Published Jan 1, 2019
The crying game
Larry Williams  •  TigerIllustrated
Senior Writer
Twitter
@LarryWilliamsTI

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Take the most scenic beachfront vacation spot you can imagine, and picture yourself there for a couple weeks.

A week in, your spoiled kids get bored and start complaining about the same old thing every day.

That's the best analogy we can come up with for the current hysteria about college football being broken because two monsters are lording over the sport.

A bunch of fans, and more than a few sportswriters who want fresh storylines, are those spoiled kids crying in paradise.

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"I know people say, 'We want to see somebody new,'" ESPN's Tom Rinaldi told us last week.

"Well that's easy: Beat them. Show that you're better and beat them."

Apparently, an eight-team playoff is the solution for bringing more "fun" to the process of arriving at the same conclusion that Alabama and Clemson are better than everyone else.

We are not 100-percent against expanding the playoff. There are some good arguments for it.

But if what happened three days ago in Texas and Florida was an argument for modifying the playoff structure, it was an argument to pare it to two teams instead of adding four.

Rather than blaming the system for giving us the same old storylines, how about blame the would-be contenders for giving us the same old warts and inferiority?

Not long ago, Ohio State and Urban Meyer were looking dynastic after the Buckeyes knocked off Alabama and then drubbed Oregon in the inaugural CFP.

But then Meyer's program slipped. Not much, but enough to make the playoff just one time in the past four years. And everyone remembers what happened that one time, when a stadium full of Buckeye fans in Glendale paid top dollar to witness the birthing of a goose egg.

Georgia has made major strides under Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs are a recruiting powerhouse, and that suggests they'll have a say in this moving forward.

But the people who screwed the Bulldogs are not on a committee; they are in the mirror. Georgia had its chance last year against Alabama and couldn't handle the moment. Georgia had its chance against Alabama this season and again fell on its face. Georgia lost by 20 at LSU, something you cannot do when that loss is one of two.

Speaking of LSU: Once upon a time the Bayou Bengals were Alabama's equal. Now they have Ed Orgeron and a quarterback that is not in the galaxy of Tua Tagovailoa and Trevor Lawrence.

Do we really want to see more of Florida? Did we really want to see more of Miami last year after Clemson dismembered the Hurricanes in the ACC title game?

Michigan? Come on.

News flash: The CFP committee hasn't screwed anyone during the format's five-year existence. The system has worked.

Another news flash: Cinderella stories happen in college basketball. They don't happen in college football, not in today's college football.

So the solution for a semifinal round of ass-kickings is ... another round of ass-kickings?

All these people complaining, longing for more "fun," seem to be ignoring the fact that there is already a solid framework in place that provides fun and hope for everyone.

That framework is called the months of September, October and November.

"I think it's great for the sport," Rinaldi said of the Clemson-Bama rivalry. "I do. I understand that everything in the NFL is designed to create parity. But parity, at times, feels a lot like, dresses a lot like, looks a lot like mediocrity. It does."

We need to emphasize that in grouping Clemson with Alabama we are not saying Clemson's body of work is equal to Alabama's. That would be crazy.

But a clear separation has occurred. Alabama is at the top of the mountain until proven otherwise. Clemson is a rung just below until proven otherwise.

And everyone else is chasing until proven otherwise.

When you take out the head-to-head between the two, Alabama and Clemson have combined to win 106 of their last 110 games.

When is the last time two programs dominated to such an extent at the same time?

We don't believe history will look kindly upon the people who are crying about the fourth rendition of this matchup.

The Celtics and Lakers had a pretty good rivalry in the 1980s and ESPN made a 30 for 30 about it. As best as we can recall, no one was complaining about seeing the same teams playing for titles back then.

Three years ago, Alabama and Clemson provided great theater in Glendale and people were refreshed. Two years ago, Alabama and Clemson provided even greater theater in Tampa and people were exhilarated that little 'ole Clemson knocked off the bully.

Rinaldi: "The games they've produced, by and large? Two of them have been two of the great championship games in any sport this century."

Now, somehow Clemson has become a "blueblood" because people are tired of seeing the same two teams. As if this program needs to apologize for the almost astounding way it has been able to fight above its weight class and dominate almost everyone else.

If the competition were about money and tradition, Ohio State would've smoked Clemson 31-0 two years ago and Notre Dame would've won 30-3 three days ago. Clemson is a shining example of how to do more with less by hiring the right coaches and making smart, visionary decisions.

It is harder now than ever to get to a championship game and win one. These two teams should be celebrated for their exceptional ability to sustain the drive and determination (not to mention the recruiting) necessary to remaining at the top of the mountain.

As if the Tide and Tigers need to apologize for not providing enough "fun" with a matchup featuring one team that averages 48 points per game and another that averages 44.

Not long ago, the showdown between these two was celebrated as a clash of styles and cultures. The plots were plentiful and delicious.

This game will feature enough future NFL players to fill a chartered flight home from San Jose. It's one of the most fascinating, star-studded matchups in championship history.

Sports connoisseurs tend to love and savor the clash of co-existing titans. Because this type of thing doesn't happen often.

Apparently this doesn't matter to the connoisseurs of fine whine.

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