BenFred: 13 College Football Playoff superlatives for the first ever 12-team field

It’s here, and it’s pretty close to perfect.

Starting this weekend, those of us who called for expansion of the College Football Playoff can sit back and enjoy.

Please forgive us if we gloat a little when awesomeness ensues.

Playoff games on iconic college campuses. A Mountain West Conference powerhouse earning a deserved first-round bye. Heavyweights (looking at you, Georgia) who have looked shaky at times. Pleasant surprises (Indiana!). Just one unblemished hopeful (Oregon), at least for now.

Sign me up for all of it. But please, keep it right here. Expanding beyond this point isn’t necessary, though it does feel inevitable. For now, I’ll embrace and enjoy the sweet spot.

Here are my 13 superlatives for the first ever 12-team CFP field:

• Best venue: One of the undisputed upsides of this year’s expansion to 12 teams from four is the arrival of playoff games to college campuses. It’s going to be hard to beat No. 10 Indiana at Notre Dame Stadium, especially when there could be snow swirling around Touchdown Jesus.

As for the actual game, never fully trust Notre Dame.

• Best offensive player: Without a doubt, it’s Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty. He just barely lost the Heisman Trophy to Colorado two-way sensation Travis Hunter. Jeanty had my first-place vote, though. Among other mind-melting stats, he carried the ball 344 times while averaging 7.26 yards per carry. Crazy.
• Best defensive player: This season Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter has 10 sacks and a league-best 19½ tackles for loss while playing for a top 10 defense that allowed just 16.4 points per game. Penn State also credited him for three pass breakups, seven quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles in addition to his 60 tackles.

Now get this: This was the former linebacker’s first year at his new position. Impressive.

• Best player who may not play: That’s Texas quarterback in waiting Arch Manning. Peyton and Eli’s nephew has looked electric in small sample sizes, and he’s by far the fastest runner in his family. If Longhorns starter Quinn Ewers struggles, look out.
• Best coach: With the unexpected small step back Georgia appears to have taken on Kirby Smart’s watch, and with Nick Saban’s pivot to TV stardom, I believe the title now belongs to Oregon’s Dan Lanning. His Ducks are seeded first and undefeated in a season that was supposedly all about the sport’s increased parity.

There’s a reason Alabama tried to hire Lanning. Maybe the Crimson Tide would be in this bracket if that attempt worked?

• Best offense, maybe: Ten teams this season averaged more than 37 points per game. Of those 10, five are in the this playoff. But none of them scored more than Indiana’s 43.3 points per game.

Curt Cignetti scores. Google him. Just don’t Google the score of the Ohio State game, where the Hoosiers mustered just 15 points.

Best offense, or best offense against non-elite defenses? Time to find out.

• Best defense, definitely: Eight teams this season allowed fewer than 17 points per game. Of the eight, six are in this playoff. On top of that, Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame and Tennessee were so stingy defensively their opponents averaged fewer than two touchdowns per game.

But Ohio State’s 10.9 points allowed per game led the nation and included the dismantling of high-flying Indiana. The Buckeyes rank second in passing defense and seventh in rushing defense. Good luck, Tennessee.

• Best Cinderella story: Picked to finish last in the bloated, 16-team Big 12, second-year Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham’s No. 4 Sun Devils won their league and secured a first-round bye. Dillingham is a character, and bowling ball running back Cam Skattebo is a force.

Also, the Sun Devils own a plus-14 turnover margin that rivals that of Indiana (plus-15), Clemson (plus-16) and Notre Dame (plus-16). Fun team. Dangerous team.

• Biggest sleeper: Remember when Dabo Swinney was supposedly sliding? The transfer-portal-despising coach who loves to opine against the towering sums of name, image and likeness money affecting his sport was supposed to be on the decline due to his refusal to adapt.

Not so fast. He’s in. Again. And now he and his No. 12 Tigers have the rare benefit of playing with house money. Clemson has to be the best team feeling the least amount of pressure, right? It makes the Tigers scary to me. Look out, Texas.

• Most to prove: It’s the big, bad SEC. Commissioner Greg Sankey only got three teams in the bracket. The Big Ten got four. All of that bellyaching about the SEC getting disrespected by the CFP committee is hot air until proven otherwise.

Want to really drive home the point? Two SEC wins in round one would move three SEC teams in to the bracket’s final eight. Then there could be an argument committee members would have to hear.

• Under most pressure: Probably Penn State’s James Franklin. “If not now, when?” was the feeling for Penn State as the CFP field expanded. Penn State is in, but a quick dismissal at home by No. 11 SMU would be unsettling to fans. It’s not that unrealistic, either. The Ponies can play.
• Biggest QB question mark: Georgia’s Carson Beck was a preseason Heisman Trophy darling who went on to have a highly inconsistent season. No SEC quarterback threw more interceptions than Beck’s 12. Then, he inured the elbow of his throwing arm in the SEC championship game, raising questions about how he will perform — or if he will be able to — in the CFP.
• Best prediction: This 12-team playoff will be perfect, but the CFP will still expand to 14 teams 2026.

Why?

Well, because money is undefeated.