Grind aside, new college football system good for contenders

ARLINGTON, Texas — This has been the longest of college football seasons, with the addition of the four-team playoff system.

And four teams probably is just enough for the participating coaches in today’s 5:30 p.m. national championship game at AT&T Stadium.

Ohio State and Oregon have the injuries to show for the grind, each missing key players.

The Buckeyes even had extra practice time and didn’t take advantage of it.

“We didn’t touch the 20-hour rule,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. “It was all about get your work done. The term that I kept using with our staff is efficiency. Don’t re-practice things because you’re just wearing them out.”

But Meyer and Oregon coach Mark Helfrich expressed support for the playoff system. They know they probably would have been left out under the old Bowl Championship Series format, with Alabama and Florida State likely playing for the national championship.

“It’s been great for college football,” Helfrich said. “The lead-up to this game, I think our logos have been on TV every 30 seconds for the last month, and hopefully that does great things for the university.”

■ SACK MASTER — Ohio State consensus All-America defensive end Joey Bosa made 11½ sacks in his first 10 games and just two in his past four.

But that doesn’t mean he was any less of a factor.

With opponents targeting Bosa, that has helped his teammates. In a 42-35 semifinal victory over Alabama, linebacker Darron Lee made two sacks thanks to Bosa’s help.

“Teams have definitely been trying to limit what I do and keying on me,” Bosa said. “I don’t mind it as long as it’s freeing up my other teammates and they’re making all the plays and we’re playing well as a unit. That’s all I can ask for.”

His 13½ sacks is one-half sack short of Vernon Gholston’s school record set in 2007. Bosa didn’t sound overly concerned about whether he broke it.

“Definitely not as (important) as winning the national championship,” he said. “I could not make tackles, and as long as we win, I’ll be happy.”

■ IMMEDIATE IMPACT — Quarterback Marcus Mariota properly receives most of the credit for Oregon’s success, but the Ducks have a freshman running back who also is key to getting them to the title game.

Royce Freeman was named Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and is one of only six freshmen to ever rush for 1,000 yards in that conference.

He has 1,343 yards, which is third in Pac-12 history among freshman, 32 yards behind Arizona’s Nick Wilson, who rushed for 1,375 yards this season. The all-time leader is Oregon’s LaMichael James, who rushed for 1,526 yards in 2009.

Helfrich had an idea what he had in Freeman, moving Byron Marshall from running back to wide receiver before the season. Marshall rushed for 1,038 yards in 2013, and this season he has 834 yards receiving.

“We thought we knew what we had in Royce,” Helfrich said. “You never really know with guys until they get into fall camp and they get hit and they have to learn a ton and then get hit and recall that whole process, and Royce was phenomenal in that regard. And so to try to project those things for all those other guys, that was the crapshoot.

“We knew what Byron could be, or we think we know what Byron still can be. He’s still not 100 percent confident in every element of being a great receiver. We know what he can do as a tailback, we know what he can do as a receiver, and we’ll just continue pushing that envelope.”

■ DUCKS LOSE ANOTHER PLAYER — Senior running back Ayele Forde became the second Oregon player to be suspended for the game after failing an NCAA-sanctioned drug test.

Forde played a role on special teams. He appeared in all 14 games, but had just three rushes for 17 yards. He recorded 12 tackles on special teams coverage.

Freshman wide receiver Darren Carrington was ruled out of the game Friday after failing a drug test. He caught seven passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns in a 59-20 semifinal victory over Florida State.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.