Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images
By Chris Marler
Indiana and Miami will meet in the national championship. Here are two truths and a lie before the final college football game of the season.
Truth No. 1 – Stars still matter in recruiting.
We tend to be prisoners of the moment in sports. There are instant comparisons, immediate odds for next year and overreactions galore in the world of sports and sports media every year. That has already started to some degree with people comparing this year’s Indiana team to 2019 LSU and some of the other greats.
It also breathed life into the debate about whether or not stars matter anymore for recruiting rankings and services. Over the last two decades, every team that has won a national title has done so with a roster full of blue chip talent. In fact, since 2013 every team that has won a national title has had a blue chip ratio of over 50 percent. That means that at least half of their entire roster is full of former four and five-star recruits.
Indiana has done more with less than any other team in the country. That has been on full display over the last two seasons, but was highlighted against Oregon, especially when comparing the two rosters. Indiana won that game by 34 points and did so with a roster that had eight former blue chip recruits to Oregon’s 55.
It’s an incredible story, but history still shows that star power usually wins, making Indiana the rare exception to the rule, an anomaly, albeit a remarkable one.
Do stars matter in recruiting? The age-old debate is certain to be amplified by Indiana’s historic run.
Here’s my take from someone who has worked at the crossroads of college coaches and media for 30 years:
Yes, because the math is empirical — crystal clear. In last year’s… pic.twitter.com/C0cxRRhMdC
— Shannon Terry (@ShannonTerry) January 11, 2026
Truth No. 2 – It’s harder than ever to win a national title.
The problems facing college football are very real, and the ability to figure out alignment and structure are being felt on every side. Money isn’t real in the sport of college football. There’s always money in the banana stand, so to speak.
There always seems to be money for buyouts and elite recruits, and there’s always someone willing, for better or worse, to pay it.
The days of Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, etc showing up and just waltzing into the CFP every year are over.
Viewed in five-year windows, making the playoff twice is what some would call “reasonable success.” That logic is sound. It’s just not how most fans or boosters think. That disconnect is why coaching firings and buyouts keep rising. The playoff is now the standard, and while winning one is the goal, it’s harder than ever to pull off.
Definitely broke the record for most fbs coaches fired mid season https://t.co/8rBUlDHwnX
— TrapDaGeeker (@TrapDaGeeker) October 27, 2025
Gone are the days of Nick Saban, and his Avengers-level coaching staff, having 45 days to prepare to win one game. The days of winning just two games to lift a trophy are over. Now it takes three or four wins, with championship teams playing 16 or even 17 games. That grind matters, which helps explain why teams with byes are just 1-7 in the first eight games of the 12-team playoff.
The Lie – The regular season still matters.
The biggest change in college football isn’t the transfer portal, NIL or any of the other recent chaotic things that the NCAA has allowed to happen. It’s the devaluing of the regular season.
There’s an argument to be made that maybe it’s better for the sport because teams aren’t losing out on competing for a national title just because of one bad game. That was, however, one of the principles of the sport for over a century. It made every Saturday in the regular season matter, and it was one of the things that differentiated it from the NFL.
There were no 9-7 teams in college football knocking off the 18-0 Patriots. There were no Cinderella story playoff runs from teams that couldn’t figure out how to win until after daylight saving time.
That has changed more than anything. This year Alabama got into the playoff despite a loss to 5-7 Florida State and a blowout loss to Georgia where they had -3 yards rushing. Last year, Ohio State lost on the final weekend of the regular season to 6-5 Michigan and went on to win the national title. Those things used to matter.

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