There was great, great joy flowing this way around 12:30 Sunday afternoon.

It was over.

Verbal air pollution decreased. Selective memories were somewhat quieted. Redundant ramblings of abstract hopes and dreams and not a whole lot of consistency or objectivity, from fan bases or a group of “media” types with very specifically buttered bread were done.

By Michael A. Lough

The Sports Report

centralgasports@gmail.com

Am quite sure there were some tears shed by “media” folks in various press boxes Saturday, including right up the road at the Benz, followed Sunday by expressions of paranoia and defensiveness, which will continue for a day or two.

Those near mics with agendas will offer a severely selective memory about what they said and didn’t say. Some of the national media – many of whom lost almost all credibility with their absurd and integrity-challenging love in September of a first-year FCS head coach out west who revolutionized not one damn thing and isn’t bowling and is losing coaches and players – will continue to offer clickbait.

But the absurdity of “debate” – every single day the exact same monologue or dialogue or hugs with callers and repliers or posters – is finally over. Do folks really enjoy having the exact same conversation every day, especially while seeking out people of the same “mind” set?

That’s a whole ‘nother rant.

I sniped smilingly at a friend who wanted to have the same conversation we’ve had for days – that I cut off – and had Saturday night, in that I don’t care and don’t want to have the exact same conversation when neither of our thoughts had changed. And I still didn’t care who got in because I have no team and it doesn’t affect my life.

And everybody’s still going to watch all the key games.

“Nnnnnnnnno. No call,” the text said. “No more debate. Don't care, don't care, don't care. We'll find out soon. Lives will continue. …

“This is the system. Everybody deal with it and consider getting over it and getting on with their lives. No more talk. We'll know when they tell us. And they don't care what we think, and I don't much care what we think. The reality is they're basically going to get it right, to a point, no matter what. FSU in is right. FSU out is right.”

Then a reminder that we will find out soon enough and the world’s rotation won’t change a bit.

Holy crap, I was right. Noon came and went, and the selling of the process – as well as re-having the same conversation they had at 11:30 and all day Saturday and the last week with the “what if” silliness – rambled on for a solid, what, three or four commercial breaks?

So, first, this is the system. It’s fluid. It was to be fluid from the start. People wanted fluid. There will be debate, debate nobody wins because there will be good points and off-target points, and people not paying attention to either one.

It’s imperfect. It’s been imperfect from the start. Like, you know, humans. It’s particularly rendered a mess after games, and second-guessing and surprises and sudden “I told you so” blather, which are to be ignored, because unless one’s thoughts/predictions are in writing, there’s little credibility or accuracy.

Too many people dress up as waffles every dang day.

This is the system. Four teams. People using research and – apologies – reality and facts as well as the eye test and analytics and gut instincts made the call.

That’s what people wanted, instead of computers, unless it helped their team. Give people what they want, or think they want, and it’s soon moot anyway.

Dear people, none of this is new. And the reality is they get it right more than people want to admit.

Everybody – panel or not – looks at that candidates the same way and differently. All eyes are different, thus so are all eye tests. You could have 10 coaches who agree on 95 things yet disagree – if they’re honest and capable of objectivity – on who the four should be, the order, and why.

No playoff plan is remotely perfect, even with agenda-free folks people working on it.

A four-team playoff was progress. And it led quicker – quicker than I certainly expected – to the “progress” of a 12-team playoff, which I can now handle because there are more teams in the hunt. We had to go through some domination by Alabama and Georgia (and a run by Clemson), but here we are, with more teams worthy of consideration.

It’s a process and format that has had and will have plenty of flaws, whether your team makes it or not. Note: It’s not about what you and your team want. Please start considering that in the thought process. Ditto that the world/refs/media/traffic lights are against your team. Nope, your team ain’t that important to the rest of us.

And the lights hate everybody.

Let’s go to the four teams for four spots

Texas deserved to get in because of wins over five ranked teams, and a major performance against No. 24 Kansas, and handling nearly all of the sub-.500 teams they played as they should. Beating Alabama anywhere put the Horns on the radar, moreso winning in Sabanville.

Somebody else could’ve been put in because beating No. 18 Oklahoma State by 28 in the Big 12 title game isn’t all that big a deal. OSU lost 33-7 to South Alabama and 45-3 to Central Florida. Again, not all 10-2 records are the same. Don’t be allergic to context.

So winning that game in particular shouldn’t have made Texas automatic. Not all ranked teams are really all that good.

“But the Ala - …”

Don’t start. It’s about the big picture. The entire resume. Head to head is only part – only part, only part, only part – of the equation, and it drops down on the list every week.

Alabama’s win over Georgia is more relevant than Texas’ win over Alabama, which is three months old and happened two months before the first CFP ranking.

Texas lost to Oklahoma, a 10-2 team a weeeee bit better than Oklahoma State, yes? And by three. In a big rivalry game. Oklahoma’s two losses were respectable, to 8-4 Kansas and to 10-2 rival Oklahoma State. The Horns lose little to nothing with the loss to Oklahoma.

The Longhorns didn’t dominate a whole lot throughout the season, just like Alabama and Georgia and Florida State didn’t dominate a whole lot. But the big win and quality loss get them in, somebody else closing stronger could’ve kept them out.

