Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
The watercooler talk this week will probably center around what Rick’s next move will be on “The Walking Dead.”
I have my own prediction, but it probably doesn’t matter in the world of sports where everyone is talking about whether this year’s College Football Playoff final four was correct.
Thanks to our own Frank Beamer for what I think is pretty close to perfect. Clemson, Oklahoma and Georgia won their way in as conference champions, and I know this is where the Ohio State fans in the New River Valley will be hating me, but I don’t think the Buckeyes won their way into the final four.
Coach Urban Meyer could just not beat a stubborn Iowa team, thus the no-vote in the debate on why the Big 10 champion was left out of the top four.
If there was anyone with an argument, it could have been USC who took the PAC-12 title game. They deserved to be a lot higher when the final votes were counted.
Sorry Wisconsin, but you simply did not have big wins over schools that you should have blown away. I’m ashamed to say that, but it’s true.
In the midst of this debate, I would make one recommendation: if the CFB committee would only consider a slight expansion to the final eight. This would end the argument of who is in and who is out.
We need to include the conference champions and at least one or two at-large teams, like the University of Central Florida, which went 12-0. While it isn’t in one of the power conferences, it should have been given the chance to play for the title.
We need some underdogs, as I am tired of the same ole’ teams every year like Alabama and Clemson. While they deserve to be there, we need new teams to compete and entice us to watch the playoffs.
The NCAA basketball tournament is a perfect example of this, and there have been plenty of “Cinderella” stories for us to choose from.
I would love to see a South Florida or Boise State be given a shot to prove themselves on the big stage. Yes, they might be blown out by the likes of the Bamas and Sooners of the college football world, but let’s give them a chance.
Spread the love around.
I would also like to take a moment to give props to a former Blacksburg High School player. Offensive lineman Adam Peaton (6’5, 290, Junior) has been named to all-conference first team at NCAA Division 2 University of Charleston in West Virginia. The school is part of the Mountain East Athletic Conference.
