John Garrett

I help corporate leaders value the worker as much as they value the work | Thought Provoker | Speaker | Author | Podcast Host at @Whats_Your_And

[Lyle @WalkWithLyle]

Recap of the Western Michigan-Michigan game

[Brian Fagan @bdfagan]

Remarkable statistic:

Prior to Western Michigan, college football teams were 110,352 - 0 when leading after the end of regulation, dating back to 1869.

[John Garrett @The_JohnGarrett]

@AccountingAsArt @dadmann_walking

[John Garrett @The_JohnGarrett]

@tailor_hartman (1) What do you like to do at work and how can I help you do more of that?
(2) What do you like to do outside of work and how can I help you do more of that?

[Holtz's Heroes Foundation @HoltzHeroes]

The first round duo that forced USC to tap out!
☘️ 🏈 🏃🏿🌳

[John Garrett @The_JohnGarrett]

@J_Stephens_CPA Thanks so much, Jeremy!

[Holtz's Heroes Foundation @HoltzHeroes]

Anyone have a better April Fools’ joke?

[Holtz's Heroes Foundation @HoltzHeroes]

💙🙏🏼💛

[SportsCenter @SportsCenter]

.@nothefakeSVP and @ReceDavis remember the legendary football coach and ESPN analyst Lou Holtz.

[Notre Dame Football @NDFootball]

Remembering the life and legacy of Lou Holtz

[Holtz's Heroes Foundation @HoltzHeroes]

In each situation he inherited a team with a losing record and had the team in a bowl in 3 years. No NIL, no transfer portal, pure culture change.
#OurCoach

[CFB Home @CFBHome]

Lou Holtz is the only College Football Coach to take 6️⃣ different programs to Bowl games.

Including William & Mary to the Tangerine Bowl!

[University of Notre Dame @NotreDame]

Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the newborn King!"

Wishing the entire Notre Dame family a Merry Christmas filled with joy and blessings!

[Sidelines - Notre Dame ☘️ @SSN_NotreDame]

1,123 days since USC’s last win over Notre Dame in football

[Ian Miller @ianmSC]

Texas A&M went 7-1 in the SEC and was a tiebreaker away from making the SEC Championship Game and scored 3 total points at home against a "lowly" ACC team, so I think we need to retire the "SEC teams would go undefeated in every other conference" narrative forever

[SharpeWit @TheSharpeWit]

⚠️ Warning: Extremely long post about the CFP — but it needs to be said.

Since the beginning of the College Football Playoff, there has been only ONE team that was in position to make the playoff, lost a conference championship game, had idle teams behind them, and did not drop in the rankings the following week:

2025 Alabama.

There have been only TWO teams total who were in CFP position, lost a conference championship game, and did not fall at all:

• 2022 TCU
• 2025 Alabama

Let’s talk about why those situations are not the same — and why the Alabama one is a problem.

⸻

2022 TCU

TCU was ranked #3 and lost the Big 12 Championship by 3 points in overtime.

The team directly behind them at #4 USC got blown out by 23 in their conference championship game.

If the committee dropped TCU to #4 and moved idle #5 Ohio State to #3, Michigan would have played Ohio State twice in three games, and OSU would have faced Michigan back-to-back.

That was a clear structural reason not to reshuffle the rankings.

⸻

Now compare that to 2025

This is where it gets uncomfortable.

• Both teams around Alabama were idle — yet Alabama doesn’t drop to #10
• Both teams around BYU were idle — BYU drops to #12
• Both teams around UVA were idle — UVA drops to #19

So let’s be honest:

Is dropping Alabama to #10 really “punishment” when they’re in either way?

Or are we protecting the ACC’s last at-large team by making sure no one sits between Miami and Notre Dame?

Because if Alabama drops to 10, suddenly there’s a problem the committee doesn’t want to solve.

And let’s be clear — that’s the ACC’s fault, not Notre Dame’s.

The ACC Championship tiebreaker was asinine. If Miami had been in the ACCCG and lost, does anyone actually believe they wouldn’t have dropped?

⸻

History is very clear

Conference championship losers have absolutely been passed by idle teams and missed the playoff:

• 2022 USC
• 2017 Penn State
• 2015 Iowa
• 2017 Auburn — beat Georgia three weeks earlier, then lost the SECCG and got jumped

So the argument that “Alabama beat Georgia earlier” is not a shield.

We’ve seen that exact scenario before — and it didn’t matter then.

⸻

Ranking position shouldn’t matter

Whether you’re ranked 1 or 22, the criteria should be applied the same way.

4-team playoff
12-team playoff
16-team playoff

The rules don’t change.

Yes, fringe teams will get squeezed sometimes — that’s the trade-off.

Playing a conference championship game gives you control:
• Win and you’re in
• Lose and you hope the cards fall your way

That’s how the system has always worked.

So stop with the “we can’t punish conference championship losers” narrative.

It’s simply false — and honestly, idiotic.

⸻

It gets worse when you look at the week before

Go back one week before the conference championship games.

Alabama got moved UP after a “great” 27–20 win over 5–7 Auburn — a team that was:
• Winless at home vs SEC teams
• Playing under an interim head coach

Why did Alabama move up?

Because leaving them at #10 would have caused issues if:
• BYU won
• Alabama lost the CCG

Suddenly the committee might have had to bump Alabama out.

So they preemptively solved the problem.

⸻

And the résumé argument doesn’t hold up

“Alabama beat four ranked teams in a row and has the best win of the year.”

No — they didn’t.

• Georgia dog-walked them last week, proving teams change
• Only two of those wins are still ranked
• Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Missouri have ZERO wins over ranked teams
• Tennessee and Missouri have a combined ZERO wins over FBS teams with winning records

Those rankings were inflated by preseason bias.

⸻

So what’s actually going on?

Why can’t we question this?

There has been no rule change saying conference championship losers can’t drop.

This is not a Notre Dame problem.
This is a CFP problem.

And the longer we pretend otherwise, the worse the credibility gap gets.

[Zane Stevens @zane_stevens_]

I love @The_JohnGarrett

[John Garrett @The_JohnGarrett]

Ditto, my friend! It's so awesome meeting @Whats_Your_And podcast guests in person! Humans connecting over being human is what it's all about.

[Zane Stevens @zane_stevens_]

So excited to have met you!

[The Fighting Irish @FightingIrish]

Today and every day, we salute all who have served and continue to serve our country with bravery, honor and selflessness.

#GoIrish | #VeteransDay

[marcwithglasses @marcwithglasses]

beat Usc ☘️