When the NCAA announced it was expanding the College Football Playoff, the purists out there shared a collective groan.
It will diminish the regular season, they said. It will hurt the bowl system, they said.
Wrong on both counts.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian has the Longhorns within three wins of playing for the SEC championship. Texas will play at Arkansas on Saturday.
As we enter the final stretch of the 2024 regular season, the opposite effect has happened. College football has never been sexier than it is right now.
The No. 3 Texas Longhorns will play Saturday at Arkansas and know that a 3-0 finish to the regular season will guarantee them a spot in the SEC championship game. Head coach Steve Sarkisian, a self-admitted college football junkie, could not hide his excitement at what’s happening right in the game while speaking during Thursday’s media availability.
“I love it,” Sarkisian said. “I’ve been banging for this playoff for some time. I used to always say, we’re the only sport that didn’t have a true playoff. We have March Madness. We have the NCAA baseball tournament and the College (World) Series, the NBA and NFL. For us to finally get it now, I think is awesome.”
MORE CED: Micah Parsons’ comments show Dallas Cowboys are still more style than substance | Golden
This is a weekend of must-win matchups
One glance at this weekend’s slate of games reveals the playoff has already started for some big-name programs. The Tennessee-Georgia matchup of two-loss teams has a crucial aspect to it because the loser’s chances to make it to the SEC title game will take a critical hit. Pittsburgh, at 7-2, knows that if it loses to Clemson, it’s probably finished as an ACC title contender, which would kill its CFP hopes.
Then you have Notre Dame and Washington State, a pair of 8-1 independents that are…
..
