SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
For much of the history of top-level college football, the national champion was decided by a vote. And that led to a lot of endless arguing, which sports fans love, but it was often unsatisfying. And then, even when a playoff was created, for years, it was just two teams, and then it was only four. Now the first year of a new era of the sport is about to come to a close. The championship game for the first ever 12-team playoff is tomorrow, and two of the most storied programs in college sports will meet. NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan is here to talk about us. Hey there.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: What's up, Scott?
DETROW: We got Notre Dame and Ohio State, heavyweight, two schools that - I'll put it this way - sure inspire strong feelings.
SULLIVAN: (Laughter) I think that's right, and maybe no stronger feelings than among the ESPN executives who could only dream of this matchup when they signed the contract to air this championship game. Yeah, I mean, these are the two - two of the best known programs in all of college football. Really, they're just, like, not just storied programs - the biggest brands. I think anybody who knows any Catholic people will know that Notre Dame is a big deal. Ohio State, obviously, huge, not just in Ohio - across the Midwest, across the country. And I think this season, both of these teams belong in this game without a doubt.
Ohio State simply just one of the most complete teams in the country, filled with NFL talent. The offense especially is great. They have this incredible freshman wide receiver - No. 4, Jeremiah Smith, who is a true freshman. He's 19 years old. He, some NFL analysts say, would go first in the NFL draft this season if he were eligible. He's not. So instead, we just get to watch him torch older players in college football games for the next couple seasons. But I also think maybe Ohio State is a little more mistake prone. Their quarterback, Will Howard, seems good for at least kind of one ugly interception in every game it seems like.
On the other hand, you have Notre Dame, much more of an old-school football team. They really play - dominated the line of scrimmage, have a very tough defense. They rely heavily on the run game. Maybe overall, the offense is a little less capable of the big explosive plays that Ohio State can do, so it may come down to whether Ohio State can play a mistake-free game or not.
DETROW: I think the interesting thing about this is for so long, you won a national championship in college football by having a perfect season.
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
DETROW: You couldn't have a single mistake, right?
SULLIVAN: Yep.
DETROW: Now you have this big playoff, and that creates the unpredictability of a big playoff. You make one mistake, and that's it. You're done. I mean, are these the two teams that everybody expected would be in the championship or did we see some twists and turns?
SULLIVAN: They're certainly two extremely good teams, and I think in that sense, it's not a surprise. They were good all season long. On the other hand, you know, this playoff system, as you say, like, allowed for some of that unpredictability. The Oregan Ducks were the team that were undefeated going into this. They were the No. 1 team for most of the season, and yet Ohio State in the quarter final just, like, waltzed past them to reach this stage. And then the other thing I would say is maybe a little bit of a surprise is all season long and all - every season, you hear about how the Southeastern Conference, the SEC, is where the best football in the country is played, where those teams are the best. And, you know, not this year.
DETROW: Yeah.
SULLIVAN: Like, neither of these teams are SEC teams, and the only SEC team that reached the semifinals was the University of Texas, who is brand new to the SEC. So all these longtime schools like Alabama and Georgia, I mean, Alabama didn't even make the playoff. So the fact that it's these two teams, Ohio State and Notre Dame, you know, as you're - as you were alluding to, like, the fact that they got to the playoffs this year and the fact that they're in the title game, it reflects just how big of a sea change this whole 12-team playoff is for college football. Notre Dame lost their second game of the season to, you know, a kind of, like, mid-major squad - Northern Illinois. That loss probably would have put them out of contention...
DETROW: Right.
SULLIVAN: ...For the playoff in the previous iterations of it. Ohio State dropped a November game to a very mediocre Michigan team this year. That loss would have put them out of contention for the playoff in a previous year. So the fact that they're both here despite losing those stinkers is evidence of how this playoff has changed things.
DETROW: So let's talk about this whole system, this whole 12-team playoff, for a second. I know, I personally have really enjoyed it. I liked watching competitive December first round games - that wasn't some sort of lame bowl that 20 people are in the stands for - build up and, as the field has narrowed, has been exciting to watch. Is that universal? Are there any problems with this, or are people by and large happy with this new system?
SULLIVAN: I think, overall, it's been good. I'll say that. But I think those first round games were a bit lopsided. There was a lot of lopsided final scores. A bunch of those games were blowouts where the team that was expected to win just rolled to a win. That may have contributed to kind of TV ratings that I think have maybe been a little disappointing. The semifinals were actually down from the semifinals last year. I'm also personally a little sad that none of the big long shots were able to make a Cinderella run that you - the kind of thing you see in college basketball, which I think makes March Madness really fun. We didn't get to see any of that in college football. The other thing I'll note is that the top four seeds all had a bye week - they had a week off - but then they all lost, which makes you wonder if that was too much time off. So I think going forward, we're certainly very unlikely to go back to a four-team playoff. So I think 12 teams or more is here to stay, but we might see some tweaks to the way the seeding works going forward.
DETROW: It's great to welcome another sport to the are byes actually hurtful for our teams (laughter) that baseball has been talking about for years.
SULLIVAN: (Laughter) Totally.
DETROW: So you ticked through some of the wrinkles. What about the positives?
SULLIVAN: I mean, the positives, I mean, to me, the games have just gotten better and better as the playoffs have kept going. The semifinals were great - Ohio State versus Texas, fantastic game; Penn State versus Notre Dame, also a fantastic game. Both of them came down to the final minutes. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time for both games. And then also just to shout out one of the quarter final games, one of the best college football games I think I've ever seen was between Texas and Arizona State. It went to two overtimes, neck and neck the entire game. And Arizona State, specifically, is a team that just wouldn't have sniffed the playoff in the previous format. But they got in, and they went toe to toe with Texas in one of the most exciting games ever. And I think that alone justifies this bigger playoff field, when you get games like that that are exciting all the way to the end. Overall, I think this is successful and interesting. And personally, I'm really excited to watch Monday's game. Notre Dame, Ohio State - it should a great one.
DETROW: NPR's Becky Sullivan, thanks a lot.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome.
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