The people have who have been running CFB the past 3-5 years have created the dumbest playoff system known to man.  I didn't buy into the rust theory for the bye teams at first but after doing some digging this AM, I think it's impossible to argue against. 

Obviously OSU benefitted from it last year but I would much rather have a playoff system that makes sense than one that might benefit OSU in certain years.

We'll see how today plays out but so far this is how the bye teams have faired in the second half of their games versus the first halves.

(Yards per drive)

2025 Ohio State

1st Half: 26 yards, 2nd Half: 54 yards - 2.1x better

2024 Boise State

1st Half: 19 yards, 2nd Half: 56 yards - 3.0x better

2024 Oregon

1st Half: 20 yards, 2nd Half: 26 yards - 1.3x better

2024 Arizona State

1st Half: 35 yards, 2nd Half: 56 yards - 1.6x better

2024 Georgia

1st Half: 22 yards, 2nd Half: 39 yards - 1.8x better

Like I said, maybe today this theory gets blown up but so far it looks like the people in charge of this sport have set up the stupidest playoff format you could ever imagine