Yeah, I know. The Alabama/Georgia game Monday night was great. It was very entertaining, filled with thrills, spills, missed field goals, and blown coverages at the worst of times. Instant classic.

But no one can say they were surprised.

I mean Alabama has won 5 of the last 9 titles. For those of you who are not math inclined, that is over half of the time Alabama wins the title in that time span. Over half! To say that you were shocked that Alabama came back to win this game, well you haven’t been paying much attention to college football over the past decade.

So the question is this: is this good for college football?

Well, ratings and money say it is good, or at least imply that it is. There is more money in college football than ever before. Partly due to the fact that there is cheap labor, but partly because TV contracts are going through the roof. Is this because Alabama is so good? Hard to tell, but there is nothing that indicates Alabama is hurting college football popularity.

But I think it is bad for the sport. At what point is it where people get tired of seeing the same teams involved in the finals every season? Maybe we have not hit that threshold yet, but it is coming. All the best players go to the same few schools, all the best coaching staffs and facilities are at the big schools because their crazy alumni donate millions upon millions to pay for these things. I don’t see this popularity lasting long term. I know I checked out of college football years ago.

So why are people still watching this when it is such a loaded system that benefits the rich? I am not sure. Some of it has to do to the fact that there is this tradition schools have with college football that many are still attracted to. Maybe part of it is because people love football and they will watch whenever it is on TV. But as the regional aspect of college football is dissipating, the national focus is more relevant, and the saturation of football hits a tipping point (ask NFL execs about that), we will see if college football will maintain this money flow.

By the way, guess who is preseason #1 for 2018? Better yet, guess who is the top 5? If you are not from the southeast or Ohio, I am sure you will be disappointed.