thependulumswings

If you have a good start on better health resolutions for the new year of 2019, good for you.  If not, it’s always a good day to get started.  Below are ten healthy nuggets CFB style to invigorate your resolve even further.  Digest them as you please.

1. Despite all of the November angst when the college football playoff selection committee divulges its weekly rankings, the cream inevitably rises to the top.   Playing the “what if” team X loses and team y beats team z sells beer commercial time on sports shows.  It does little else.  Alabama and Clemson’s body of work to this point have separated them, yet again, as college football’s finest.
2. This will be the fourth consecutive meeting between the two schools in the playoffs.  It will be the third time in the final as Bama took out Clemson last year in the semis.   The two teams have lost seven games combined in the last four years.  Three of those losses come when facing each other.  Throw those out and the two are a combined 107-4 versus all other teams.  That’s a 96% win percentage.  Everyone else has been playing for third place. How long might this continue?
3. Third place doesn’t matter too much unless you are a fan of one of a handful of teams who might want consolation bragging rights for the next few months.  Notre Dame and Oklahoma entered the playoffs ranked third and fourth respectively.  BBR thinks that it’s more that the music stopped and they had a chair to sit on than it was that they had separated themselves that much from teams ranked 5-8.
4. Criticize ND all you want if you feel like they really weren’t a top four team.  But don’t shoot the Irish for their schedule.  Schedules are made years in advance.  I doubt anyone thought three or four years ago that Stanford, USC, Virginia Tech, and Florida St. would be collectively as down as they were in 2018.  Add wins over Pittsburgh, Michigan, Northwestern, and Syracuse and you have had the makings of a solid strength of schedule.  Their season opening win over Michigan looked better and better as Michigan piled up wins.  It quelled ND naysayers and got them on to the doorstep of the final four before the Wolverines imploded.
5. Criticize Oklahoma all you want if you feel like they really weren’t a top four team.  But don’t shoot the Sooners for their offensive firepower.  Criticize them for their defense or lack thereof.  Oklahoma gave up 40 points or more in six games this year.  Six.  Serious contenders for championships are minimally above average in all three phases of the game and really good at two or more of them.  Oklahoma’s D doesn’t pass that test even though their offense passes all over everyone.
6. Of the teams bunched in the 3-8 spots all were good, none were great.  THE Ohio St. looked listless three times, but lost only once.  It was, however, a shellacking by an average Purdue squad that got worked by Auburn during bowl week.  The aforementioned Michigan was worked by THE in the Big 10 showdown.   As Peach Bowl participants they enjoyed the festivities leading up to the game v. Florida.  Apparently they pulled the rip cord and decided not to participate in the game itself.  Florida finished strong, but hiccupped early.  UCF has a fun team that has no beef in the trenches to compete in real big boy football.  Georgia was on the short list for a while, but Bama set them back and Texas beat them soundly.  Texas closed strong.  But 4 L’s are 4 L’s.
7. The power five conferences were bunched together in their collective bowl performances with no clear standouts or failures.
   1. 4-3 Big 12
   2. 5-4 Big Ten
   3. 6-5 SEC
   4. 5-5 ACC
   5. 3-4 PAC 12
8.  BBR thinks that Wisconsin, Washington, and Miami were pretty big 2018 disappointments relative to their talent, their competition, their schedule, and therefore their final body of work.  We were quite surprised by Kentucky, Washington St, Cincinnati, and Utah St.
9. It’s just about 230 days till the 2019 season kicks off.   Watch out for Texas, Florida, and Texas A&M next year.  If Herman, Mullen, and Fischer were a law firm they would be tough in a courtroom.
10. Before the 2019 season kicks off, the 2018 season has just that one game left this coming Monday night.  Is another Bama v Clemson matchup good or bad for college football?  BBR thinks it is neither.  It just is what it is.  Enjoy the amazing talent and depth of same on display.  The NFL scouts do.
11. (one leftover)  We say again that the targeting rule, interpretation, in-game review, penalty, and player suspension resulting from it is in need of serious review itself.  The NCAA can move like an overweight sloth at times.  We hope that this is not one of those times.

Enjoy the FBS Championship.  The turf in NoCal this time of the year is bad terrible.  Abby wagged her tail and barked Clemson 33-31 just so you know.