We survived the wackiness of the BCS era and the computer formulas. We lived through the four-team College Football Playoff and all the worthy -- and unworthy -- debates that popped up from year to year. On Friday, the 12-team Playoff will arrive on our doorstep as college football ushers in a new championship format. Let's enjoy it for however long we have it.
There are 134 FBS teams. With only 12 making the Playoff, the odds are pretty high that your favorite program didn't get invited to the dance. And that means you need to find a team to root for over the next month. Everyone's motivations are different. You might be rooting for your rival's downfall. There might be a player or coach you've gravitated toward over the past few weeks. You might want to get behind a Cinderella story or you might be a casual fan who just wants to find a rooting interest for the postseason.
Here's your bandwagon guide to the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff, ranked from least-deserving candidates to most.
Bottom line: Georgia has two relatively new trophies, so nobody will feel bad for the Bulldogs if they don't win it this season. And it would be somewhat boring if one of the more unpredictable seasons in recent memory ended with the most dominant program in the country hoisting the national championship trophy. Backup quarterback Gunner Stockton's ascent to the starting role does add some intrigue to Georgia's quest.
Why you should get on board: You work in the ACC office and desperately need something good to happen for your conference.
Why you shouldn't: Like Georgia, Clemson has two recent national championships (2016 and 2018).
Bottom line: This year's Tigers aren't anywhere near as dominant as Dabo Swinney's past Playoff teams. There's nothing wrong with this but they're essentially a bid thief who snuck into the Playoff late after beating SMU in the ACC Championship Game. If you think Swinney's demise has been greatly exaggerated, the Tigers might be an interesting program to root for.
Why you should get on board: You're a Michigan fan who wants Ohio State to win a few Playoff games -- but not the national championship -- so Ryan Day can stay in Columbus for a few more years.
Why you shouldn't: You're a Michigan fan who wants Ohio State's downward spiral to continue.
Bottom line: Ohio State was billed as the best roster in the country before the season but it has underwhelmed relative to the preseason hype. The Buckeyes' loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale was arguably the most shocking upset of the season. Expectations are so high at Ohio State that winning the national championship this season might elicit more relief than joy. That's not a fun bandwagon to hop on right now -- or at any point.
Why you should get on board: Maybe not every year, but it's cool to see a program with all the potential in the world realize it every once in a while. And after a decade lost in the wilderness, Texas is finally operating like a grown-up program.
Why you shouldn't: College football traditionalists have had a hard time adjusting to all the change that's arrived in the sport this year with conference realignment and the new Playoff, among many other things. Do you want to root for the program that sparked much of the change by leaving the Big 12 for the SEC?
Bottom line: Texas has a national championship this century (2005), but it's not as recent as the schools we've already mentioned. The Longhorns finally have the alignment and coaching staff in place -- something that they lacked for so many years. Still, it's kind of difficult to get behind such a massive brand like Texas when there are alternatives on the table.
Why you should get on board: Because you're a big fan of nostalgia and want to say you saw the sport's most historic program win it all. The Fighting Irish haven't won a national championship since 1988.
Why you shouldn't: You're one of the folks who thinks Notre Dame is overrated every year, can't stand that it doesn't play in a conference title game and generally believes the Fighting Irish are not worthy of all the discussion they generate season after season.
Bottom line: Everyone rags on Notre Dame, but the truth is there are probably only six or seven schools that wouldn't trade places with Notre Dame's success over the last seven or eight seasons. This is the Irish's third trip to the Playoff, and that's not including a BCS title game appearance in 2012. Notre Dame is just a strong, solid program. But, still, rooting for the Irish is kind of like rooting for the Yankees.
Why you should get on board: There aren't a lot of players more fun to watch than Nittany Lions tight end Tyler Warren. And on the opposite side of the ball, end Abdul Carter is the next great defensive player to come through the Penn State pipeline.
Why you shouldn't: Penn State is a good program, but coach James Franklin has lost nearly every game of consequence over the past few years so it's difficult to put much faith into the Nittany Lions.
Bottom line: The first-round game against SMU will essentially serve as a referendum on Franklin, who needs to win that game in the worst possible way. Not for his job status, but for the vibes. Penn State could win one, maybe even two Playoff games because of its draw, but once it runs into another elite program, it'll be hard to believe in this team.
Why you should get on board: A strong rushing attack and a stout defense have proven to be a successful Playoff formula in the past. So Tennessee checks those boxes. The Volunteers haven't won it all since 1998 -- the first year of the BCS -- so it's not like this is a program that's won a lot recently.
Why you shouldn't: When it's seemed like a good time to believe in Tennessee football over the past decade, that's when things have gone south. The Volunteers passing game may be a bit too inconsistent and opposing defenses will force quarterback Nico Iamaleava to make big throws in big spots. Can he do that several weeks in a row?
