Accusations of fraud are running rampant in America.
A lot of those accusations, indeed most of them, look to be true. However, some charges of fraud have proven to be… Well, fraudulent.
For example, a few foolish college football podcasters and talking heads called Texas A&M a “fraud” for finishing 11-2 and falling to Miami, 10-3, in the College Football Playoff.
Their accusations of fraud ignored several facts that proved otherwise.
A&M had victories over three ranked opponents. The Aggies defeated 10-win Notre Dame on the road. Their strength of schedule was ranked seventh in the nation by ESPN. Their only regular-season loss was on the road against a ranked SEC opponent.
Alas, as Mark Twain once said: “No amount of evidence will ever persuade an idiot.”
The idiots who called A&M’s season fraudulent must have forgotten that it’s quite common for playoff teams to have sustained a regular-season loss.
Will Huffman, TexAgs
Mike Elko’s Aggies won 11 games for the first time since 2012.
Ten of the 12 teams in the playoffs entered the tournament with at least one loss.
Miami had two losses. The Hurricanes were defeated at home by unranked Louisville and on the road by unranked SMU.
Those Miami losses could add legitimacy to the accusations of fraud against A&M, except for one minor detail — Miami plays Indiana for the national championship on Monday night.
Of course, A&M and Miami were tied 3-3 with less than two minutes remaining. The Hurricanes scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:44 to play.
Afterward, A&M reached the Hurricanes’ 5-yard line before an end zone interception ended the game.
Five yards was the difference between A&M and Miami.
Since then, Miami defeated Ohio State, 24-14, and Ole Miss, 31-27.
No accusations of fraud were levied against the Buckeyes or Rebels.
Critically-thinking observers would see those results and rightly deduce that A&M wasn’t a fraud, but rather a legitimate national championship contender.
Will Huffman, TexAgs
Miami will play Indiana for the national championship on Monday.
That probably doesn’t make A&M’s legions of fans feel any better, though.
Miami’s march to the championship game should be seen as another missed opportunity. The Aggies had a realistic chance to beat Miami.
Therefore, it would seem the Aggies had a realistic chance to play for the national title. It’s another example of a frustrating near-miss that’s become way too common in College Station.
Perhaps winning in the playoffs will be A&M’s next step under coach Mike Elko.
Some Aggies will have a different viewpoint. They’ll find solace in Miami’s success. They’ll see it as validation and vindication for A&M.
They will be right, too. But that won’t convince the podcast critics.
Idiots ignore evidence.