Putting aside the question of Ohio State's season, I would argue that this season was one of the - if not the - most boring seasons in college football in the last 30 years. Furthermore, the way the playoffs now work, and the way recruiting works, I suspect this is the way things will be for a while, and I think it's bad for the long term health of the sport. To wit:
- 3 of the 4 playoff teams are repeats. The #5 and 6 teams were top 5 teams last year.
- The top 2 teams were the top 2 teams in preseason and scarcely faced a challenge all season.
- Recruiting dominance and the consolidation of top teams in the recruiting rankings every year means that in any given year, only around 4-5 teams have a chance to win a national championship, and only 3-5 additional teams have a legitimate shot at the playoffs (and a semifinal loss).
- The committee has made clear that it cares more about bad losses than good wins, meaning teams can, should and will schedule a soft non-conference slate.
- Preseason narratives drive much of how the season is viewed; wins and close losses are viewed mainly through the lens of how people expected the teams to be.
College football is still a lot of fun if you are following a specific team. But it's not a universal experience. I don't have any interest in watching Alabama and Clemson easily win their semifinal games, and I don't want to watch Alabama vs Clemson again.
My vote: 2nd most boring season, after the LSU vs Alabama debacle 7 years ago. But a harbinger of many future boring seasons to come as teams adjust to the new system and the regular season gets softer and softer.
