Breaking Down the Best Possible National Championship Games at Week 6
If it's "never too early to start talking about the College Football Playoff," then six weeks seems like an appropriate amount of time to wait before talking about the second leg of that playoff: the national championship game.
Almost every team from a power-five conference with less than two losses stands a mathematical chance of making the CFP and advancing to play for the national title, but only a handful of those teams stand a realistic chance. A lot can happen between now and then to change things, but for the time being, we have narrowed that handful down to the Top 15 teams in the Associated Press poll.
In selecting the best possible matchups from those 210 options, we looked for a couple of things. Especially since the season is still young—i.e., we do not know as much as we would like about which teams are actually the best—a heavy focus was placed on narrative. In other words, which games would make for the best TV spectacle?
But, of course, it was more than just that. We also looked for interesting style or personnel matchups to go with those off-field storylines. We did not simply plug in the teams from the top of the poll to ensure picking the safest matchups. But we also made an effort to keep things realistic by including only title-worthy teams.
Bonus: Arizona vs. Ohio State/Michigan State
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The Story: Michigan's Schadenfreude
If Rich Rodriguez takes Arizona to the national title game, Michigan fans will be aghast. The Wolverines' divorce from Rodriguez was so messy that there have literally been books written about it. Folks in Ann Arbor would ostensibly root harder Arizona's opponent than they have for their own team all season
But what if that team it was playing was That Team Down South? And what if it was Little Brother? What if instead of a lose-lose, Michigan fans had to choose between calamitous loss and calamitous loss?
Neither would make good enough of a game to crack the actual list, but the thought of all that Schadenfreude is too good not to mention. If you're an unbiased (but sadistic) college football fan, root for this to happen.
7. Alabama vs. Oklahoma
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The Story: Settling Last Year's Sugar Bowl Dispute on the Field
Oklahoma beat Alabama in last year's Sugar Bowl despite entering as two-touchdown favorites and without a clear answer at quarterback.
Nick Saban and Bob Stoops traded potshots about the game over the summer, Saban insinuating that it was hard to get his team up for a "consolation game" after losing at Auburn and missing the BCS National Championship Game after back-to-back national titles.
To which Stoops responded (per Brett McMurphy of ESPN.com):
"They didn't look like it was a consolation game on that first drive when they scored a touchdown and everyone thought they were going to rout us. I've been in plenty of those [non-national title games]. We've played in a bunch of national championship games, right? ... That's a good one.
So that means I've got a built-in excuse the next time we don't play for a national championship?
"
Both teams took a step back with losses in Week 6, but it wouldn't be a shock to see either Alabama or Oklahoma run the table until the end of the season. They looked like the two strongest teams in the country before last weekend, and both of their losses came on the road against teams ranked in the current AP Top 10.
There is still a chance that this might happen.
6. Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
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The Story: Old Rivals Can't Avoid One Another
Michigan State and Notre Dame did not play each other in 2014 for the first time since 1996, although they do have a game scheduled for 2016 (unlike Notre Dame and that other Michigan school).
Having the Spartans meet the Irish in the national title game would feel a bit like a Chucky Doll situation—the sort of thing you can't avoid no matter how hard you try. Even the logjam of interconference politics wouldn't be able to keep these two teams apart.
Notre Dame was the only team to beat Michigan State last season, but if you ask around East Lansing, fans will tell you it wasn't the team so much as the refs who gave the Irish the game. If not for a few dubious pass-interference calls, it could have been Sparty playing Florida State for the national title last season instead of Auburn.
Also, Everett Golson vs. Connor Cook would be about as good of a quarterback matchup as one could ask for—so would the battle of former Cincinnati head coaches between Brian Kelly and Mark Dantonio.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
5. Arizona vs. TCU
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The Story: Huh?
Arizona and TCU are both ranked in the AP Top 10, but this still feels like the least likely potential outcome out of all our eligible choices.
If they both somehow navigated their way to the title game, it would be a fitting coda to a year of chaos that apexed last weekend, when five of the top eight and 11 of the top 19 teams in the country were defeated. It would mean that college football had officially reached a point of true parity, which in my esteem makes the sport more fun.
