Evanson: The CFP committee served Oregon lemons, now it’s up to them to make lemonade

Published 6:30 am Monday, December 9, 2024

It is what it is.

That needs to be the University of Oregon’s mindset as they brace for what might very well be college football’s toughest road to a national championship.

On Sunday, the College Football Playoff committee released their bracket for the upcoming playoff and, despite being the country’s only undefeated team and sitting atop the polls for each of the regular season’s final eight weeks, the Ducks are positioned not advantageously, but rather behind the eight ball to an extent when it comes to getting to the promised land.

That’s not just my opinion, but also pundits abound, including one of the game’s most prominent talking heads.

Fox broadcaster and college football analyst Joel Klatt said the following via X, formerly known as Twitter, upon the release of the bracket:

“What a horrendous job this committee did…The team that was penalized the most was @oregonfootball and the team that was rewarded the most was @PennStateFball…I guess the Ducks should have laid down in the 4th…Just atrocious”

He’s not wrong. In an attempt to prioritize conference champions in their inaugural CFP, the committee consisting of former or present coaches, players and athletic directors, along with one retired scribe, didn’t seed the bracket based on the numbers, but rather in a manner befitting a magic eight ball or Ouija board.

Oregon is the No. 1-seed, so per every bracket since the beginning of time, should face the winner of a game between the No. 8 and No. 9-seeds.

But that’s not how it’s been cobbled together.

Instead, the Ducks are set to play the winner of Ohio St/Tennessee who are ranked No. 6 and No. 7 in the CFP Rankings.

Meanwhile, Penn State, who has two losses, was just defeated by Oregon in the Big Ten Championship Game, and is ranked No. 4 in the CFP Rankings, is set to play a home game against No. 10-ranked SMU, with the winner facing No. 12-ranked but No. 4-seeded Arizona State.

Oh, and Boise State, which is No. 9-ranked and hasn’t beaten a ranked team all season, has the No. 3-seed and will play the winner of a game between No. 5-ranked Notre Dame and No. 8-ranked Indiana.

Get it?

I know, that’s a lot to consume and even more to untangle. But because you can’t make sense out of nonsense, let’s not try and explain the truly unexplainable, and just agree that going forward the system should be tweaked not by a fifth grader, but in fact someone smarter than one.

The upside is, Ducks head coach Dan Lanning understands that what’s done, is in fact done. There’s nothing he or his players can do about it, so in lieu of an “SEC-esque” rant about how unfair — or idiotic — the system may be, he’s chosen instead to focus on the good opposed to the bad and ugly of an utter display of buffoonery.

“What an opportunity for us,” he said shortly following the bracket’s unveiling. “Regardless, the end all goal, you’re going to get to play some unbelievable teams in that process. I’m excited that we get to go play against great competition. That’s what playoff moments are about.”

Coach speak for sure, but also the most sensible tact in the face of a senseless situation.

The road is the road, and regardless of who or what is in the Ducks’ way to getting where they want to go, they have to go through, over or around them to get there.

So, if that’s against Ohio State — so be it.

If it’s Tennessee — OK.

And if it’s Texas, ASU or later Georgia — whatever.

It is what it is, and “it” doesn’t care if you like it or not. Lanning knows that, and it would behoove his players to embrace such as well.