By Patrick Weider
The 1st year of the 12-team playoff has shown us that teams that in the past might have been excluded from the 4-team playoff get a 2nd chance at making a National Title run. While all four semifinal teams weren’t in the top four seeds, Ohio State is the poster child for this. They had a horrible loss to Michigan 13-10 to close out the regular season and rather than play in the Big Ten Championship they slipped to the 8th seed where they promptly beat Tennessee and Oregon handily in the 1st two rounds of the Playoff. If this was the 4-team playoff Ohio State would not have made it and would have missed a 2nd chance at playing for a National Title.
Below is a list of five teams in the playoff era that if there was a 12-team playoff might have gone on a National Title run.
1) 2015 Ohio State
This Ohio State team was loaded. Future NFL stars Ezekiel Elliott, Joey Bosa, Taylor Decker, Denzel Ward, and many others. Coming off a National Championship from the previous season Ohio State was poised to make another National Title run until they lost 17-14 to Michigan State in the 2nd to last game.
In the off-season, Ohio State lost offensive coordinator Tom Herman and they struggled on offense most of the year. They kept rotating quarterbacks, flipping back and forth between JT Barrett and Cardale Jones. Then after they lost to Michigan State, they caught fire and destroyed Michigan 41-13 and Notre Dame 44-28 in the Fiesta Bowl. If that team had been in the 12-team playoffs they might have won a National Title, based on how they finished the season.
2) 2022 Alabama
This Alabama team was a talented group that lost two regular season games, so they did not get a chance to make 4-team playoffs. Led by talented quarterback Bryce Young and dynamic running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama only lost at Tennessee 52-49 and at LSU 32-31. So, they lost to two good SEC teams on the road by a total of 4 points. They lost out to Ohio State for the 4th and final spot, who had just one loss against Michigan. If there was a 12-team playoff this Alabama team would have made it and possibly made a National Title game run.
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3) 2023 Florida State
The 2023 Florida State team is a team I will always feel bad for. They lost their quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury, and the committee had Alabama make it ahead of them because of how they struggled in the ACC Championship against Louisville. Florida State was a dominant team that won every game, including dominating a good LSU team in week 1. If there was a 12-team playoff last year it would be fun to see if they could have made a National Title game run, because they had a good team who dominated all year, even without Travis.
4) 2016 Penn State
The 2016 Penn State team was a talented team led by Saquon Barkley. Barkley was a superstar at running back and they had a capable quarterback in Trace McSorley. They lost to Pittsburgh early in the season and in a 49-10 blowout to Michigan. However, Penn State found something as the season went on, beating 2nd-ranked Ohio State at home (last time Penn State beat Ohio State).
The Nittany Lions went on to win the Big Ten Title but missed out on making the playoffs to Ohio State and Washington. If they had a 12-team playoff they might have gone on a run with a talented running back like Barkley.
5) 2014 TCU and Baylor
I picked two teams here because they both got jumped by Ohio State in the final rankings. In the final rankings before the Conference Championship games, TCU was ranked No. 3, and Ohio State was fifth. Ohio State was on their third-string quarterback in Cardale Jones and beat Wisconsin 59-0 and they jumped TCU, as the Big 12 did not have a conference championship game. TCU fell to six because Baylor had beaten them earlier in the year and they moved Baylor to five. So, they left both Big 12 teams out of the 4-team playoffs. It would have been fascinating to see if either team, who were both 11-1 could have made a National Title game run. Ohio State meanwhile went on to win their own National Title.
