Timing has a big impact on where life takes us. It happens in our personal lives and through society at-large. Great timing can lead to success in a career, a romance, or other opportunities. Bad timing can lead your progress to stall or, worse yet, turn. In my mind, sports is intrinsically intertwined regarding the concept of timing.
I believe that most situations where franchises or programs continue a sustained amount of success, timing of key measures (coaching, talent, situational circumstances) is critical to an accumulation of banners, rings, and trophies. But timing can also be the cruelest partner in the pursuit of great things. As with most college football seasons, timing made appearances all throughout the schedule.
For Alabama, timing turned anxiety into jubilation. The most anticipated game of September was Texas strolling into Tuscaloosa for a rematch with the Tide. After the 34-24 home loss to Bevo, all was not well in the Heart of the South. However, the fact that 'Bama rattled off a 10-game winning streak afterwards gave pundits the opportunity to use the "this is a different team now than it was then" cliche heading into the SEC Championship. Avoiding a damaging loss by a very timely bout of coaching ineptitude on the part of rival Auburn, the Tide took advantage and toppled Georgia to put themselves in position for a meteoric rise.
Timing took a "give-and-take" approach with Michigan. Before the season, coach Jim Harbaugh made waves by allegedly lying to NCAA investigators about recruiting violations in the program. The resulting three-game suspension took the team leader out of the entire non-conference schedule, which wasn't the most formidable string of opponents (to be fair, Bowling Green is a bowl team and UNLV played in the Mountain West title game).
Then, we found out about the Connor Stalions and the sign-stealing scandal that enveloped the middle the season. The blowback was immediate and the coverage all-encompassing. By the end of the episode, Harbaugh earned another three-game leave. This time, it was against much stiffer competition. Through it all, however, the Wolverines had enough to win out in the six contests their coach wasn't available and the seven where he was present, bucking any notion that timing would derail their return to the CFP.
Timing has been reflective for Washington. When UCLA and USC announced they would join the Big Ten back in the Summer of 2022, the first domino leaned over. This past Summer, gravity finally took hold. The Pac-12 hasn't completely dissolved, but the carcass is pretty much picked clean. The Huskies would take the field in six league series finales. The other four conference tilts would be against fellow realign-mates (USC, Oregon) and their most bitter rival. Through the campaign, the lack of cohesion that splintered the Conference of Champions disappeared. Coming out on the other end, UW may have represented the deepest league of the 2023 season.
Timing gave Texas a boost forward. By this time next year, the Longhorns will have finished their first go-round as a member of the SEC. The home-and-home series with Alabama over the last year-plus gave "The Western UT" a glimpse of life ahead. And it was the win in Alabama's backyard that set the Horns on the next shelf higher when the first CFP rankings came out on Halloween Night. Texas had already lost to rival Oklahoma earlier in the month, and that turned out to be important. It allowed the Longhorns and Tide to continue winning and holding their spots in the top eight for a few weeks. When lightning struck last weekend, both were in (unprecedented position to pounce).
Timing played a cruel joke on Georgia. After back-to-back national titles, fate put them in the only place they had never seen success ... an SEC Championship against Alabama. If any team could have broken the jinx, it was a school responsible for 29 consecutive wins. I know that several of the key players had changed, but the Dawgs have reached the point were reloading is an annual tradition. Everything was there for UGA. Come out on top after 60 minutes of play, and the program would be afforded the opportunity to achieve a first in the modern game. But somehow, someway, 'Bama found that mojo again. The result was a three-point defeat and the missing piece of another return to the semifinals.
Timing, however, was cruelest to Florida State. The Seminoles were poised to get back to championship contention. Jordan Travis started the season on Heisman Watch and kept the team above the fray of the upset. But when the quarterback injured his leg during a North Alabama game in which he may have played one half or so, everything started to sink.
FSU had to avoid implosion points the next two weeks. They did so against their longtime bitter rival on the road. They did so with defense and a third-string signal-caller in the ACC championship. The one thing, however, that caused the explosion of their title hopes happened ... the chaos all around them. Even getting to a clear path, that breath of relief let their guard down enough to be blindsided by an unyielding fate.
And what makes you shake your head most is that the timing should have been sped up. The 12-team playoff that will capture our attention next December should have started in the next couple of weeks. A vote to delay the change by a year came back to bite the ACC Commissioner in the rear end. The expanded bracket would have not only opened up chances for the Seminoles and UGA, but Ohio State and Oregon, as well.
Timing has a constant role to play in life. Whether it's the fortune of a break, or the devastation of one, moments re-shape our futures all the time. With the regular portion of the college football season now closed, it's a shame that the timing was just a little off.
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