Bottom line: Tennessee isn't a bad bandwagon to hop on, but the Vols have had some shaky moments against some so-so teams such as Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky. And that makes it difficult to believe Tennessee can navigate four consecutive games against what will likely be some elite defenses. So take that into account.
Why you should get on board: College football isn't a sport that welcomes new schools into its group of blue bloods. Oregon has been a top-10 program for a good chunk of the past 25 years and has played for the national championship twice in the past 15 years. A title would give the Ducks a strong case to be viewed with the sport's upper-echelon programs.
Why you shouldn't: You're a fan of a West Coast program that desperately wants to hold onto the "0" national championship jokes despite the fact Oregon has been better than every program on that side of the country for the past decade and a half.
Bottom line: There's a new-money element to the Ducks that is difficult for traditionalists to look past. Oregon flexed its NIL muscles to build this roster, which rubs some opposing fans the wrong way, and there are always people waiting to question coach Dan Lanning's fourth-down decision-making as well. With the way the sport is currently set up, Oregon seems primed to win a national championship at some point, so it might be wise to jump on now.
Why you should get on board: The Mustangs haven't been this relevant to the national championship conversation since the early 1980s. And after that, the program was hit with the death penalty. It took SMU several decades to bounce back. SMU is also in its first year as a Power 4 program after spending the past 11 seasons in the AAC. The fact that they went 8-0 in the ACC in the regular season is pretty cool.
Why you shouldn't: SMU hasn't been exposed to the talent level it will potentially see in the Playoff, starting with Penn State. Clemson was the most talented, athletic team the Mustangs have faced this season and it took them quite a while to adjust to their ACC title game loss.
Bottom line: SMU is a major surprise this season, but it's up against it this weekend having to travel to Happy Valley to play Penn State. That's a tough hurdle to overcome, which might make this a short-lived bandwagon ride. If SMU were to win, it would have an appealing matchup with Boise State for a spot in the semifinals.
Why you should get on board: Remember when #9WIndiana was a thing about five years ago? That's what the fan base and program used to shoot for. Hoosiers coach Curt Cignetti blew past those aspirations this year and led Indiana to 11 wins and the Playoff to make the program one of the sport's true feel-good stories.
Why you shouldn't: Indiana ran through its schedule pretty easily this season. It routinely beat opponents by double digits and was top 10 in the nation in scoring offense and scoring defense. The Hoosiers faced a Michigan team with elite defensive talent and scraped by, winning 20-15 in Bloomington. It faced Ohio State, the most talented team on the schedule, two weeks later and lost 38-15 and couldn't block the Buckeyes. Notre Dame has strong defensive talent as well, which doesn't bode well for the Hoosiers.
Bottom line: Cignetti did a tremendous job in his first season with the program. The schedule lined up perfectly as well. While the Hoosiers were a very fun story, it doesn't seem like their Playoff run will last too long. If Indiana can get by Notre Dame, Georgia awaits in the quarterfinals.
Why you should get on board: Herm Edwards and Antonio Pierce left Arizona State in such a bad spot and faced no real repercussions. Sun Devils coach Kenny Dillingham took over a disastrous situation and has done wonders in Year 2. Running back Cam Skattebo, a Sacramento State transfer who is in his second year with the program, finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting and is a perfect example of the great work Dillingham and his staff have done to identify the right talent to get things turned around in Tempe. Arizona State was picked to finish dead last (16 out of 16) in the Big 12 preseason poll.
Why you shouldn't: Arizona State has a first-round bye, which is beneficial, but there's a very high likelihood that the Sun Devils will face Texas, which gives up just 3.1 yards per rush (11th nationally). Two schools from the state of Texas -- Texas State and Texas Tech -- have already done a great job of slowing down Skattebo and Arizona State's rushing attack this season, and Texas is far more talented than both of those teams. So that's a bad matchup for the Sun Devils.
Bottom line: Arizona State is a really fun team, headlined by a great running back and a promising young head coach. It's a worthy bandwagon to jump on for the long term because Dillingham is such a good coach, but just know the Playoff trip might be short-lived.
Why you should get on board: Running back Ashton Jeanty finished second in Heisman Trophy voting and is must-watch TV. We also mentioned how unpredictable the sport has been this season. It would be cool to support one of the first BCS busters and a program that was never allowed to compete for the national championship in the past.
Why you shouldn't: Quarterback Maddux Madsen will be under the microscope and will need to make enough throws, week after week, to get some of the attention off of Jeanty. Can he do it? Not sure. He passed for fewer than 200 yards in the past three games. Against Oregon, he completed just 17 of 40 passes for 148 yards. So he's a major question mark, as is Boise State's depth. Can it handle the wear and tear of facing elite competition in consecutive weeks?
Bottom line: Boise State is the bandwagon to hop on. The Broncos did play Oregon, the No. 1 overall seed in the Playoff, down to the wire back in September. They can play with the best of them on any given day. But be warned, as appealing as the Cinderella stories might be, college football has always been a sport that's favored Goliath, not David.