Everyone loves an underdog. That is, except everyone involved with college football.
As soon as two Group of Five schools qualified for the 2025 College Football Playoff, every college football talking head started falling all over themselves to explain why they didn’t deserve to be there, didn’t belong, and shouldn’t be allowed to compete there in the future.
The TV ratings for the first round of the CFP seemed to give pundits further ammunition, especially since most of their arguments had more to do with driving TV audiences than rewarding winners.
The war against college football Cinderellas has been intense, and you can add a somewhat surprising voice to the mix: NBC Sports college basketball announcer John Fanta.
As part of a wide-ranging interview with the New York Post’s Steve Serby, Fanta shared that while he enjoys seeing Cinderella teams compete in college basketball’s March Madness, it doesn’t work the same for college football.
“I would not have two Group of 5 teams in the Playoff,” said Fanta. “I am all for Cinderella. But Cinderella exists in college basketball.
“The opening weekend of the College Football Playoff was a dud. It’s not about picking Miami over Notre Dame. Miami beat Notre Dame. What doesn’t make any sense is the committee for weeks had Miami below Notre Dame, and then put Miami in over Notre Dame. So the committee has no rhyme or reason to what they are doing. That’s my issue with the Playoff. I think the Playoff is gonna deliver great games.”
Fanta’s argument is somewhat moot, as future editions of the CFP are highly unlikely to unfold as this year’s did, thanks in large part to Notre Dame’s revised MOU and likely changes to the ACC’s selection criteria.
Also, while the Tulane and JMU games were largely uncompetitive, plenty of Power 4 schools (and Notre Dame) have laid far worse eggs in CFP games.
If there’s a villain in this year’s CFP draw, it’s the Power 4 programs that didn’t do enough to justify their inclusion, rather than the G5 schools that earned the right under the current criteria.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.