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College football is so predictable: Why do we still care so much?

Chris Graham
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So, surprise, everybody has Alabama and Ohio State in the national title game this year, your annual reminder that college football is the most predictably boring sport in America.

There have been eight College Football Playoffs, and four teams – Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and Oklahoma – have received 21 of the cumulative 32 playoff berths.

And if you look at this season’s AP preseason Top 25, you see: Alabama #1, Ohio State #2, Clemson #4, Oklahoma #9.

The teams in between include Georgia (two playoff berths, last season’s national champ) at #3, Notre Dame (two playoff berths) at #5.

Seriously, just wake me up in December.

What’s funny about this is how so much of what happens in college athletics revolves around football, and literally 95 percent of the FBS, and 99 percent of the entirety of D1, has no chance to win a national title.

And for that matter, only around 20 programs even make money at the end of the fiscal year, despite all the money that schools throw at coaches to try to win games and fill up stadiums and the like.

It’s almost like, you have all these smart people running colleges and universities, and they leave their brains behind when it comes to football.

As do the rest of us.

We humor ourselves going to games on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, convinced that what we devote our lives to as fans has meaning beyond the confines of the stadium, but we have to know better.

Only one or two games a week mean anything, and odds are, it’s not the game with your favorite team.

It’s a sobering thought, but don’t let it ruin your fun this weekend.

 
 




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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected]. Support AFP by signing up for our newsletter and/or powering our work with a one-time or monthly contribution.

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