AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Newly expanded college football playoffs were in full swing last week with quarter-final games that saw the top two seeded teams knocked off. The Rose Bowl in Pasadena saw top-ranked Oregon eliminated by Ohio State, and the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans ended with Notre Dame beating No. 2, Georgia. That game was delayed by a day after the tragic terror attack in the city's French Quarter, which left 15 people dead and dozens injured. It's been a horrifying and surreal week for a city that loves to celebrate just about everything, especially football. Holly Anderson, co-host of the "Shutdown Fullcast" joins me now. Welcome.
HOLLY ANDERSON: Hey, thanks for having me.
RASCOE: So you've been to New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl. It's not Mardi Gras, but it's still a big deal, right?
ANDERSON: So, it's not Mardi Gras, and I think that's a really good place to start the conversation, actually. The Sugar Bowl is a huge event, but in New Orleans on New Year's Eve, New Orleans is the star. The Sugar Bowl is a side show. You know, it's a big side show, but I've done a bunch of these down there, and it's indistinguishable from other New Year's Eves in New Orleans. The Saints play there, you know? This place hosts Super Bowls. They're hosting it this year. Bourbon Street is Bourbon Street.
RASCOE: Well, you know, and as we said earlier, though, the Sugar Bowl was delayed by a day, and in the end, it was held safely. But the decision to go ahead with the game so soon after the attack was controversial. Like, how did you see it?
ANDERSON: I think if you ask 100 different people whether this was the right thing - to go on with it - you're going to get 100 answers. You know, there's millions and millions of dollars riding on finishing this national title game. You know, this was - the game was going to go ahead no matter what because, like it or not, it's going to be the money that drives everything.
RASCOE: Well, Holly, we've seen two rounds so far of this new playoff format, which has expanded from four teams to 12. What's been the biggest surprise so far?
ANDERSON: I think the biggest surprise is how tidy the final four ended up, even though it's a completely unexpected final four. So Round 1, every lower-ranked team lost.
RASCOE: OK.
ANDERSON: So that's nine through 12 out. And then in Round 2 this past week, in the quarterfinals, the top four seeds all lost. So the teams in the semifinals - all of them coming into this had something hilariously bad on their resumes that you could have argued would have kept them out of a four-team playoff. You could argue they shouldn't have been here at all. And there's really not a lot of conclusions to draw from that except to accept that there is no correct or even good way to choose a college football national champion. And the best advice I can give for people is just to enjoy the games that you get because you're never going to have a satisfactory conclusion as long as, you know, Louisiana-Monroe and LSU are purported to be playing the same sport when they are galaxies apart in terms of resources.
RASCOE: There has been a lot of complaints about how the teams were seeded, and, of course, it wouldn't be college football without complaining. But are you enjoying it so far?
ANDERSON: I am enjoying the teams that I thought wouldn't be there, and they're out by now. Arizona State and Boise State being two of those top four seeds, being here in the first place - I love that. Like, I took delight from that. I took delight from the fact that when you expand this field, you were going to end up leaving out some teams who - capital S - should be in every year. You know, everyone's going to yell about Alabama, which lost three games and, you know, wanted to be considered for the national champion. But all four of these teams that are left in the playoff lost, but here they are.
RASCOE: Well, let's get into that 'cause, you know, next week, it's the semifinals, and as you say, Notre Dame will be playing Penn State in Miami. Texas plays Ohio State just outside of Dallas. What will you be watching for?
ANDERSON: Ohio State is currently playing right now like they have helmets full of bees. They didn't even make their own conference championship this year. They are currently infamous for wanting to fire their coach because he keeps losing to their archrival, Michigan. But right now, they look like the best team in the field. I'm here for these individuals. Like, I'm here to watch the kids. They're so good, it's hard not to enjoy them. And there's something to pick out and something to appreciate, both in a narrative sense and in a granular sense, for every team. But again, I think that would have been true of any team that made it there. Like, I try very hard to enjoy this in the micro because if you think too long about the macro, you're going to lose your mind.
RASCOE: That's Holly Anderson. She's the co-host of the "Shutdown Fullcast." Thank you.
ANDERSON: Thanks a lot. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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