The NFL has the Super Bowl. Major League Baseball has the World Series. The NBA has the NBA Finals. The NHL has the Stanley Cup. And Major League Soccer has the MLS Cup.
Professional sports in our country have a clearly defined path every year to crown a champion in their sports. Not to mention, each of these leagues are rather egalitarian in determining how many teams get into their respective “playoffs” to vie for the championship.
The NFL is made up of 32 teams – and 14 of them make the playoffs. That’s 44% of the league.
Major League Baseball is made up of 30 teams – and 12 of them make the playoffs. That’s 40% of the teams.
The NBA has 30 teams – and 16 make the playoffs. And that’s if we’re not counting the play-in tournament. 53% of the teams — over half – qualify for the playoffs.
The NHL has 32 teams – and 16 make the playoffs. Exactly half the league gets in.
Then there’s Major League Soccer which had 29 teams this past season (there will be 30 next season) – and is the most egalitarian league with 18 teams qualifying for the playoffs. 62% of the league!
Which is why it’s great to see the Division 1 FBS schools finally let more than four teams compete for a national championship at the end of the year.
Now, I understand there are those hardline college football advocates who like the way things have always been, where the subjective decisions of a few humans shape the lives of millions of fans, players and coaches. As they read this, they are probably saying, “Well, if you like pro sports so much, go watch them! And leave college football alone!”
I certainly understand that belief, but every other division of college football has for years crowned their national champions through a much less exclusive process. Why shouldn’t the top level of college football do something similar?
Division 1 FCS football has 129 teams and 24 teams make the NCAA playoffs. That’s 17% of the total. Division II football has 163 teams and 28 teams make the NCAA playoffs – again, 17% of the total. Division III football has 240 teams and 40 teams make the NCAA playoffs – once more, that’s 17% of the total. Perhaps you can see a trend here?
If D1 FBS football were to use 17% of the total number of teams as the guiding rule for its 134 teams, that means there would be 22 teams in the playoffs! Now, I know there are some teams – looking at you, Alabama – who would probably appreciate it if that plan had been in place this year.
Obviously it’s not, but the larger point is that in the immediately previous system there were only four teams in the D1 FBS national championship hunt at the end of the year. A mere 3% of the total teams. By far the lowest percentage of any major sport in this country. Talk about an exclusive club!
Even with the move to 12 teams this year, it still is only 9% of the total FBS teams that have an opportunity to play for a national championship at the end of the year. Heck, the NFL only has 32 total teams – more than 100 less than FBS football – and even they let 14 teams into the playoff.
In other words, as I said, NCAA D1 FBS football is a mighty exclusive club when it comes to who gets to play for a national championship at the end of the year.
Which is why this past Sunday was a HUGE red-letter day for Penn State football. For the first time since the existence of the Bowl Championship Series, which ran from 1999 – 2014, and the College Football Playoff, which has run since 2015, Penn State has a chance to win a national championship.
How huge is that, you might ask? Well, here’s how huge.
Below are the top 15 all-time winningest FBS football teams in order:
1. Michigan – 1,011 wins
2. Alabama – 974
3. Ohio State – 974
4. Notre Dame – 959
5. Texas – 959
6. Oklahoma – 950
7. Penn State – 941
8. Nebraska – 923
9. Georgia – 892
10. Tennessee – 886
11. USC – 881
12. LSU – 851
13. Clemson – 808
14. Auburn – 804
15. West Virginia – 789
Only three of those teams have never either A) taken part in a BCS national championship game, or B) been in the College Football Playoff. They are Penn State, Tennessee and West Virginia. Penn State all-time winningest FBS football team to never play for a national championship in the BCS/CFP era. And that not-so-great moniker is now removed. That’s how huge this College Football Playoff opportunity is.
Now, as someone who has been watching Penn State football for over a half-century, and was in the Superdome on Jan. 1, 1983 to witness the Nittany Lions’ first official modern-day national football championship, not having the opportunity to watch Penn State play for a national championship so far this century has been hard.
Wonderfully, that’s about to change. Penn State is joining that formerly very exclusive club.
And, without getting all “there are similarities between 1982 and 2024,” there are indeed a few things that are interesting. Basically, as has happened this year, several events went Penn State’s way when they won that 1982 national title.
Penn State had a close call against No. 2-ranked Nebraska in Beaver Stadium – the famous, “was McCloskey in bounds?” game. Then, two weeks later PSU suffered a loss to No. 4-ranked Alabama in Birmingham. However, Alabama helped Penn State by losing to Tennessee the following week, and then losing three more times, taking themselves out of any consideration for a national title.
Finally, near the end-of-the-season, unbeaten and No. 2-ranked SMU tied Arkansas, and the polls dropped SMU to No. 4, moving Penn State up to No. 2. Penn State then took care of business against No. 5-ranked Pitt the next weekend, setting up that glorious No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
So, as in 1982, Penn State has a regular season loss. Also, as with 1982, the team PSU lost to went on to lose and move behind PSU. And SMU, a team Penn State has only played twice in its history – 1947 and 1978 – plays a part in the story.
I understand that’s not a lot of coincidences, but it’s enough to make me think that Penn State may have some karma on the Nittany Lions’ side.
- They get a first-ever home playoff game in Beaver Stadium against SMU – the team that helped them to their first national title.
- They will play their quarterfinal game in the Fiesta Bowl – the site of Penn State’s second national title.
- Their semifinal could potentially match them up against Georgia, the team they beat in 1982 for that first title.
- And the championship game could give them a chance to pay back their old nemesis, Ohio State, or their new nemesis, Oregon.
Now, I have never been to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, but I think this new 12-team playoff is a pretty great idea. And I would definitely enjoy going down south on Jan. 20, 2025 and watching Penn State get not only this no-playoff moniker off its shoulders, but add another national title trophy to the cases in Lasch Building.
We Are!
