CFP opening round had blowouts, and that's OK
There were six games in the opening weekend of last year's NFL playoffs. Five ended in blowouts won by at least 14 points.
Nobody stormed to a television set or raced online to demand drastic format changes and moan about a team's inclusion.
The NBA playoffs last year featured eight opening-round series, with only one going to seven games. Half of them didn't even get past five contests. Somehow, the league is running the same formula back out this year.
The dirty secret seemingly nobody complaining about the first weekend of the 12-team College Football Playoff wanted to acknowledge Saturday is that the opening round of playoff formats often underwhelm due to a large talent discrepancy between the teams involved. The Stanley Cup Playoffs might be an exception, but that's because playoff hockey is the single most insane thing legally conducted on the planet.
Sure, the four first-round games we watched this weekend were largely uncompetitive and presented a less-than-stellar product. However, that's probably what we should've expected given the matchups.
Curt Cignetti did his best to convince you that beating the shit out of the No. 25 team in the Week 9 Coaches Poll made Indiana some sort of juggernaut, but the Hoosiers showed multiple times this season that they struggle against top competition. Friday's loss to Notre Dame was no surprise, but that doesn't mean Indiana should've been banished from the tournament field.
SMU won 11 games this season but had already lost its two toughest contests - to BYU and Clemson - on the schedule. Penn State wasted no time asserting its dominance at home, housing two pick-6s off Kevin Jennings in the opening half. There's a reason the Nittany Lions were favored by more than a touchdown at home.
Clemson is an unlikely Cinderella given its history in the CFP, but the Tigers wouldn't have been in the field without Miami collapsing in the season finale at Syracuse. They were completely overmatched by Texas in a comfortable victory despite an early touchdown and a late rally.
The night cap offered the most hope for a competitive game given the pedigree and similar talent levels of Tennessee and Ohio State. The Buckeyes apparently didn't get that memo, racing out to a 21-0 lead and utterly dominating the Volunteers despite the fact the Tennessee faithful filled almost half of Ohio Stadium.
Blowouts haven't been limited to the 12-team CFP field, either. Twelve of the 20 semifinals in the history of the format were won by at least 14 points even after some outstanding semifinal games over the final two years of the four-team playoff.
Maybe we thought the expansion of the football field would make things more like the NCAA basketball tournament. However, there are 32 opening-round games each March Madness - you're bound to see a couple of upsets given that many chances.
That's not to say the CFP format is perfect. The easiest change is to no longer give the highest-ranked conference champions a top-four seed and a first-round bye. That would've given Texas and Penn State the weekend off and forced Boise State and Arizona State into road games. It's an easy change to make for next season and beyond when the playoff expands to 14 teams.
Our advice to those disappointed with this weekend's display is to be patient.
Oregon gets a rematch with Ohio State after the two played a thrilling one-point contest earlier this season. Georgia - arguably the best team in college football for the past five years - faces the hottest team in the country in Notre Dame. If you want an actual Cinderella story, how about an Arizona State team that won just three games last year facing a 2023 semifinalist in Texas. The fourth contest will see the nation's best offensive player, Ashton Jeanty, chase history against a stout Penn State defense.
Don't worry, college football fans - the blockbuster matchups are on their way.