Alabama deserved to get in because it was probably the best of the four down the stretch, other than the Auburn game. Had to pull that one out of the, eh, fire.

Was one game. A win. In a rivalry. On the road. With a team going to a bowl.

It sure doesn’t elbow out beating Georgia, does it? No. And Alabama went 4-1 against ranked teams. The Tide were looking, other than the Iron Bowl, more Tide like as the temperatures dropped. After eking past South Florida and benching Jalen Milroe, Alabama started finding a groove, and handled Tennessee, LSU, and Kentucky after taking-care-of-business wins over Mississippi State A&M, and Arkansas.

Somebody else could’ve been put in because the Georgia win was one game, and Georgia had been up top all year, and Florida State was undefeated, and Alabama lost to Texas. It needed a miracle and some brain farts to beat Auburn (a bowl team). The bitterest rivalry in the South, which is loaded with bitter rivalries. The Tide made the clutch play. Should they be necessarily penalized for that?

And yes, they muddled through some other wins, like the Horns, Dawgs, and Noles did.

Florida State deserved to get in because the Seminoles took care of business, starting with the win over then-No. 5 LSU.

The loss of Jordan Travis was devastating, not just because of his on-field ability, but his teammate-ness and leadership. With him, the Seminoles were rolling along pretty good, taking care of business in a fairly pedestrian conference. They struggled against Boston College, survived at Clemson, and went on a burly run of four conference wins by a total of 103 points.

Taking care of business is underrated. The ability to win shouldn’t be dismissed. And I like Mike Norvell. A lot.

Somebody else could’ve been put in because the ACC was pretty mediocre, as evidenced by the “second-best” team which probably wasn’t. Shoot, one could argue for Clemson as second-best in the ACC. Clemson would’ve certainly done better against a third-string quarterback who hadn’t played.

The ACC needed FSU to start returning to the old days, and it has. But the ACC needs more than two upper-level programs, and it doesn’t have them right now.

FSU went 3-0 against ranked-at-the-time teams. Three one-possession wins over teams a combined 21-20 isn’t dazzling. There were nice wins, but resumes are built around the time the leaves – other than in the South – start changing.

October and November mean more than September. It’s just the way it is. The LSU win only goes so far, but does get better because LSU got better after initially being overrated.

And, well, let’s also calm down a little. Jordan Travis was hurt with the Noles down 13-0 to North Alabama. Then with a coach’s son scholarship quarterback, Tate Rodemaker, went on to roll UNA, and then muddled past a not-bowling-again Florida team by only nine. And then, yes, with a third-string quarterback – on scholarship at Florida State, which means something – beat the second-worst conference finalist among the Power 5s, by 10.

Player availability has been on the list of items for awhile. Had Milroe or Beck or a couple all-conference defenders were to be out for one team for awhile, yeah, that would hurt their chances.

Skip emotion

Emotion is playing too big a role in the uproar, including from many in the “media” who have a new cause. Since Colorado ended up sucking – as many of us expected - and they all looked stupid for their offerings in September, they looking for new click-type topics, and abandon reason, with all sort of “I understand all that, but …” in a one-dimensional rant after that with little or no objectivity, or memory of what they wrote a year or four ago.

That’s the thing. Emotion can’t play a role in selecting these teams, now or when it grows to 12. But yes, there will be thoughts filed away from the past. It’s not bias, necessarily, but experience.

And speaking of bias and paranoia, note that the N.C State AD is on the committee. A successful former Wake Forest head coach is on the committee. Michigan’s AD – and Michigan loves the SEC, right? – who spent time at Georgia Tech is on the committee.

One person in the group is employed by an SEC school, Kentucky’s AD. A Tulane graduate currently a Notre Dame trustee was on the LSU System Board of Supervisors for 12 years, on the committee. And others far from the SEC and ACC are on the panel.

See, people involved in sports can be fair, objective, understanding, and use knowledge as an aid. As opposed to the millions and millions of, eh, never mind.

They likely saw what some of us see: four very even teams for two spots. Somebody’s gotta miss out.

Now, I’d love love love to hear – as I always do when people complain about such situations – from Smart or Norvell who his team should replace and why. Don’t say how tough the job is and all and not justify your views. People, especially on the teevee, always offer one-dimensional arguments. Let’s hear – and the Heisman race is similar –who you’d yank and why.

In those CFP meetings, people justify their views (a process lost on a lot of folks).

All four teams had pedestrian wins over pedestrian teams. Happens every year with all the finalists. None of the four really dazzled all that much for four quarters. That’s why they were even. And hey, you think Oregon and Ohio State aren’t thiiiiiis close next in line? Think anybody in front of them wants to play Oregon?

It’s about the best four now. Not September, October or November, but now, and included all of September, October, and November in the process. Many aspects.

This should not be so friggin’ difficult to grasp. But in a land loaded with triggered knee-jerkers, it is.

They got it right. Maybe could have gotten it a little more right, but they got it plenty right. Six teams for four spots, and then four teams for two spots. Plenty of evidence pro and con for those four teams.

Now, can we move on to real and serious and concrete topics, like mock drafts and the NCAA Tournament field?