Imagine being ranked No.1, but that does not land you any advantage. That’s how frustrating Dan Lanning and the Oregon Ducks might be feeling now. Well, that’s something totally justified. After all, you led the program with an undefeated streak. Now that you made your way to the top rank, you are not getting any support; it’s frustrating! That’s when college football analysts made the frustration 10x for Lanning by choosing Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs over Oregon. Here’s where the loopholes of the CFP ruling get exposed.
James Franklin’s Penn State’s loss in the hands of Lanning and the Ducks seemed to be inevitable. After all, Oregon had a stellar season, coming off with an undefeated 12-0 streak! However, holding the top spot did not hand out any advantage to Lanning and Co. Rather, they are now doubted for their rank. On the podcast, analyst David Pollack had a question for co-host Brent Rollins. “Is Oregon really the one seed or are they the two seed?” asked Pollack.
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To which Brent replied, “Because I was literally about to ask you that exact question, I think Oregon would rather be Georgia right now.” Well, Smart’s Bulldogs are now the No.2 seed. Now why is it so? Even though the analysts did not reveal the reasons in particular, it can be guessed. First things first, in comparison to Oregon, Smart’s Georgia had a tougher schedule while they showed sustained dominance. After all, it’s the same old SEC vs. Big Ten—who’s got it tougher debate, folks!
Plus, it’s evident that the new CFP rulings favor tradition over fairness. They are more into preserving the bowl traditions than creating a system that fully rewards the seeding. As Pollack dished out his opinion, “I’d rather be Georgia than Oregon I think Oregon clearly the number one seed all year long, the only team to go undefeated throughout the season.” Lanning is not only facing questions about his team’s talent, but he also faces a nightmare scenario.
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Dan Lanning’s latest victory: A blessing or a curse
Already the Oregon fans must be going like, ‘Enough is enough.’ Now they regret winning against Penn State. At least by losing against Franklin’s program, Lanning and Co. could have had some advantages. Wondering how is it so? The Ducks being the number 1 seed, now come off as the strongest. So, now it goes without saying that they will further be tested in the near future.
And while doing so, it’s obvious that they won’t be placed opposite to weak programs. So had the Ducks lost the B1G Championship on Saturday, December 8, they would have found themselves lucky to face off the lower-ranked conference winner, the No. 12 program, in round 1. For the quarterfinals, too, things would have been easy peasy for Lanning and co., as their opponent would have been the second-lowest-ranked conference winner.
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So, what a thunder-blunder Oregon made! Earning a round 1 bye, they will be facing off against the winner from the Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Tennessee Volunteers face-off. That’s enough to send chills. But again, not to forget it’s Dan Lanning. As J.D. Pickell stated, “From Dillon Gabriel to Dan Lanning, you saw the ebbs and flows in this one, but there was never any panic, never any sped up heart rate…Oregon’s going to be a wagon.” So, time for Oregon Ducks to turn blind eyes and dead ears to whomever doubts them.
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