If any sport is in need of an up-and-comer to spice up the same old menu for its marquee event, it’s college football.
That’s why Tennessee rising behind second-year coach Josh Heupel, whose unbeaten and No. 3-ranked Volunteers are in prime position to make the four-team College Football Playoff, could be a refreshing change for a sport whose postseason is pretty much another version of the movie “Groundhog Day.”
Since the CFP began in 2014, four schools — Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Oklahoma — have claimed 21 of the 32 spots. Of the 24 CFP games played, ‘Bama, Clemson and Ohio State walked off winners a combined 18 times.
The only other schools to win on the CFP stage are Georgia (3-1), LSU (2-0) and Oregon (1-1).
Nobody knows whether this stunning UT season will be a one-hit wonder. But it’s a welcome sight for college football, which desperately needs new postseason blood from a resourceful, high-profile Power 5 program.
Many thought USC under new coach Lincoln Riley was the best candidate, and the Trojans are still in play, but last week’s loss to Utah might have been a CFP killer for them.
Tennessee is in a different place. With road wins over Pitt and LSU, plus last week’s monumental 52-49 win over Alabama, the Vols are essentially playing with house money. The Vols can finish 11-1 with a loss at Georgia on Nov. 5 and still have a good shot at reaching the playoff.
What Heupel’s team has done is make a wildly entertaining offense so potent, it brings a welcome air of mystery to an all-too-predictable playoff system. The CFP highlights a sport where parity (contrary to the myth perpetuated by the sport’s media sycophants) is almost non-existent.
