Home » Sports » College Football » The Year No One Wanted the Championship

The Year No One Wanted the Championship

© Grimace Boyer

It's late in the season, and there's been a great amount of to do regarding the possibility that there may be five or six unbeaten teams at the end of the year. No one believed it would happen, of course. But here we were: 8 unbeaten teams going into November.

But then this Saturday came around. The eight unbeatens? Four wins, four losses. Ohio State, Miami, Oklahoma, and - yes - Bowling Green kept their perfect seasons intact, while Notre Dame lost to Boston College; Georgia lost to Florida; North Carolina State lost to Georgia Tech; and Virginia Tech lost to Pittsburgh. That leaves us with four.

It's beginning to look like no one even wants to win the National Championship this year. Bowling Green doesn't have a chance, at least not really. It's going to take a whole lot of generous pollsters to even give them a shot. Going undefeated playing in the MAC doesn't count for much, unless you're Marshall.

Ohio State is playing really good football right now. There's been a lot of talk that Iowa may be the better team in the Big Ten, but since the two won't play this year, it's moot. Ohio State wins out, they win the Big Ten. Plus, I hate to break it to you but they'd beat the pants off of Iowa, too. What puts big question marks around the Buckeyes, though, is their near-loss to Cincinnati and their questionable 2nd half performance against Kent State. Both in-state opponents. Of course, they were largely inconsequential games, and that could help to explain why the Ohio State players may not have played hard on every down, but it raises some eyebrows.

Oklahoma is one of those teams that simply doesn't look as good as they are. You watch these guys and the defense is there. The special teams are there. But this team doesn't really shine. They may not need to, of course. They shut down Seneca Wallace of Iowa State, in what was probably their biggest challenge of the season, and they shut down Chris Brown and Colorado on Saturday. They're looking like they may be just good enough to win out.

Miami is a disaster. Florida State should have beaten them. They struggled against Rutgers - Rutgers! - before finally pulling it all together at the end and jacking up the score, hoping no one would notice. Of course, this Scarlet Knight team only has one win this season, but remember that they played Tennessee hard, too. This team is on the verge of doing something special as soon as they get some depth and can finish off what they start. But Miami has just looked tired all year. Defending National Champions, they aren't playing like it. True, they've yet to lose, but don't think that Virginia Tech isn't looking forward to their game in the last week of the season. I wouldn't be surprised if Miami hasn't already lost one by then.

The copyright of the article The Year No One Wanted the Championship in College Football is owned by Grimace Boyer. Permission to republish The Year No One Wanted the Championship in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.