Well guys, we made it. A month of preseason camp, three months of regular season games and a six-week postseason. I think everyone in the sport is rightfully exhausted, from the coaches to the players to the media to that woman who rammed that golf cart into the wall trying to get Ryan Day to his press conference.

Everyone can come up for air now before they get to the matter of trying to do it all over again next season.

There are examples of teams winning three or four national titles in a short span: Notre Dame in the ’40s. Miami in the ’80s/early ’90s, Nebraska in the mid-’90s, Alabama in the 2010s. Is the college championship dynasty over in the Playoff era? I have a hard time seeing a team winning three or four in a seven-year span when they have to win three to four games against top-10 teams.

Cory H.

Unless the rules change again, and everyone can keep the same exact roster in place for four straight years, I suspect those days are over. There’s too much randomness in a multi-week tournament.

This year, an eighth-seeded Ohio State team got hot at the right time and remained remarkably injury-free during the Playoff. Next year, the Buckeyes could be the No. 1 seed, lose their starting quarterback in the quarterfinal and get bounced in the next round. Or this time their kicker could miss a chip-shot field goal to win the title game. Or, like Oregon this year, they could happen to draw next year’s version of 2024 Ohio State on their side of the bracket.

You know how much I love my March Madness analogies. I could see a new college football “dynasty” resembling something more like Duke basketball. Over 40 years, Mike Krzyzewski had phenomenal teams that got bounced in the second round and less-regarded teams that reached the Final Four. Whereas Nick Saban won six national titles in Alabama within the span of 12 seasons (still unbelievable), it took Coach K twice that long to win five. Yet he’s still indisputably one of the greatest coaches in the history of his sport because we all acknowledge you can’t judge a basketball coach solely by titles.

Now, you might be saying, wait a minute, the NFL has a similar-sized field and you still get dynasties like the ’80s 49ers, 2000s Patriots or 2020s Chiefs that win several Super Bowls in a short time period. But all three of those teams had the good fortune of having the same Hall of Fame quarterback under center year after year after year, whereas college teams have to keep replacing theirs every one to two years. Like the rest of their roster.

GO DEEPER

Way too early Top 25 for the 2025 college football season

Ohio State was in the Playoff with house money. They didn’t win their two games that mattered most in the regular season. What is the inherent value of having a “national champion” that did not pass the test of the regular season?

Bo H., Atlanta

It’s not that they didn’t “pass,” it’s that the grading curve has been adjusted. A year earlier, that same 10-2 season would have been deemed a failure, but now it’s enough to get in. And if beating six of the final top-10 teams (see below) in the AP poll isn’t enough to be deemed a worthy national champion, I don’t know what is.

(The teams Ohio State beat: No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Oregon, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Penn State, No. 9 Tennessee and No. 10 Indiana.)

To me, the more pertinent question would be: Is there still value in winning a conference championship if, in Oregon’s case, you win the Big Ten, but then the fourth-place team in your own league whoops you in the quarterfinals? Or in Georgia’s case, you win the SEC, but a Texas team you beat twice advances farther than you in the Playoff and gets all the adulation? Ten years from now, people are likely going to remember the 2024 Ohio State and Texas teams more than the 2024 Oregon and Georgia teams.

Basically, just like in college basketball.

I don’t think we’re there yet in football. Winning the Big Ten was a really big deal for Oregon, and winning the SEC was sweet for Georgia after falling short last season. And winning the Big 12 was a really, really big deal for Arizona State. But five years from now, those conference title games may be discussed much like conference tournaments in basketball: almost entirely about what this means for the bracket.

People generally copycat what works. Ohio State’s approach succeeded. How widespread will it become and how many schools can pony up $20 million for their roster?

Jeff H.

Oh, I assume at least a few have already blown past that. And if/when the House v. NCAA settlement gets approved, $20.5 million will be the starting point for most major athletic departments (across all sports). Then it’s a matter of how much their collectives can raise on top of that.

But I think it’s important to clarify that while Ohio State almost certainly spent well into the seven figures to go out and get Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins and Caleb Downs, most of that $20 million went to retaining the guys they already had. They had to make it worthwhile for the likes of Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau, Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson and others to all put off the NFL for another year. Not only is it a small pool of schools that could afford it, but how many even have that special a group in a given year?

