Redemption Playoff: For Ryan Day and others, there’s more on the line than just winning

A dozen teams enter the College Football Playoff with the same goal: win the national title.

However, for some programs and individuals, there is more at stake here: a chance for narrative change in what could be called the Redemption Playoff.

Put it this way: No matter what happens, Georgia will remain a powerhouse under a respected coach (Kirby Smart). Or consider, for example, that Tennessee and Arizona State will be fast-growing programs with tons of potential in the coming seasons, regardless of the results.

For others, however, fortunes and reputations can vary dramatically.

Here are the five largest, in descending order.

5. Notre Dame: Is this a new era for the Fighting Irish?

For at least three decades, the Fighting Irish have lived in a world where good but not good has served as a ceiling for the program. They could put together solid regular seasons, but whether it was with Brian Kelly or, to a lesser extent, Charlie Weis, there were limits.

The BCS and four-team playoffs were particularly discordant, finishing 0-3 with a combined non-competitive score of 103-31. Kelly returned to LSU, essentially acknowledging that he couldn’t win a national title in South Bend.

And now what? Marcus Freeman’s team has been operating off of a bye against Northern Illinois in September. At 11-1, is this a new era for Notre Dame, where the transfer portal and NIL allow the program to fill talent gaps that can finally make them competitive with the sports elite?

Or will it be the same old story, just in a new system?

Indiana will visit on Friday, December 20 and offer the program to showcase its campus and surroundings. However, those things have never been in doubt. What everyone wants to see is a win, and then a real challenge to No. 2 Georgia in the quarterfinals. There’s no doubt that Notre Dame has talent, but it still needs to earn national respect.

4. Quinn Ewers: How good is it really?

The Texas quarterback was expected to lead the Longhorns to the playoffs (again) and perhaps win a national title before jumping to the NFL as a first-round pick. He would later leave the job in Austin to Arch Manning.

The first part has been fulfilled: UT is in fifth place despite not defeating any currently ranked team. The NFL part is more complicated.

This year his completion percentage (66.7) has gone down (from 69.0) while his interceptions (9) have increased (from 6). Mock drafts have it from the end of the first day’s draft to the third day. Considering the NFL’s perennial need for quarterbacks, the former is more likely.

However, his performance with two picks in an SEC title loss to Georgia isn’t helping. His play can best be described as uneven and there are many Texas fans who are eager for Manning to get his chance.

So how good is Ewers? Well, the postseason offers a chance to rise up the draft boards and become a Longhorn legend. Or could you have him return to school, staying in Austin or hitting the transfer portal? No other player has as much at stake, although winning as a team is still the most important thing.

3. James Franklin: Can he win an important game?

The numbers are almost part of the Penn State coach’s name at this point: 3-19 against top-10 opponents and 4-17 against big-ten heavyweights Ohio State and Michigan. The Nittany Lions win often under Franklin, including this year’s 11-2 mark, but not in big games.

However, every playoff game is a big game, and as the sixth seed, Penn State received the dream of a bye in the brackets. It will host 11-seeded SMU on December 21, with the winner facing 3-seeded (but ninth-seeded) Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Obviously the Mustangs and Broncos are capable of beating Penn State, but Franklin isn’t facing a killer fight. If it can overcome those two to advance to the semifinals, the program will receive a jolt. However, if he falls short, the howls about how high he can lift the Nittany Lions will only get louder.

The playoffs were created for programs like Penn State, which otherwise struggle to beat the best of the best and make the four-team field. This is Franklin’s chance to change many perceptions about his ability as a coach.

2. Dabo Swinney: Can Dabo beat Dabo?

In an era where the transfer portal is an integral, if not predominant, way for programs to fill out their rosters, only four schools didn’t add a single transfer last offseason: Army, Navy, Air Force and… Clemson.

Swinney won two national titles at Clemson and turned his program into a national power, which seemed unlikely before he took over as interim coach in 2008. He’s always done it his way, and that hasn’t changed even as results have slipped. . – no playoff appearances since 2020.

The Tigers took a winding path to the playoffs: three losses before winning the ACC automatic bid with a 56-yard field goal as time expired. They’re in, though, and Swinney has a chance to silence, or at least turn down the volume, the many critics of his old-school system who have labeled him a stubborn, old-fashioned coach.

He upset Texas in the first round to begin a playoff run and there remains proof of concept for how he does things, namely remaining loyal to high school recruits during the development process. It’s an idealistic system and it would be nice if it worked.

This is Dabo’s chance to show that he can still do it.

1. Ryan Day: Is he the right coach for Ohio State?

No one comes into the playoffs with more pressure than the Ohio State coach. He is 66-10 leading the Buckeyes, but 0-4 in the last four seasons against Michigan. This left him under significant pressure from an impatient fan base. It now enters the playoffs as the eighth seed, but with arguably the most talented roster in the field, courtesy of $20 million in NIL payments.

The good news? Michigan is not in the playoffs. The bad news? The path to the championship that would likely cool speculation surrounding it is arduous: a visit from Tennessee and the winner will face No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl.

Day has a history of beating the teams he’s supposed to beat, only to fall to the best in the sport and freeze up against the Wolverines. The crowd inside Ohio Stadium for the Vols game will be intense, especially if Ohio State starts slow.

Two years ago, a similar scenario played out and Ohio State played a great game after a Michighan loss, nearly defeating eventual national champion Georgia in the semifinals. Can that same level be found again? He may have to or Day will not only face calls for his job, but he will also face a level of discomfort that could make continuing impossible.

This isn’t just a season on the line for Day, it’s a career arc. You may not need to win it all, but it sure won’t hurt.