Part 2/9:
The central issue at hand is the habit of analysts like Kirk Herbstreit, who vocalize their disbelief after a team has been defeated, suggesting that teams such as Indiana or SMU shouldn’t have qualified for the playoffs. This backward reasoning frustrates many who believe that every participating team has earned their spot through a season's worth of competition. When analysts claim post-blowout defeats that certain teams never belonged in the playoffs, it feels disingenuous to those who fought hard to get there.