Last season, we learned that a team can lose to Northern Illinois and still (easily) make the College Football Playoff. It was one of the greatest lessons we could have learned in the very first year of the 12-team Playoff because it immediately forced us to recalibrate the way we view teams and the natural ups and downs of the season in this new era.

Notre Dame’s path from NIU to the CFP title game should serve as a cautionary tale; it should remind us not to overreact to any one individual result this fall. The same lesson should be taken from Ohio State’s stunning loss to Michigan and the four wins (and the trophy) that followed.

But ... college football is not a sport known for patience, even when we think we know that a team is built for a CFP run but hasn’t quite pieced everything

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