As the Green Bay Packers were winding down a 34-0 win on Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints, ESPN announcers Joe Buck and Troy Aikman took some time to talk about the lopsided games that took place in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
On the field, this season’s first four CFP games produced no drama. Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, and Ohio State all held serve convincingly, with all four games being decided by 10 or more points. Even the closest game, Notre Dame’s win 27-17 win over Indiana, was much more lopsided than it appeared, as the Hoosiers scored a pair of artificial touchdowns late. After that game, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit opined that the “outclassed” Indiana “was not a team that should’ve been on that field.” And while that opinion was not exclusive to Herbstreit, it was not shared by Buck or Aikman.
Buck, an Indiana alum, noted that things went poorly for the Hoosiers against Notre Dame. He also praised the job of first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. Aikman agreed, noting that SMU was in the same boat.
“I think the disappointment is for those that want to question whether those teams belonged in the playoff,” Aikman said. “I think to make those comments after the fact and after they had devastating losses by the amount that they did — I don’t know that that’s fair to anybody. We see teams in the Super Bowl that lose by large margins. And they were worthy. So, hat’s off to those winners and really all those teams — whether they lost last week or not.”
“And I think what it does is it diminishes the job that the teams that won did,” Buck said. “Like in the case of Notre Dame or Penn State and the job that they did in winning those games. I mean, it’s sports. And not everybody shows up with their A-game every night. But it’s been a fun collegiate season. And for those of us who went to IU, we’re awfully proud.”
“I think the disappointment is for those that want to question whether those teams belong [in the CFP]… We see teams in the Super Bowl that lose by large margins…” – Troy Aikman
“I think what it does is it diminishes the job that the teams that won did.” – Joe Buck 🏈🎙️ pic.twitter.com/GKRSk8IZ49
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 24, 2024
“It’s like we expected, though. You get 12 teams in the playoffs and yet you still have people that are arguing about it just like they do in March Madness. I guess, you know, you can put 100 teams in there and there will still be someone upset about it.”
“It’s like we expected, though. You get 12 teams in the [College Football Playoff], & yet you still have people that are arguing about it just like they do in March Madness… You can put 100 teams in there & there will still be someone upset about it.” – Troy Aikman #MNF #CFP https://t.co/eJliG4bUBB pic.twitter.com/U6CbQ5PMzz
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 24, 2024
Those opinions, particularly comparing these blowouts to ones seen in the NFL, were similar to what Fox’s lead football analyst Joel Klatt said in response to the first-round blowouts.
One thing is clear. While the powers that be in College Football Playoff would have certainly preferred a more competitive slate of games, the reactions to the games show how interested people are in the product.
[Photo Credit: ESPN]
