A dozen teams participate in the College Football Playoff with the same goal: win the national title.
But for some programs and individuals, there’s more at stake: a chance to change the narrative in what could be called the Redemption Playoff.
Put it this way: No matter what happens, Georgia will still be a powerhouse under a respected coach (Kirby Smart). Or, for example, consider that Tennessee and Arizona State will be fast-growing programs with a lot of potential in the coming seasons, regardless of the results.
For others, fortunes and reputations can fluctuate dramatically.
Here are the five biggest questions, in descending order.
5. Notre Dame: Is this a new era for the Fighting Irish?
For at least thirty years, the Fighting Irish have lived in a world where good but not great has served as a ceiling for the program. They were able to put together strong regular seasons, but whether under Brian Kelly or to a lesser extent Charlie Weis, there were limits.
The BCS and four-team playoffs were particularly shocking, going 0-3 with a non-competitive combined score of 103-31. Kelly returned to LSU and essentially recognized that he couldn’t win a national title in South Bend.
But what now? Marcus Freeman’s team got out of a no-show against Northern Illinois in September. At 11-1, is this a new era of Notre Dame, where the transfer portal and NIL allow the program to fill the talent gaps that will finally make them competitive with the sport’s elite?
Or will it be the same old story, just in a new system.
Indiana visits on Friday, December 20, offering the program a chance to show off its campus and surrounding area. However, things like that have never been discussed. A win – and then a real challenge against No. 2 Georgia in the quarterfinals – is what everyone wants to see. Notre Dame is undoubtedly talented, but national respect still needs to be grasped.
4. Quinn Ewers: How good is he really?
The Texas quarterback was expected to lead the Longhorns to the playoffs (again) and perhaps win a national title before heading to the NFL as a first-round draft pick. He would then leave the Austin job to Arch Manning.
The first part is accomplished: Texas is the fifth seed, despite not having defeated a single currently ranked team. The NFL part is more complicated.
This year, his completion percentage has dropped (from 69.0 to 66.7), while his interceptions have increased (from 6 to 9). The mocks have him anywhere from the end of the first to a third day selection. Given the NFL’s perpetual need for QBs, the former is more likely.
However, his two-pick performance in an SEC title game loss to Georgia didn’t help. His play can best be described as uneven and there are plenty of Texas fans rooting for Manning to get his shot.
So how good is Ewers? Well, the postseason offers an opportunity to move up the ranks and become a Longhorn legend. Or it could lead to him tumbling back to college – staying in Austin or entering the transfer portal. No other individual player has as much at stake, even though winning as a team remains the most important thing.
3. James Franklin: Can he win a big game?
The numbers are almost part of the Penn State coach’s name at this point: 3-19 against top-10 opponents and 4-17 against Big Ten heavyweights Ohio State and Michigan. The Nittany Lions win often under Franklin, including this year’s 11-2, but not in the big games.
However, every playoff game is a big game, and as the sixth seed, Penn State dreamed of a breakthrough in the competition. It will host 11th-seeded SMU on Dec. 21, with the winner facing third-seeded (but ninth-seeded) Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.
Obviously the Mustangs and Broncos are capable of beating Penn State, but this isn’t a killer feud that Franklin is dealing with. If he can get past those two and reach the semifinals, the program will get a jolt. However, if he falls short, the cries about how high he can lift the Nittany Lions will only get louder.
The College Football Playoff is built for programs like Penn State, who otherwise struggle to beat the best of the best and reach the four-team field. This is Franklin’s chance to change many perceptions about his coaching skills.
2. Dabo Swinney: Can Dabo win Dabo’s way?
In an era where the transfer portal is an integral, if not mainstream, way for programs to save their rosters, only four schools didn’t add a single transfer last season: Army, Navy, Air Force and … Clemson.
Swinney has won two national titles at Clemson and built his program into a national powerhouse, both of which seemed unlikely before he took over as interim coach in 2008. He’s always done it his way and that hasn’t changed, even if the results have declined. – no play-off appearances since 2020.
The Tigers took a winding path to the playoff — three losses before winning the ACC’s automatic bid on a 56-yard field goal that expired. They’re in, though, and Swinney has a chance to silence, or at least lower the volume, the many critics of his outdated system who have labeled him a stubborn, behind-the-fact coach.
Texas was upset in the first round to start a playoff run and there remains proof of concept on how he does things – i.e. staying true to high school recruits during the development process. It’s an idealistic system and it would be nice if it worked.
Here’s Dabo’s chance to prove it can still be done.
1. Ryan Day: Is he the right coach for Ohio State?
No one goes into the playoff with more pressure than Ohio State’s coach. He leads the Buckeyes 66-10, but 0-4 against Michigan over the past four seasons. It has put him under considerable pressure from an impatient fan base. Now he heads into the playoffs as the eighth seed, but with perhaps the most talented roster in the field thanks to a reported $20 million in NIL payouts.
The good news? Michigan is not in the playoffs. The bad news? The road to the championship, which would likely cool the speculation surrounding him, is a tough one: a visit from Tennessee, with the winner facing No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl.
Day has a history of beating the teams he was supposed to beat, but fell to the best in the sport – and froze against the Wolverines. The crowd at Ohio Stadium for the Vols game will be intense, especially if Ohio State starts slowly.
A similar scenario played out two years ago and Ohio State played a great game after a loss at Michigan, nearly beating eventual national champion Georgia in the semifinals. Can that same level be found again? He may have to, or Day will not only be drafted from his job but also face a level of discomfort that could make continuing impossible.
This isn’t just a season for Day, it’s a career arc. He may not have to win it all, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
