What the four College Football Playoff teams teach us about college football and USC

There are instructive points to make about the national college football landscape in connection to the College Football Playoff, which unfolds on Saturday in Glendale and Atlanta.

National college football observers and USC fans can both gain knowledge and awareness from looking at the four teams which will play in the sport’s championship semifinal games on New Year’s Eve.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that USC should be more like Ohio State, or that other teams need to follow Georgia’s example (as though doing so is realistic — for most programs, it certainly isn’t). The stories of these four teams aren’t necessarily examples of “this is how you should always build a program,” but they carry details which are worth noting as college football’s 2022 season winds down.

Let’s take a look:

GEORGIA: TOUGHNESS UP FRONT

Georgia coach Kirby Smart looks up into the crowd before the start of a NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022.

Georgia teaches USC and the rest of the nation a simple lesson: Be tough in the trenches. Georgia might not be perfect on the edges or at the skill positions, but you never see a non-Alabama opponent boss around Georgia up front. Some teams might play UGA to a draw, but Nick Saban-coached teams are the only ones (usually) to physically outplay Kirby Smart’s UGA teams at the line of scrimmage. USC simply has to get a lot better in this specific component of football, especially on defense.

MICHIGAN: RUNNING GAME CAN INCREASE MARGINS

Michigan Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh on the sidelines during action against the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021 at Michigan Stadium.

J.J. McCarthy is nowhere near as good a quarterback as Caleb Williams is, but Michigan runs the ball extremely well. This minimized McCarthy’s weaknesses and magnified Michigan’s strengths. It’s not just about the quarterback. This is also the lesson being taught by the San Francisco 49ers, who are steamrolling right now with Brock Purdy as their quarterback. USC has to take note of this and build its running game to the level Michigan has under Jim Harbaugh.

TCU: STRENGTH COACH

Jul 14, 2022; Arlington, TX, USA; TCU Horned Frogs head coach Sonny Dykes is interviewed during the Big 12 Media Day at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

TCU opponents have suffered injury after injury in games against the Horned Frogs this year, while TCU has been a dominant fourth-quarter team.

TCU has come back from two deficits of 17 or more points this season. The Horned Frogs have outscored two other opponents (Colorado and Texas Tech) 21-7 in the fourth quarter. They were down 28-20 with under four minutes left against Baylor and won 29-28.

TCU has done things in its strength and conditioning program which other programs have not matched.

OHIO STATE: PLAY IN A WEAK CONFERENCE

Nov 26, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws a pass during the first half of the NCAA football game against the Michigan Wolverines at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch

Ohio State benefited from a weak Big Ten Conference which had just one really strong team: Michigan. Ohio State would have lost at least twice, maybe three times, in the 2022 Pac-12. Sometimes, it pays to be in a thin conference where few teams play well all season long. Ohio State is in the playoff because none of the non-Michigan teams in the Big Ten were particularly good.

GEORGIA: GET THAT GAME-WRECKER

Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter (88) holds LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) in the air in celebration after sacking Daniels during the first half of the SEC Championship NCAA college football game between LSU and Georgia in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022.

Tuli Tuipulotu is a terrific player for USC, but he isn’t Jalen Carter. Georgia changes games because a disruptive player such as Carter tilts the field so much in the Bulldogs’ favor. The Trojans have so much room to grow on their defensive line and their roster. They don’t have any Jalen Carters.

They need a few … or at least one.

MICHIGAN: FOLLOW YOUR OWN PATH

Jan 1, 2004; Pasadena, CA, USA: FILE PHOTO; Southern California Trojans running back LenDale White (21) in action against the Michigan Wolverines during the 2004 Rose Bowl at the Rose Bowl. The Trojans defeated the Wolverines 28-14. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Network

When Michigan met USC multiple times in the Rose Bowl in the Pete Carroll era, the Wolverines did not stray from their traditional identity or style of play. When Ohio State was ascendant against Jim Harbaugh in recent years, it was easy to think Michigan had to create a space-age offense and embrace modernity. It did not. It doubled down on culture and physicality.

Jim Harbaugh made the right choice. Don’t do what other programs do well. Do what you do well and maximize it.

TCU: BUILD THROUGH THE OFFENSIVE LINE

OHIO STATE: BUILD THROUGH THE QB

Nov 26, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) passes in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Ohio Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

If TCU has built through the offensive line and Michigan has doubled down on toughness, USC really does follow the Ohio State blueprint of having a top QB and a deep wide receiver room and letting those guys cook. Ohio State wouldn’t be in the playoff if it didn’t have one of the best pitch-and-catch offenses in America. This passing game is the one reason the Buckeyes might be able to pull off an upset against Georgia.

Story originally appeared on Trojans Wire