Penn State thinks it does. It could not have been cheap to retain Drew Allar, Nick Singleton, Kaytron Allen, Dani Dennis-Sutton and others, all of whom could have gone out and been high draft picks this spring. Like Michigan and Ohio State before them, Penn State is going all-in after a crown. And, as you saw in my early Top 25, I’m a believer.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: The remarkable hero’s journey of Ryan Day’s Ohio State team

How does the NFL have two rounds of playoffs in the time between college football’s semifinals and title game? The regular season ended nearly two months ago! The playoff needs serious fixing.

Craig B.

Well, primarily because those two rounds of playoffs eat up consecutive weekends so that college has to fit in its games before and after them.

You’re not wrong that the Playoff, and the season itself, dragged on a couple weeks too long. I’ll continue advocating to shift Week 1 to Week 0 and move the semis and title game back where they were from 2014 to ’23.

But I think it’s a tad overdramatic to declare after one year that the event needs “serious fixing.” All in all, it went … well? Am I allowed to say that about a college football postseason event?

As my colleague Chris Vannini pointed out to me, so many memorable moments occurred in this one College Football Playoff: Cam Skattebo’s touchdown pass against Texas and Quinn Ewers’ fourth-and-13 touchdown pass to send that game to a second overtime; Drew Allar’s unfortunate interception against Notre Dame and Mitch Jeter’s ensuing game-winning kick; Sawyer’s 83-yard fumble return to seal Ohio State’s semifinal win against Texas and Jeremiah Smith’s 56-yard catch to clinch the national title.

I’d still fix the seeding, but all in all … pre-tty, pre-tty, pretty good.

Will Ohio State be able to build on its bowl success and contend for the Big Ten championship next year?

Michael M.

Well played, sir.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

The Athletic 134: Ranking all college football teams after the 2024 season

It is often said of sports with just one playoff competition and one champion that only one team finishes the year happy, the rest ultimately are losers. Aside from Ohio State and perhaps Notre Dame, what schools do you think had successful seasons in 2024 and why?

Patrick T.

Great question. Because only a small handful of the 134 schools have a realistic shot at the national title, there are many other versions of a successful season.

I won’t list everyone (it’s probably in the dozens), but a few that stand out most:

  • Arizona State: Best season since 1996, produced one of the school’s all-time great players in Skattebo, showed up on the big stage.
  • Indiana: Best season since 1967, got all sorts of national attention, showed the new system is truly open to anyone.
  • SMU: Couldn’t have asked for a better first season in a Power 4 conference, even with the way it ended.
  • Boise State: Earned the first-ever Group of 5 automatic CFP berth and got to enjoy a historic season from Ashton Jeanty.
  • Syracuse: Fran Brown and Kyle McCord made Syracuse football nationally relevant seemingly out of nowhere.
  • Iowa State: The Cyclones got the first 11-win season in school history and got to taste the Pop-Tarts.
  • BYU: What an unbelievable ride for the Cougars, capped with an Alamo Bowl rout of star-studded Colorado.
  • Illinois: Bret Bielema delivered the program’s first 10-win season in 23 years and a New Year’s (Eve) bowl win over an SEC foe.
  • Vanderbilt: Beat Alabama. Unleashed Diego Pavia. Enough said.
  • Navy: Beat Army (which ruined the Black Knights’ otherwise successful season) and Oklahoma and finished in the Top 25.
  • Ohio: First MAC championship since 1968!!
  • UConn: Nine wins!!!

Can you add any insight to the Xavier Lucas-Wisconsin-Miami story? So many pieces to this. It doesn’t seem as simple as Wisconsin wouldn’t release him. Where could/will this go?

David F., Atlanta

It’s a fascinating, if wonky story, and it could have major ramifications for all of college football. Essentially, it’s the first test of the new revenue-sharing era set to begin if/when the House settlement is approved.

I have not seen Lucas’s contract, but Sportico got a hold of another Big Ten school’s rev-share template, and Wisconsin’s deal is reportedly structured similarly. If so, then Wisconsin appears to be treating a name, image and likeness deal as an employment contract while claiming it’s not an employment contract: You agreed to a two-year deal with our school, so if you leave and go to another school, you’re in breach of the contract.

So it makes sense why Wisconsin is digging in and fighting him. If he can get out of his contract before it even kicks in, then all its other athletes can, too. But I fail to see how anyone can essentially trap a player at their school, unless the contract explicitly says, “You agree to exclusively play football for the University of Wisconsin for the next two years.” Which, if it does, sure sounds like pay-for-play. Which we’ve been told for four years is a big no-no.

Meanwhile, the tampering accusation, which got the bulk of the headlines, feels like a distraction from the real issue. Everyone tampers. If they have proof Miami tampered, turn them in to the NCAA so they can get their slap on the wrist. But as far as I know, tampering does not give a school cover to withhold entering a player’s name in the portal.

