COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS DONE RIGHT IN OREGON

Originally posted on Oregon Sports News.

The College Football Playoffs’ final four works out for Oregon as long as the past stays in the closet.

They lost to the SEC before, Auburn and LSU in a short 2011 time frame? Lock that door.

Lost to Ohio State in the 2010 Rose Bowl? Nail it shut.

Oregon comes in clean on January 1, 2015 after the woodshed whipping they put on Arizona. That’s the reference point.

It went way past revenge.

Rich Rod’s team took the sort of beating that changed his otherwise demented looking expression into something more frightening.

He made Yankee great Andy Pettitte’s goat-eyed stare look friendly.

The agony of defeat never looked better.

It’s the same look Florida State will wear, then either Alabama or Ohio State.

To make it happen, the first thing for fans to do is stay calm.

How does this help when the Ducks face the defending national champions led by the current Heisman Trophy winner?

If that’s not bad enough, the Seminoles are undefeated over two years. They know how to win.

In the pre-BCS era Florida State would be ranked #1 based on their record, then voted as national champions after winning their bowl game.

It wasn’t the  best system then, with the occasional co-champion like Washington and Colorado in 1990.

The College Football Playoffs puts an end to the uncertainty, yet ranks an undefeated Florida State team third?

They’ll meet Oregon in the Rose Bowl, that Rose Bowl, and it’ll be a fair game as long as no Tallahassee policemen moonlight as refs. No one wants a see no evil, do no evil, speak no evil crew for that game.

Jameis Winston won’t steal a victory, or get a legal win in Pasadena. It’s football, not Law and Order. He won’t jump on a table and scream, “Run it right in the end zone.” It takes more than that.

Even if he thinks it matters, none of will make any difference on New Year’s Day when the Seminole faithful chant and chop themselves silly, then complain about being compared to the Washington Redskins’ racist name.

They can Hail Mary all day. Ifo Ekpre-Olomu hopes they do.

An Oregon win puts them in Texas against either Ohio State of Alabama.

If it’s THE Ohio State it’s another revenge game for the cheating Terrelle Pryor era.

Losing the Rose Bowl to a team hit with sanctions, fires the coach, and seems ready to melt down, is sort of a win.

Ohio State regained its balance with the savior-like efforts of Urban Meyer, the Florida coach in 2011 who stepped down for health reasons, recovered, then signed to coach Ohio State later the same year.

The same Urban Meyer coached Aaron Hernandez, he of criminal acts, at Florida.

I get chest pains just thinking about that relationship.

An Oregon win over Ohio State would feel as good as Arizona, but what if Alabama ends up in Texas?

Beating an SEC team is a tall order for any team. As long as Alabama doesn’t change their name from Crimson Tide to Tigers before the New Year, Oregon stands a chance.

Critics call UofO the University of Nike, but the money flowing through Alabama football jumps the banks of the Black Warrior River.

When the coach pulls $7 million and the open secret says any player they focus on is beyond any deal another school could make, you’d better win.

Alabama knows how to win. They also know how to spread the wealth. Google Luther Davis.

Is Oregon perfect? Are the Ducks a given? Of course not, but the level of stink from Eugene is low compared to the other three teams in the finals.

It’s time for a breath of fresh air. Inhale. Exhale. Do it again.

In Oregon you don’t notice any Tallahassee funk, any Columbus aroma, or any Tuscaloosa stew.

Take another breath.

That’s Oregon air, that’s the Willamette Valley. It doesn’t get any better.