In 2020, the College Football Playoff selection committee was tasked with determining the top four teams without one of its most important criteria -- nonconference games.
College football fans aren't the only ones who desperately missed the matchups, and three weeks into the season, there have been plenty of results that will continue to resonate with the committee through Selection Day.
Oregon's win at Ohio State. Georgia's win over Clemson. UCLA beating LSU. Iowa's win at Iowa State. Arkansas stomping Texas, and Cincinnati beating Indiana.
Here's a look at how what we've seen so far has impacted the playoff race.
Don't crown Alabama yet
We've quickly realized the Miami team Alabama crushed 44-13 in the season opener isn't good, and we learned nothing about the Tide last week against Mercer.
Now we know Alabama has some vulnerabilities.
Saturday's game against Florida was the first real test for both teams -- and Alabama has some work to do, particularly on defense. Alabama had a 21-3 lead after the first quarter but let up its intensity and allowed the Gators a chance to win until the final play. Florida ran for 258 yards and four touchdowns against the Tide, and outgained Alabama by 154 rushing yards.
"What concerned me most is we could not maintain our intensity, especially on defense," coach Nick Saban said. "We had a lot of mental errors."
Alabama is certainly one of the few teams that looks like a playoff contender through three weeks, but it has the seventh-most difficult schedule remaining. There are currently four ranked opponents, but the most difficult will be road trips to Texas A&M and rival Auburn.
If Alabama slips up once and doesn't win the SEC West, the Tide will be in a familiar position -- hoping the selection committee deems it a top-four team without an SEC or division title. It happened in 2017, when Alabama earned the No. 4 spot along with No. 3 Georgia, and it could happen again.
That scenario should be of bigger concern to Alabama fans than meeting Florida again in the SEC championship and losing. It would be easier for the committee to make a case for both Florida and Bama in that scenario than an Alabama team that doesn't win its division.
It's Sooners or bust -- as usual -- in the Big 12
Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley knows his team hasn't reached elite status yet -- as does anyone who watched the Sooners struggle to beat Tulane and Nebraska.
"We're just a tick off," Riley said on Saturday. "We're gonna get there, though. I promise you. We're going to get there soon."
With Iowa State losing to Iowa in Week 2, the rest of the Big 12 needs Oklahoma to get there quickly. It's not that Iowa State can't represent the league in the playoff, it's that the Cyclones squandered an opportunity at a statement nonconference win that would have legitimized them as a contender.
A win against Iowa would have trumped anything Oklahoma is likely to have on its résumé -- which is why the Sooners need to start leaving no doubt they're the better team against unranked opponents. ESPN's FPI favors OU to win each of its remaining games, and an undefeated Big 12 champion is almost certainly a top-four team, but one stumble opens the door for debate -- especially if the Sooners continue to win in unconvincing fashion.
Ohio State doesn't look like the Big Ten's best, but which team is?
With its thrilling win against No. 22 Auburn and a season-opening win at No. 12 Wisconsin, Penn State has made a case for a top-four ranking. At the very least, it looks like the team to beat in the Big Ten East. Iowa has separated itself as the best in the West after wins against Indiana and at rival Iowa State. The Hawkeyes could also make a case for the top four. Even Michigan and Michigan State are 3-0!
Ohio State? Meh.
The Buckeyes' home loss to Oregon not only changed the playoff picture, it exposed defensive issues that could impact Ohio State's postseason hopes. The Buckeyes can still win the Big Ten -- and ultimately compile a better one-loss résumé than Clemson as ACC champ -- but they've officially moved into the shadows after the Nittany Lions' instant classic against Auburn.
It's a complete turnaround from the abysmal season the Big Ten had in 2020, but the league's top teams still have to play one another, which could be a problem if nobody can truly separate. It could also be a tremendous boost to any team that can survive it. Penn State has to travel to Iowa on Oct. 9, and is at Ohio State on Oct. 30.
And don't forget about one-loss Wisconsin, which will face Notre Dame on Sept. 25 at Soldier Field and Iowa on Oct. 30 in a game that will likely reveal the leader in the West division.
The Big Ten can reach the playoff without Ohio State -- and it might have to this season.
Clemson might be in the worst shape of any Power 5 contender
Clemson has to play better, it needs the rest of the ACC to show a pulse, and it better hope another Power 5 contender stumbles along the way. Even Ohio State, with its loss to Oregon, is in a better position, because the Buckeyes at least have a few opportunities against ranked opponents to help compensate for it.
Clemson has nothing -- nada -- left on its regular-season schedule that would impress the selection committee, and with Virginia Tech, Miami and Pitt losing on Saturday (to Western Michigan!), the Tigers might not even face a ranked opponent in the ACC title game. The saving grace was North Carolina's 45-31 win against Virginia to stay ranked.
As a one-loss ACC champion, Clemson would likely still lose a résumé battle to Oregon, Oklahoma, Ohio State and the SEC. It also loses the head-to-head tiebreaker to Georgia, if it comes down to a debate between the ACC champion or a Georgia team that loses to Bama in the SEC title game.
With three of the ACC's four top-25 teams losing on Saturday, Clemson is in a familiar position as the league's best hope at a top-four finish, but it has to start looking the part.
The Pac-12 isn't great, but it doesn't have to be to reach the CFP
Just ask the ACC how this works.
Clemson's playoff presence over the past six seasons has continuously masked the mediocrity of the rest of the league, and Oregon has a chance to do the same in the Pac-12.
With its Week 2 win at Ohio State, the Ducks earned one of the best nonconference wins in the country. In spite of Ohio State's struggles, the Buckeyes could still wind up as Big Ten champs, which would further increase the value of Oregon's win on Selection Day. If Oregon and Ohio State both finish as one-loss conference champions, the selection committee could use the Ducks' head-to-head win as one of its tiebreakers.
The question is whether Oregon will lose along the way.
ESPN's FPI gives the Ducks at least a 60% chance to win each of its remaining regular-season games. The most difficult game remaining on the schedule is Oct. 23 against against a UCLA team that beat LSU but just lost to Fresno State. If Oregon can beat the Bruins on the road and punctuate its résumé with another win against a ranked opponent in the Pac-12 title game -- while avoiding an upset along the way -- it probably won't matter that USC fired its coach two weeks into the season or Washington lost to an FCS team.
Slow down on Cincinnati as Cinderella
Yes, the Bearcats hit the road and earned a respectable win at Indiana, and yes, they have a chance to further bolster their résumé with a win Oct. 2 at Notre Dame, but ...
Strength of schedule has always been an issue for even the best Group of 5 teams, and a road win at Notre Dame is unlikely to catapult the Bearcats into playoff contention on its own. Notre Dame has yet to really hit its stride, and Indiana has been a team defined so far by missed opportunities.
Typically, the American Athletic Conference has a handful of ranked teams, but none of Cincinnati's conference opponents are currently top-25 teams. The Bearcats' remaining strength of schedule is No. 75.
After three weeks, Oregon, Alabama and Georgia all have better wins. Ohio State has more opportunities, as do Oklahoma and Iowa. Cincinnati needs Indiana to bounce back and finish as a top-25 team. It needs a win against the Irish. It needs to look like it did in the second half against the Hoosiers -- not the first half, when it had five false starts and two turnovers. And it needs the selection committee to rank another team or two from the AAC in its top 25.
Even that might not be enough.