It
makes
every
game
important
until
you
lose.
.
It's the one thing separating college football from every other team sport.
So, this got me thinking, went back and did a little math.
2019: 8
2018: 5
2017: 6
2016: 9
2015: 10
That's the number of P5 teams without a loss at the halfway point. So basically, halfway through the season, most of these games are not that kind of important. Which really does make the idea that every game counts ring hollow.
What I think it's really saying is there's a certain kind of wistful love for a particular brand of standings watching.
There's nothing wrong with it. We all see sports through different lenses. ELA really liked the mechanics of standings tied to bowl assignments. I tend to look at final records and the weight that comes with them. And a lot of people liked the sort of grinding, speculative viewing of wondering who makes it to seasons end with that "-0," in some ways the highest honor in the sport.
If anything, that makes most of the games beside the point. I watch my team do whatever, I keep an eye on 8 or so games to see, will someone biff this? Hell, 1-3 of those undefeateds listed above you usually don't pay much mind anyway (think that Nebraska team started 7-0).
So we're not really losing the idea that "EVERY GAME MATTERS" or even that the first two conference games were extra important (since you put three bodybags and Bill Doba Washington State on eh slate). It's that this particular brand of standings watching was a certain kind of fun, and maybe we'll lose something without it.
Counting off undefeateds has always been part of my CFB experience, and maybe it’ll mean less if it decides byes or whatever. But looking back, so much time was spent on handwringing over speculation (part of the fun, I suppose), and little respect for the weird quirks around all of it, I imagine we’ll adapt and continue to enjoy in about as natural a way as we would.
