RE: Every FBS team should have a clear path to the national championship.
I still haven't heard anybody explain why football is any different than any other sport that the NCAA fields...? Why is it that only the P5 are top-notch programs that could even be considered for a national championship in football, but every other program is on the same footing? Why is P5 football unattainable, but P5 basketball/baseball/volleyball/track/etc. is not?
Here's one of the comments I read above: "There is no reason to think that in an 8-team playoff, there has *ever* been a G5 that could beat three straight top P5 teams to win the title."
So, if we were looking at that comment from a purely P5 vs. G5 program in terms of level of recruitment based off of program hierarchy, no G5 or FCS program should be competing in March Madness because those programs cannot recruit at the level of the P5 programs. But that's not how that game works. With the NCAA overseeing that tournament, they allow every program an equal shot at competing for a National Championship in basketball. Does a P5 often win? Sure, but every conference and sub-division of Division I athletics gets a go at it, with those non-P5 programs often providing us some of the most entertaining and Cinderella story-esque games.
But because the CFP is not NCAA, it's a different story and it's a story of the haves and the have nots, all written and narrated by the haves. I get it, the P5 programs compete at a higher level because of their strength of scheduling (but let's be real, there are quite a few P5 programs that would be whooped by a number of G5 programs, including UNC, Louisville, Rutgers, Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Oregon State, etc.), but why does that mean they should not play the have nots? Just to satisfy the SEC Commissioner and make him feel better than his peers? I am always hearing that we can never have enough bowl games, as it means it's an extension to football season and a chance for teams to prove themselves again, but people are humming a different tune when it comes to the CFP, as to continue this elitist scheme.
Will this ever change? Likely not. There is so much greed in college athletics today that will only grow in the decades to come. Is it right? I don't think so, but what do I know? I just believe that there should be a path to success for every program, regardless of history or clout surrounding ones name. Let's be real, we'll be watching Alabama and Clemson play for another national title in a few weeks and nobody will be surprised. But when will that get boring? When will we want that underdog to root for, just like we have one to root for in every other NCAA tournament?
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