Two other important details: One, per Sportico, the Big Ten’s language includes an eye-opening clause that it can “increase or decrease” payments in reflection of their performance. The MOU mentions two illustrations: “the player wins a Heisman Trophy or sees their playing time reduced.” Umm, what? You can just up and decrease a kid’s pay if it turns out they stink, but also, they can’t transfer before the end of the deal? Seems … one-sided.

Most notably, though, Lucas was still able to leave Wisconsin and enroll at Miami without even entering the portal. Who knew you could do that? It makes sense, though. The portal mainly exists to let other schools know they’re allowed to contact you. I suppose you don’t need to do that if you A) are no longer enrolled at that school and B) have an agent.

Hey Stew, two-part question: If college football adopted a postseason/Playoff MVP award (like the Conn Smythe award in hockey), what would you name it? And who would win it from this year’s Playoff?

Andy J. Columbus, OH

To answer the second part first, it’s got to be Will Howard. Final numbers in those four games: 75.2 percent completions, 1,150 yards, eight touchdowns, two interceptions.

Full disclosure: I had to look up Conn Smythe. (Sorry, hockey fans. Not my jam.) It appears they named an award for the best player after a highly respected owner/GM/coach. Makes total sense.

Based on that model, I believe Will Howard just won the first-ever Jim Tressel Trophy. Hall of Fame coach, former AD and current university president of Youngstown State. I wish I’d come to this realization sooner because I saw Tressel and his wife, Ellen, on the field while the Buckeyes celebrated on stage Monday night. He could have given Howard this new trophy himself.

So, do you think this will be the year that the leaders of college football develop a fair system that respects the athletes, their rights to be compensated, their rights to play as safely as possible, while getting a quality education; while also not distorting the values, reasons, and economies of colleges; and uses the absurd money generated to reduce the absurd costs of getting a high-quality modern college education ?

David C.

Absolutely!

I also think this will be the year we develop a new system of travel where no flight is ever delayed, everyone’s bag fits in the overheard compartment and not a single middle seat is taken.

Which five coaches enter next season with the hottest seats, fighting to hold on to their jobs?

Phil T.

Well, not Ryan Day anymore. I believe winning the national championship earned him a reprieve. For one season, or until he beats Michigan, whichever comes first.

Oklahoma’s Brent Venables might be at the top of the list. He has gone 6-7 in two of his first three seasons, oversaw one of the worst offenses in the country last season and just generally doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. The Sooners should be better — I have them sneaking into the early Top 25, mostly because of Washington State transfer quarterback John Mateer — but another mediocre season would be hard to justify him getting to Year 5.

The two-year Luke Fickell era at Wisconsin has been hard to watch, and it’s not obvious what his rescue plan is besides dumping polarizing offensive coordinator Phil Longo and bringing in Jeff Grimes, whom Kansas fans were not exactly broken up about losing. (Grimes had better success at BYU.) The Badgers’ latest portal quarterback is Maryland’s Billy Edwards Jr., the nation’s 81st-rated passer last season. I don’t think Fickell can survive another losing season.

And this one might seem premature, but Arizona’s Brent Brennan could not have had a worse first season. The Wildcats fell from 10-3 in Jedd Fisch’s last season in 2023 to 4-8 in ’24 despite returning most of the stars from that team. It’s never good when the AD, Desiree Reed-Francois, who came in after Brennan’s hire from San Jose State, feels compelled to put out a “He is coming back next year” statement after the coach’s first season.

I could name a few more, but hey, I’ve got seven months of offseason Mailbags to fill.

Who are your top three teams with “potential for next year” who won four or less games last year? The transfer portal allows you to build a new team every year, so who will make the jump from a losing season to a great season?

Lance C.

Sure, I’ll throw those darts.

Florida State is an obvious candidate. The Noles certainly can’t get worse. I like Boston College transfer quarterback Thomas Castellanos a lot.

Houston was not as bad as its 4-8 record. It beat bowl teams TCU (on the road) and Kansas State, and Willie Fritz is just getting started.

And although Stanford went 3-9 for a fourth straight season, it did win at Syracuse and against Louisville. Expect a jump in Troy Taylor’s third season.

With the first 12-team playoff ending, is the debate on how to settle the CFB national championship finally over?

Anthony A.

Absolutely!

Other debates I expect to be settled for good this year: “Jordan/LeBron,” “2001 Miami/2019 LSU” and “tastes great/less filling.”

(Photo: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)

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