So you're saying there's a chance: College football's new reality

The designers of the 12-team College Football Playoff probably didn't set out to make quite so many people mad, but unrest is good for business.

Alabama and Miami didn't make it. First-round byes went to outsiders Boise State and Arizona State. Oregon, which would be the unanimous national champion today in a world that did not include a playoff, gets a first game against Ohio State or Tennessee rather than a lower-ranked team.

There's so much to argue about, and those arguments will attract attention to the college game in the coming days and weeks. The unhappiness is a feature, not a bug.

But what's gotten drowned out by the steady drumbeat of controversy, which began when the first CFP weekly rankings were released in November, is how fundamentally different this college football season is from those that came before it, and how different the sport will be in the future.

In any other year, several schools would have ended the weekend contemplating the ruins of a lost season. Penn State had a chance to win the Big Ten but ended up with losses to both Oregon and Ohio State. Texas spent much of its first season in the SEC at or near the top of the rankings but lost to Georgia twice, which was a two-loss team itself. After doubt dogged SMU and Indiana for much of the year, each program got a chance to prove itself in a high-profile game against a traditional powerhouse - and each lost.

But all of those teams are still alive. The Nittany Lions, instead of marinating in the ignominy of another loss to a top-five team after Oregon handled them relatively easily, are now lined up to play SMU and, if they beat the Mustangs, Boise State. Those are the kinds of opponents James Franklin's Penn State can usually handle.

Texas - which couldn't beat Georgia even after the Bulldogs lost starting quarterback Carson Beck for Saturday's second half - now faces a three-loss Clemson team that was gifted a chance to get into the playoff when Syracuse upset Miami. If the Longhorns defeat the Tigers, they get an Arizona State team that was a playoff afterthought right up until the Sun Devils needed a win to get in. Rather than being dead and buried, Texas is now the co-favorite to win the national title, along with Georgia.

College football teams that suffered brutal regular-season disappointments are getting a second chance to win it all in the playoffs. That suddenly sounds a lot like hockey. Or baseball. Or, indeed, pro football, where the only real requirement of the regular season is to give yourself a chance in the knockout rounds that follow.

How long will it take for this reality to set in? Ohio State coach Ryan Day has spent the past two weeks being pilloried for his team's embarrassing loss to Michigan in its final regular-season game. While I wouldn't begrudge any fan their rivalry-related feelings, Day's Buckeyes did what they had to do: They made the playoffs.

It's impossible to say whether the Buckeyes' performance in that traditional season-ender was affected by the fact they'd essentially guaranteed themselves a playoff berth beforehand. However, one reason Ohio State-Michigan has carried so much weight over the decades is because it's often had significant competitive consequences. Now bragging rights are the main thing on the line.

Some rivalry games across college football will still have playoff implications in some years, but just as often, the loser will have a better overall record and go on to make the postseason. Would you rather win the battle or the war?

There's also the grim possibility that schools will start dropping some of these rivalry games from their schedules in order to play lesser opponents and increase their chances of stacking up wins. No sooner had Alabama been omitted from the inaugural 12-team playoff than former coach Nick Saban, in his new role as a television analyst, mused on air that the Crimson Tide need to think about putting more cupcakes on their schedule to boost their odds of making the postseason. And you can't really blame him.

If the betting markets are any indication, the first 12-team CFP is expected to be chalky. The favorites are Georgia, Texas, Ohio State, and Oregon: three traditional powers, plus a modern one. But in a season riddled with upsets, an outsider could potentially go on a March Madness-style run. That would make college football's new reality even more evident: The important thing is getting an invitation to the dance.

How long will it be until coaches and programs aren't measured by conference titles and rivalry records, but by playoff appearances and postseason performances?

Ryan Day probably hopes it's soon, but it'll take everyone a while to get used to this new world.

Scott Stinson is a contributing writer for theScore.