The rest of the country has to come to terms with the concept that UCF won all their games, including one game against the team that has a victory over both Georgia and Alabama. Undefeated is supposed to mean something, but in college football it does not, because of the Country club like atmosphere of the big conferences not allowing the little schools in.
What makes sports great is upsets, whether it be the New York Giants over the undefeated Patriots, the US beating the Russians in the Miracle on Ice, or Seabiscuit beating Triple Crown winner War Admiral. Boise State defeated an Oklahoma team that had all-world back Adrian Peterson. The Los Angles Lakers with Kobe Bryant, Shaq, Karl Malone and Gary Payton lost to the Detroit Pistons. Before any of those, or many of UCF's wins this year, on paper I would have said it's a joke to think the smaller team would win, but they did. Until the two teams actually play opposite each other we don't know.
Polls and analysts can be wrong, going into the season Florida State was ranked #3 in the nation. The reason that matters is that UCF wasn't even in the discussion and had to prove themselves over the course of the season. Meanwhile Alabama, who didn't have the strongest of schedules got to comfortably sit atop the poll, without really proving anything, and then when they fell, it wasn't anywhere near as far. People looked at the victory over FSU as claiming something, but FSU finished the season with 6 losses, including to Boston College and NC State. They didn't defeat a ranked team all year (Based on the end of the year rankings). The Preseason "guess" is one of the worst things about college football as it puts unrealistic expectations out there, because of what analysts or polls say. Watch the teams actually play a bit before giving any sort of ranking of any kind. The analysts and polls don't want to discuss FSU this year because of how silly it makes the preseason numbers look. If not for that preseason ranking, Alabama didn't win any games that would have made anyone think they were deserving of going to the big game (Granted their win over Clemson after they were selected to go on, is impressive, but that was after the fact).
Ultimately, college football likes to discuss the amateur status of the athletes, and how they play the game the right way, but it all comes down to money. When Alabama played Auburn, they both won and lost. They lost because of the final score on the board, but they won because of the money they generated. That's why the big schools will never play small scale schedules. However, the smaller schools will have to risk both how much money the program makes, and their records. Alabama (or any other school in a big conference) falling out of bed makes a fortune in tickets sales, and television deals. Why would they, or should they give that up? For example, I'm sure UCF would have loved to have played Alabama, Georiga, Clemson, Notre Dame and Ohio State all this year. They're record may have been horrid, but their box office would have been great. That box office could then be used to build facilities or hire a higher level coach. Those big name programs sell out wherever they go, and they don't want to play in small stadiums, because it generates less revenue. They want the big collossal stadiums like Ohio State and Michigan. I am aware too, sometimes big programs pay the lesser school a large salary just to play the big school, because the lesser school wants nothing to do with the humiliating loss they'll likely take, but it allows the powerhouse a relatively easier week. Ultimately, the SEC commissioner is quite happy about how everything fell into place. No matter what, the SEC will take home the two biggest paydays of any collegiate team this year because of the National championship game profits. The biggest cut may go to Georgia or it may go to Alabama, but the SEC already knows it's got that. Had UCF made the final 4 though, the SEC would only get one big pay day, as apposed to now two. The players and the coaches care about who wins, the presidents and commissioners care only about the money, and the money is the reason that college football will never be equal across the board. That money to ALabama and Georgia is nice, but in the SEC so much money is assumed that it is just sprinkling on the cake. To UCF, that may have been a game changer, but they don't get to change their game. They might in a decade, though the team they have now won't be the same team next year. One of the big schools will challenge them later on, seasons from now, and likely beat them, and then shrug and say they weren't anything. But they aren't playing this unique team, and because of that, we don't know.
UCF deserves the parades, and if they want to call themselves National Champions, in my eyes they can, because the National Championship in the NCAA is so much of a joke, and always has been, that there really is no national champion. The concept that a team can go undefeated for a season and not get an invite into the top 4 playoff is a joke. Alabama was the #3 team in the SEC. By sending them, you downplay all the conference championships, which now are pretty meaningless. UCF is the only team to go undefeated, all year. It had to deal with a hurricane, which others had to as well, and still came out at the end undefeated. When Boise State and UCF beat a quality opponent in their bowl game, it's already too late to do anything about it. I will admit Alabama's victory over Clemson was the single most impressive thing they did all season, but up until that, they were living off of what the analysts thought of them and not what they deserved. UCF didn't have the opportunity to live off of what the analysts predicted, and instead had to prove through the course of the season they were good, and like Alabama proved in the final game, they did deserve a right to compete against the big boys. But, it was in the bowl game, after the Playoff had been decided, and this sadly will be the way it goes for all the smaller schools. Next year it could be UCF, or someone else, but the big schools will have control, and the little schools will get marginalized, no matter what their record is.
