’s 11 and 1 record is better than all the other good teams’ 11 and 1 records, that THIS is their season, and they think that THIS TIME, their boys are gonna win themselves a championship.
Four teams now qualify for the “Final Four” college football playoff system. This year, the four teams were Oklahoma, Clemson, Alabama and Michigan State. This year, after the semi-final games have now been played, two of those teams have won and moved on. That would be Clemson and Alabama.
And two of those teams, Oklahoma and Michigan State, the ones that lost to Clemson (17 to 37) and Alabama (0 to 38), have proven to the world that they really had no business being on the same field as the two finalists. When they had the chances to show they were title worthy, they were obliterated by the two teams that really proved they should be there. Oklahoma and Michigan State showed to the world that they were frauds, that they were mere PRETENDERS to the throne.
Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Oklahoma wasn’t pathetic against Clemson. For a half, they played the ACC champions pretty evenly. That’s for a half, though. Games are a full 60 minutes. Oklahoma showed that over a whole game against a team as good as Clemson, they just weren’t good enough to beat them.
In the second half, when a team has its chance to make a statement as to its capabilities, Oklahoma was simply throttled by Clemson. They were physically dominated in this game, getting outrushed 312 yards to 67. Though Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield threw for 300 yards, they were the kinds of yards that quarterbacks pick up when they are behind and have to throw on every down. Clemson sacked Mayfield five times and battered him on many other plays just after he released a few of his passes.
In fights, there are matches that seem close and others where you the viewer KNOW who the better fighter is. In this case, it was definitely Clemson. They moved up and down the field on Oklahoma on offense (to a tune of 550 yards, led by Heisman Trophy runner up Deshaun Watson’s running and passing) and they smacked down the Sooners on defense like a puncher that keeps beating on his game opponent until he simply throws up his hands and says, “I give up, you’re better.” That was the case in this Orange Bowl matchup. Clemson showed they are a contender. Oklahoma a pretender.
Alabama vs. Michigan State
What can you say about a game that ends up 38 to nothing? Alabama beat Michigan State so badly, there were only whimpers of protest from the vanquished Spartans. 440 total yards to 239? Ouch. It was a mismatch of biblical proportions. That’s because of the talent levels from each team. Alabama gets all the four and five star stud recruits that everybody else wants. Michigan State gets their secondary level of good players (but not the projected great ones) that Alabama lets the other guys get when they fill up their scholarship allotment and don’t need ’em.
Alabama and Michigan State are similar teams. Hard hitting, mostly ground game based, but with enough passing to keep you honest. Solid defenses. Well coached. Alabama just has better players. Everything Michigan State does, Alabama does better. Even though Michigan State fairly won out the Big Ten (with its now 14 teams), one can’t help but wonder if the conference would have been better served having defending NCAA champion Ohio State in this game instead. They did, after all, beat Alabama last year with pretty much the same team they have back this year. Urban Meyer of Ohio State knows how to beat Nick Saban of Alabama.
But Michigan State did beat Ohio State in a game head up to fairly allow themselves to advance to this playoff game. They WERE this year’s conference champs. One wonders though, if they played half a dozen times, how many times the Michigan State of this year could beat the Ohio State of this year. Maybe just the once? And we get the feeling that the Alabama of this year would beat the Michigan State of this year about ten times out of ten. Against Bama, this year’s Michigan State was more of a pretender than Chrissie Hynde (For those that don’t know, she’s a singer… for a group… called The Pretenders).
And so we get Alabama vs. Clemson for the right to claim college football’s title of its National Champion. One would think that Alabama would be considered the overwhelming favorite due to their excellent showing against Michigan State and their SEC heritage, but I don’t think Clemson cares about the SEC and I would think that this unbeaten Clemson team will be highly motivated to compete against college football’s current super elite program.
They have the type of mobile, multi-faceted quarterback in Deshaun Watson (a player like Johnny Manziel used to be) that sometimes gives Alabama problems. Alabama’s got the high pedigree players. Clemson has ENOUGH talented players to compete. Clemson has played well against other stud programs (beating top ten caliber teams like Oklahoma, Notre Dame, North Carolina and Florida State).
It’s the type of matchup for a championship that can get you excited. A TRUE matchup of number one and number two. Both of them are contenders, not pretenders. THIS is what college football is suppposed to do to settle its champion. I for one am stoked.
