We spend so much time during the run-up to the release of the final College Football Playoff Rankings arguing about strength of schedule and quality wins. The imbalance across the modern mega-conferences and the small sample size of college football schedules leave much up for interpretation. A team can look great one week and then expose a myriad of red flags the next. Teams can skate by with close calls, allowing a win count to mask deeper issues as it climbs the rankings.
But now we’re here with the CFP set to kick off its first-ever 12-team bracket — and there is no place to hide. Every team in the field either contended for or won its conference championship, so winning the CFP National Championship will require multiple wins against great teams.
What it won’t require is multiple wins against perfect teams, because while every team in the field is great, they all have flaws.
Heavyweight bouts in college football are often decided in the margins. Whichever team can successfully identify and exploit the other’s weakness gains leverage in an otherwise toss-up scenario. The same can be said for teams that spend the playoff preparation time addressing their own issues with the extra practices. Any opportunity for an edge becomes an X-factor in these matchups.
Below we’ve identified one flaw for each CFP team, based on its regular season showing. If these issues are masked or addressed in the CFP, they could be the key to a championship run. But if opponents use these flaws to gain a leg up, they could prove fatal for championship hopes.
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