They'll tell us at noon, and then this Sunday will not be a day of rest

          Dear Wisconsin,

          Thanks for nothin’.

          Ya know, Badgers, the nation is already more paranoid than the characters of “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” on a so-so day, no matter the topic. Really. Need trillions of Xanax and Valium and whatever else extracts one’s brain from one’s, um, area it shouldn’t be.

          You could’ve made life for the non-paranoid-at-the-drop-of-a-hat-or-flag-or-pass soooo much easier.

          And ya didn’t.

          So millions of people went to bed Saturday night wondering, planning, pondering, grousing and, yeah, being very paranoid. Woke up the same way.

          Before we start addressing the paranoia that will have built to a nearly a vein-busting level by noon – and who decided on such an early release time for the playoff field? – let’s point this out for the pudding-heads out there.

          And let’s throw out – yes, it’s masochistic to do so anymore – some facts.

          The college football playoff panel consists of 13 people.

          The primary employers: former USA Today reporter (ah, a voice of reason), Ohio State AD, Clemson AD, ex-Arkansas AD, Oregon AD, ex-Vandy head coach, former NCAA executive VP, president of Robert Morris, ex-head coach at Central Michigan, ex-head coach at Southern Miss, former head coach at Virginia Tech, ex-head coach at Notre Dame and Stanford,  and the boss, the AD at Texas Tech.

          And yes, they all have other connections: Ohio, Stanford, Central Michigan, Miami, Miami of Ohio, Murray State, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Michigan, Georgia Tech, LSU, South Carolina, Long Beach State, Air Force, Iowa State, Hampton-Sydney, Oregon, Furman, Clemson, Arizona State, Duke, Oklahoma, Eastern Michigan, Rice, Ohio Wesleyan (oh, Lord), Pittsburgh, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Maryland, among other connections.

          That should inspire all sorts of headaches for absolutely no reason other than people seem to like being paranoid.

          Note: An association to a school/job/team/wings restaurant does not mean a lifetime obsession with that school/job/team/wings place. Fair number of people move on with their lives, past logos and fight songs and special dippin' sauces..

          A good portion of folks went to bed already mentally spinning on what was decided. Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma are in, and bubble team Ohio State beat Wisconsin.

          “Ohhhhh, maaaaan, they’re gonna screw somebody. Probably us.”

          “Us” in this case is, of course, Georgia, who so many have something against for no remotely logical reason.

          Normal people would say: “Hey, no worries. This is bigger than appeasing somebody for absolutely no reason. It’s not like either the Clemson or OSU AD is going to hand over a million bucks for something.”

          Exactly. This isn’t the Wh ... never mind.

          Alas, we’re talking about college football fans, and in certain regions of the country, seeing the nonexistent is normal.

          Note that logic indicates the rest of the panel feels no impact by what the Clemson or Ohio State AD thinks, if they care about their reputations. So what if those ADs won’t be in the room for those parts of the conversation.

          All that said, and no doubt for almost no reason, we know one thing: Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma are in, contrary to assorted waffling by minions near microphones.

          Who’s the final team?

          If you go back and read this, you’ll see that there are many aspects to the equation. It’s not just one or two of anything. And please, for the love of God and all that is reportedly sane, note that about every sport allows more than just conference/division/league/whatever champions in its postseason. Sometimes it means more, sometimes not.

          I'd hoped somebody would help us all out, and Wisconsin didn't.

          People spent all Saturday and Saturday night missing that and other points.

          “Speaking of points, how bout you get to one?”

          OK, and typing slowly the entire time.

          Alabama.

          I’m not a conference-defending blowhard by any stretch. Already too many of them. Not anti-conference for anybody. Again, it’s a full bus.

          But the bottom line with Alabama and Ohio State is this. I have a huge problem making the fourth team one that lost by 31 points. Period. To anybody. Anywhere. Anytime. That’s not in the NFL.

          Ohio State’s loss to Iowa 55-24 came a month ago. Not early September or anything, more than two-thirds of the way in. The ninth game. The 15-point home loss to Oklahoma doesn’t matter, to a point. Was early, still respectable.

          Losing by 31 to a 7-5 team? Yes, Clemson has a big blemish in losing – by three, and without the starting quarterback – to a 4-8 team. The Tigers have been pretty convincing since then, particularly in wins over Georgia Tech, N.C. State and South Carolina, and then in hammering Miami.

          So all of that lessens a bit the “are you kidding?” aspect of the weak opponent. At the time of the loss, Syracuse was 3-3, with one bad loss, 30-23 to Middle Tennessee State.

          Iowa, it’s worth noting as a key opponent/component in all this, doesn’t really have a bad loss. Worst is by 24-15 to 6-6 Purdue. The Hawkeyes also lost to Penn State, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin, and the biggest margin was 24 to Wisconsin.

          Iowa may be a 9-3 team in a 7-5 record. Those other losses are by a total of 37 points, basically a touchdown a game. So Iowa ain’t bad.

          But 31 points. Man, I can’t get past that.

          Alabama?

          Eh, not the normal Alabama, by any stretch. But its only loss was to Auburn, on the road, by 12 points. Doesn’t in any way compare to losing by 31 at Iowa.

          Quality wins?

          Ohio State beat then-No. 2 Penn State by 1, and routed then-No. 12 Michigan State by 45. And, yeah, beat rival Michigan by 11 on the road.

          Alabama’s win over Florida State carries little weight at this point – any first couple weeks win carries less weight at this point, because remember how much bellyaching there is about early-season polls? - and the only ranked-at-the-time opponents were No. 19 LSU (14-point home win) and No. 16 Mississippi State (7-point road win).

          Frankly, we all wish there was somebody else to consider  - yeah, we really need an 8-team playoff when we barely have a fourth qualified team – and make it easier.

          You could think about Wisconsin, whose only loss was to a contender by 7 and without playmaking receiver Quintez Cephus from Macon. It’s OSU’s best win, especially when considering the circumstances. And for the Badgers, it’s a quality close loss to a top-8 team.

          It’s damn sure better than Ohio State’s other loss, the inexplicable and indefensible loss.

          So, really, Wisconsin should get a lot more consideration than it’ll get, because of a misperception about strength of schedule, which wasn’t much worse than anybody else’s, and the timing of the lone loss.

          The bewitching and bitching hour approaches, and who the panel picks fourth is, at least we know, down to two teams, with arguments for and against both.

          It should be Alabama, probably will be Ohio State based on timing. That would not be the travesty millions will make it out to be. Nor would Alabama making be the travesty millions will  make it out to be.

          Here on Sunday, the day of class, maturity, grace, sharp memories, lucidity, Christianity and day-after clarity in the world of sports, let us pray for strength for those who need it. Pray hard. It’s a large group, regardless of who’s No. 4.

          And then, well, pray a little bit for Tennessee. Just ‘cuz it’s the Christian thing to do at this point. You can laugh tomorrow.