It would also be an interesting on-field matchup between Rich Rodriguez's wide-open running game and Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meacham's wide-open passing game. Even with two "lesser" programs playing, the style of the game would be easy on the eyes.
4. Alabama vs. Auburn
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The Story: The Biggest "Iron Bowl" of All Time
Is this a boring answer? Sure. But it has to be included.
How could it work out logistically? Well, after Alabama's loss to Ole Miss, both teams would probably need to win out before meeting in Tuscaloosa in the last week of the season.
Alabama would need to win that game and advance to the SEC Championship Game on the tiebreaker—which means Ole Miss would have to find a second conference loss in addition to its Auburn loss—then win in Atlanta to improve to 13-1.
At that point, the Crimson Tide would be an obvious inclusion, and Auburn would be a close-to-obvious inclusion for having lost its only game of the season on the road against a team in the playoff. Then, if both teams won their semifinal games—presto, the biggest "Iron Bowl" ever.
Alabama beat LSU in a regular-season rematch for the national title three seasons ago, but that year, it was the one seeking revenge for an earlier defeat. How would it perform on the other side of that dichotomy? And how annoyed would everyone from the other 49 states get at Alabama for trumpeting their dominance?
In a masochistic way, it might be fun to find out.
3. Baylor vs. Texas A&M
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The Story: Restoring One of Those Other Big 12 Rivalries
Texas vs. Texas A&M is the old Big 12 rivalry that gets talked about the most in terms of revival. Baylor was not relevant for long enough when A&M was still in the conference for that to even be considered much of a rivalry outside of Waco and College Station.
But, for those schools, the Battle of the Brazos was a very real thing. Their campuses are separated by 90 miles, and the state of their programs are separated by even less. Both have benefited from Texas' step back to become annual contenders in their conferences.
This game ranks ahead of the other great off-field narratives because it would also feature an awesome on-field experience. Unlike Michigan State and Notre Dame restoring their rivalry in a power-rushing, defensive struggle, Baylor and Texas A&M would feature Art Briles' savant-like offense against Kevin Sumlin's savant-like offense.
Everyone (except Texas) wins in this scenario.
2. Auburn vs. Florida State
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The Story: The Rematch
Nothing like a good old-fashioned rematch.
(Unless it's between Alabama and Notre Dame.)
Florida State and Auburn ended the BCS era with one of the best national title games of the past two decades, coming down to the wire in an eventual Florida State victory. Auburn played better for more than half of the game and led most of the way, but Jameis Winston hit Kelvin Benjamin for a two-yard touchdown with 13 seconds on the clock to steal the game and the championship away.
"We have to be 13 seconds better in everything we do," said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn before the season, per Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee. But if Florida State sneaks into the title game by playing the way it has these first six weeks, that might not be the case.
The way Auburn played in last year's national title game would be good enough to beat the present Seminoles by two touchdowns.
1. Ole Miss vs. Mississippi State
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The Story: Mississippi Is the New Heart of College Football
Alabama, Alabama, Alabama.
Florida, Florida, Florida.
Texas, Texas, Texas.
Cali, Cali, Cali.
That is all you ever seem to hear when people talk about the great states of college football. South Carolina and Georgia sneak into the discourse every once in a while, but for the most part, there are four states on the top "tier." And then there is everybody else.
But the story of the season thus far has been a deviation from that trend. The two best Mississippi schools—Ole Miss and Mississippi State—are tied at No. 3 in the AP poll and coming off landmark victories against Alabama and Texas A&M respectively.
The Rebels hosted College GameDay last weekend, and the Bulldogs will host it this coming Saturday. Both teams were featured on the latest cover of Sports Illustrated.
Like the Iron Bowl rematch mentioned at No. 4, an Egg Bowl rematch in the national title game would likely require some luck. A one-loss Ole Miss or Mississippi State would need to beat an undefeated Ole Miss or Mississippi State when the teams meet in the regular-season finale, and the winner would need to win the SEC title game.
If it happens, though, it would be everything a college football fan could ask for. An underdog-vs.-underdog story.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
