Which coaches are under the most pressure to go deep in the College Football Playoff?

The College Football Playoff field is set, and you, the listeners and viewers of Andy & Ari On3, have questions. Let’s dive into the latest edition of Dear Andy to answer your college football questions.

From Zach:
Rank the coaches of the top 6 teams (Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State) in order of pressure to at least make the semifinals from most to least.

This is a really good question, because the shift to a 12-team College Football Playoff also brings a shift in expectations at various programs. This is something we often talked about with regard to Penn State, which would have made a 12-team field six times since 2016 had such a field existed. But does simply making

All of the programs Zach mentioned are in the realm of teams that likely expect to be in the current version of the CFP most years and probably expect to go deep into the CFP — if not win it all — every once in a while.

So let’s rank the pressure on these coaches…

1. Ryan Day, Ohio State: This is the most obvious. The loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale eliminated any grace Day might have had. This season already had a national-title-or-bust feel, and now anything short of that feels like an absolute failure. Ohio State went all-in on the best roster money can buy, and the Buckeyes probably are the most talented team player-for-player in the tournament. But they also have the toughest path of any team hosting a first-round game. Zach asked how much pressure is on the coaches to get to the semis. For Day, that’s not nearly enough. Losing to Michigan as a 19.5-point favorite is pretty much unforgivable for an Ohio State coach who had already lost the previous three to the Wolverines, but perhaps Buckeyes fans can start to forgive Day if he wins four incredibly difficult games in a row and wins a national title.

2. James Franklin, Penn State: If Franklin had Day’s draw, he wouldn’t be under as much pressure to advance. But the wonky seeding rules gifted Penn State the easiest draw of any team hosting a first-round game. The Nittany Lions will be favored against SMU and, if they win that game, Boise State. There really isn’t an excuse to not make the semis.

3. Steve Sarkisian, Texas: Sark brought Texas back to national relevance with a Big 12 title and a playoff appearance last year. This year, his Longhorns made the SEC title game and the CFP. Everything seems set up for continued success, so it’s not a matter of needing to win now or never. It’s just that with a draw that includes No. 12 seed Clemson in the first round and Big 12 champ Arizona State in the second round, Texas may not see an easier path to the semis for quite some time. Losing to either would be a significant upset. 

4. Dan Lanning, Oregon: The only pressure on Lanning is that he has the team that played the best for the entire season, and this may be a special group. He’ll want to finish with a deep run or a title, because even though Oregon is recruiting very well, there are no guarantees that next year’s Ducks will mesh as well as this season’s have. 

5. Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame: This pressure isn’t as much on Freeman as it is on the position of Notre Dame coach. The Fighting Irish made the BCS title game under Brian Kelly and got blown out. They made the four-team CFP twice under Kelly and lost in the semifinals both times. Notre Dame didn’t win a single BCS bowl in the BCS era, and the Irish never won a CFP or New Year’s Six bowl in the four-team era. It’s time for Notre Dame to start winning some of these games. But if the Irish beat Indiana and lose to No. 2 seed Georgia, it shouldn’t feel like the end of the world. The Irish need to be competitive, but as long as they are, they seem to be on track to appear in this tournament frequently in the future and will have deeper runs if this one isn’t sufficiently deep.

6. Kirby Smart, Georgia: Smart probably puts a lot more pressure on himself than anyone from the outside will put on him this year. He has two national titles in the past three seasons, and it’s possible he has to play this tournament without starting quarterback Carson Beck. Plus, if Notre Dame beats Indiana, that’s a pretty tough quarterfinal matchup. Even though Georgia fans will grouse about anything short of a national title, they’re not going to get too mad at Smart — who has delivered exactly what he promised since getting the job before the 2016 season.

From Doug:
What’s something that happens in or around college football that you would make a felony?

Doug is referring to Ohio State Rep. Josh Williams’ bill that would render planting a flag at midfield of Ohio Stadium on the day of a game a fifth-degree felony. 

This might be the softest piece of legislation in the history of American politics. Trying to turn Michigan’s flag-planting celebration into a crime is almost more embarrassing than losing to your rival as a 19.5-point favorite at home. Almost.

But if any legislators are reading, there is a statute I’d love to see enacted.

Every time there are two commercial breaks divided by less than one minute of football game time, the president of the televising network must be imprisoned for at least five years.

If you need help writing the bill, I’m always available.

From Brian:
Which regular season game had the biggest impact on the Playoff? (My guess is Vanderbilt–Alabama, which affected the teams in the Playoff and SEC Championship Game and means Carson Beck never gets hurt.)

Vanderbilt’s win against Alabama certainly had a big impact, but it wasn’t the Alabama loss that I thought belonged on this list. In fact, Vandy’s win against the Tide didn’t make my top five. Here they are.

5. Boise State-Oregon: The Ducks were down a touchdown with 10 minutes to go  after Ashton Jeanty ran for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, but Jayden Limar’s recovery of Noah Whittington’s prematurely dropped ball after a 100-yard kickoff return allowed Oregon to tie the game. Atticus Sappington kicked a field goal as time expired to give Oregon a 37-34 win. That was Boise State’s only loss, and the fact that it came in such a tight game against the only FBS team to finish the season undefeated helped the Broncos wind up the third-highest ranked conference champion and the No. 3 seed.

4. South Carolina-Alabama: South Carolina had a chance to win after recovering an onside kick late, but Domani Jackson intercepted LaNorris Sellers to secure a 27-25 win. The Gamecocks made a plethora of mistakes in the game. One fewer and they probably would have won, finished 10-2 and left no doubt that they deserved an at-large bid.

3. Ole Miss–Florida: The Rebels probably would have coasted to an at-large bid had they not gagged against the 5-5 Gators. Ole Miss was coming off an open week after beating Georgia 28-10 and looked like a team that could play deep into the CFP. Florida had just beaten LSU, but the Gators were 9.5-point underdogs. Florida’s 24-17 win effectively ended the Rebels’ CFP chances.

2. Miami–Syracuse: The Orange’s 42-38 win knocked Miami out of the ACC title game and out of a potential at-large slot. It also opened the door for Clemson to make the ACC title game and then secure a CFP berth by beating SMU in Charlotte. Had Miami beaten Syracuse, it likely would be Miami and SMU in the playoff instead of Clemson and SMU.

1. Alabama-Oklahoma: This is the one that knocked Alabama out of the SEC title game and the CFP. The Crimson Tide lost 24-3 to a team that had been mauled by Texas, Ole Miss and South Carolina in consecutive games earlier in the season. Alabama hadn’t looked that inept since the pre-Nick Saban era, and that loss changed the course of multiple seasons.

A Random Ranking

Reader Michael wants me to rank movies released in 2007, so away we go…

1. Superbad
2. No Country For Old Men
3. There Will Be Blood
4. 300
5. 3:10 To Yuma
6. Knocked Up
7. Michael Clayton
8. Ratatouille
9. Zodiac
10. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street