ALTOONA, Pa. -- I am not one of those folks who always gripes about SEC bias. Sure, it's there, but my feeling has always been that it's largely deserved, because generally, top-flight SEC teams are indeed better and do deserve the benefit of the doubt in many cases.
That said, there's a ridiculous notion being floated out there about what might happen when the College Football Playoff rankings are released tonight.
A lot of people seem to believe Alabama could be ranked ahead of Ohio State, in the No. 5 spot, behind Georgia, Michigan, TCU and USC.
That would be an absurd, completely idiotic case of SEC bias, if indeed it does happen.
There is just no way a two-loss Alabama team that doesn't have a great resume can be ranked ahead of a one-loss Ohio State team that has a superior resume to the Tide.
Yeah, sure, Ohio State got pounded at home Saturday by Michigan, 45-23. That's a bad home loss, but it was to the No. 2 team in the country.
The Buckeyes are still 11-1, and all 11 of their wins have been by double digits. That includes victories against No. 8 Penn State (44-31) and No. 19 Notre Dame (21-10).
Alabama has only two wins over teams currently ranked in the AP top 25: No. 21 Texas (20-19) and No. 25 Mississippi State (30-6). The Tide also barely beat 5-7 Texas A&M (24-20) and 8-4 Ole Miss (30-24), and neither is currently ranked.
And once again, Alabamas has TWO losses: Tennessee (52-49) and LSU (32-31).
Teams MUST be penalized for losses, especially multiple losses. It irks me to no end that modern college football has resorted to putting so much emphasis on "good" losses, when more emphasis should be placed on, hey, you lost the freaking games!
So no, it just cannot happen that the CFP committee would put two-loss Alabama above one-loss Ohio State tonight. The AP and coaches polls both got it right Sunday when they had the Buckeyes No. 5 and the Tide No. 6.
All of this is extremely important for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions need Ohio State at No. 5, in the next possible slot for a playoff berth if either USC or TCU loses in its conference championship game this week. If one of those teams lose, the Buckeyes almost certainly would jump into the top four.
And then Penn State goes to the Rose Bowl, which would be an incredible way to finish this season.
As things stand, if USC and TCU both win, the Lions likely go to the Cotton Bowl. The opponent there would be either Tulane or UCF, whichever wins the American Conference championship game. I'm not breaking any news here by saying that most Penn State fans couldn't care less about playing Tulane, although UCF might be a somewhat intriguing opponent.
Still, the Rose Bowl would be infinitely better. And the path is still there -- if either USC or TCU loses AND Ohio State is No. 5.
No. 3 TCU plays No. 12 Kansas State in the Big 12 title game. The Horned Frogs won the regular-season meeting at home, 38-28, but don't discount the Wildcats' chances in that game. K-State has a strong team.
Could TCU still get in if it loses, over Ohio State? It's possible, and the decision could be very close. But I just don't see it. The committee would look at all the Buckeyes' talent and, in my opinion, would deem them better than the Horned Frogs.
No. 4 USC lost in the regular season at Utah (43-42), and they will meet again in the Pac-12 title game. The Trojans are playing really well, but the way those teams often struggle on defense, you just never know how that game will go.
So, tonight, when the playoff committee releases its rankings, the key for Penn State will be to have Ohio State at No. 5, ahead of Alabama. And then come Saturday, the Lions' best hope would be Utah beating USC, which would guarantee the No. 5 team jumping into the playoff field. If TCU loses and USC wins, there would be a whole lot of debating going on.
If both TCU and USC win, the Lions will be heading to Dallas and the Cotton Bowl for the second time in four years.
But if Penn State can catch a break with one more upset, it could end up being a very rosy finish to the season.
