Drinking deep from the Monty Python absurdities of college football

Last night marked the third year in a row the SEC has been shut out of the National Championship Game. Ole Miss lost 31-27 to Mario Cristobal and Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, kicking college football's erstwhile bullies to the curb.

Now that everyone is paying players, the conference where it just means more has lost its fastball. Back in August, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey was bragging about how they deserved seven teams in the College Football Playoff. They had five this year and it wasn't enough.

The league went 1-8 in bowl games against other teams from Power 4, 0-3 in the playoffs. The myth of supremacy is thoroughly routed, or at least relegated to the past. Talent has been redistributed. There are big donors everywhere, new players seated at the feature table. The tournament is down to the ACC and the Big Ten.

It used to be the mantra of the SEC bagmen was "If you ain't cheatin', you ain't trying" but now paying players is universally accepted. Anybody can buy a Tasmanian Devil for the defensive line, a Roadrunner at receiver, a quarterback with an Acme rocket on his shoulder.

That's all, folks.

Duck fan KBez23 said it best. "This aged like hot (expletive) on a summer day." Indeed it did.

The Miami-Ole Miss game ended on one of the most bizarre football plays of the year, a blatant pass interference noncall in the left corner of the end zone with Cristobal's defensive back riding and grabbing the receiver for ten yards before the ball fell just out of his reach.

The Canes advance, but that's a horrible way to end an exciting game. The rules shouldn't change just because it's the last play. By the way, SEC officials are working the Peach Bowl. This game was officiated by a crew from the Big Ten.

College football desperately needs full-time officials, a program of review and calibration. In a sport where everyone is being paid millions and there are billions riding on the outcome, it's absurd that the referee crews are amateurs, insurance salesmen flown in from Toledo.

Back like he never left

The third item of unintentional slapstick comedy yesterday offered was the Three Stooges act in Seattle, where Demond Williams entered the Transfer Portal Tuesday night, savaged by Washington fans as a traitor and a coward, only to decide 24 hours later (prayerfully, but under threat of college football's first NIL breach of contract suit) that he decided he would remain a Husky after all.