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Sports are beloved for drama. By its very nature, the College Football Playoff rankings are built to draw out that tension.

For five weeks, there's an hour-long television show on Tuesdays dedicated to the destined-to-change. For five weeks, we react to that much-anticipated Top 25 and look ahead to the inevitable excitement. For five weeks, you're invested in what number is next to which team.

In eight past editions of the CFP, however, the final ranking—the order unveiled on Selection Day—has been predictable as soon as conference championships ended.

And we're exceptionally close to 2022 being more of the same.

As in 2021, top-ranked Georgia might already be a lock. There's a pretty convincing argument for No. 2 Michigan, too. If both TCU and USC win their respective conference title, that's No. 3 and No. 4. Every other program has at least two losses except for 11-1 Ohio State, which isn't considered a superior team by the committee today and can't possibly land that designation if TCU and USC have a league championship.

Will it really be that simple?

Ohio State is desperate for "nope!" to emerge as the answer. Incidentally, the Buckeyes have been on the right side of this Selection Day conversation a couple of times.

Sure, recent years have included shadows of debate. Back in 2014, Big Ten winner Ohio State vaulted one-loss Big 12 co-champs TCU and Baylor in the final rankings. There was disagreement, but Ohio State—the eventual champion—had a higher schedule strength, one more victory and an outright title. The true level of controversy was minimal.

Ohio State fell to Penn State in 2016 but boasted three Top 10 victories to atone for the loss, while Big Ten champion PSU dropped two games. Frustrating for Penn State, absolutely, yet entirely logical.

From there, any disagreement focused on Group of Five programs—2017 UCF, 2018 UCF and 2020 Cincinnati—not getting much respect. I, among many, despised that reality, but I begrudgingly understood it. Both 2019 and 2021 were straightforward years, too.

And so, we return to the 2022 stage.

More than anything, the question is about Ohio State's perception within the committee compared to TCU and USC. Georgia is likely safe ahead of OSU, and Michigan's head-to-head victory is a decisive edge.

The same cannot be said for the other two.

Let's say TCU falls to Kansas State. TCU would have eight victories over bowl-bound teams and two Top 25 wins compared to Ohio State's six and two, respectively.

Selection committee chair Boo Corrigan had mentioned OSU's lack of a need for TCU-like comebacks as reason for a higher ranking in previous weeks. If neither Ohio State nor TCU has a conference title, it wouldn't be stunning for Ohio State to regain a spot over TCU if K-State wins handily. And, hey, remember Kansas State roared out to 28-10 lead in the earlier matchup. That's not impossible.

As for USC, let's hypothesize that Utah topples the Trojans for a second time. A two-loss, non-champion not making it over a one-loss, non-champion would not be shocking, either.

You can disagree with the outcome, but as far as controversies go, that would be a mild one at most.

Barring an absurd final ranking—like Ohio State and Alabama making the field because both TCU and USC lose Saturday—the lone legitimate potential controversy involves a close TCU loss to K-State.

The simple version is Michigan smoked Ohio State in the second half of their matchup. This scenario is akin to 2018 Ohio State. Although the Buckeyes won the Big Ten, they lost by 29 points at a Purdue squad that lost six regular-season games. Oklahoma, the Big 12 champion and eventual fourth seed, only lost to Texas, a Top 10 team, on a last-second field goal.

For the sake of argument, say TCU falls on a late kick. Kansas State's three losses are all to Top 25 opponents, and the Wildcats have a top-15 scoring defense. That's hardly a damning result.

TCU boasts the nation's best strength of record, will hold a higher strength of schedule after Saturday, owns more quality wins and—as goofy as it may sound—would have a more competitive loss.

That's a very strong, compelling case for TCU.

Merely the "game control" factor, in which Ohio State currently ranks fourth to TCU's 13th, would be in the Buckeyes' favor. It's really hard to justify game control as an overwhelming argument in 2022's context.

Besides, if you do that, consider Alabama has trailed for exactly zero seconds this season, losing only on last-play scores to Tennessee and LSU. And you're not about to see good-faith arguments for 10-2 Bama.

At this point, your imagination may be spinning. This is admittedly a deep dive into hypotheticals.

But if Georgia, Michigan, TCU and USC each win a conference title, imagination won't matter. If USC falls to Utah, there's precedent for an idle Ohio State to slide back into the Top Four. Comparing the ugliness level of a loss has decided CFP bids before this season, too.

Ohio State is hoping. TCU, though, has a prime opportunity to eliminate any potential arguments and ensure the Top Four, once again, has no controversy on Selection Day.

The New York Jets entered Week 12 in something of an odd situation. At 6-4, the Jets were very much in the postseason picture in the AFC, but New York wasn't being talked about as a legitimate postseason threat for one overriding reason:

The offense was awful.

In an effort to get the offense on track, the Jets made a switch at quarterback this week, benching second-year pro Zach Wilson in favor of Mike White. The move worked like a charm against the Chicago Bears, and after arguably the team's best offensive performance of the season, White appears to be entrenched as the Jets' starter.

And New York suddenly has the look of the kind of team that no one wants to face in the AFC playoffs.

After what happened in Week 11, Jets head coach Robert Saleh didn't really have any choice but to make a switch at quarterback. It wasn't just that the Jets barely cracked 100 yards of total offense or that Wilson completed 41 percent of his passes for just 77 yards.

The tipping point came after the Jets lost 10-3 to the Patriots. When asked by reporters whether he thought New York's anemic offense had let the defense down, Wilson tersely replied, "no."

The lack of accountability reportedly didn't sit well with Wilson's teammates. And with the Jets having lost two of three, Saleh made the call, though he told reporters that the demotion wasn't necessarily permanent.

"The biggest thing with Zach is that the young man needs a reset," Saleh said. "His decision-making has been fine; his practice habits, all that stuff, have been fine; but there's some basic, fundamental things that have gotten really out of whack for him.

"This is an opportunity for him to really sit back, focus on those things, find a way to get reconnected to all those things we fell in love with during the draft process. It's something I feel like he's going to be able to do. I think asking him to do all those things while preparing for a game is unfair."

However, given how White looked in his first start, Wilson's benching isn't going to be a one-week deal, either.

Simply put, White was outstanding against the Bears. For the game, the second-year pro completed 22 of 28 pass attempts for 315 yards and three touchdowns. White didn't turn the ball over and posted a robust passer rating of 149.3.

It was White's second stellar performance in just four career starts. And as ESPN's Rich Cimini pointed out, it puts White in some rather select company.

Mike White is the 5th QB in NFL history to record multiple games with 300 Pass yds and 3 Pass TD within his first 4 career starts.

White joins Kurt Warner (3), Patrick Mahomes (2), Mark Rypien (2) and Austin Davis (2). #Jets

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) November 27, 2022

White's outstanding performance also drew raves from Saleh.

"He did a great job," Saleh told reporters. "He didn't need to be anybody but Mike White. We didn't need to turn into the greatest show on turf, we just needed—wanted him to play within himself and play efficiently, and I thought he did. He made easy look easy. I thought he did a really good job of that."

White's effort rippled down to the rest of the offense. Rookie wideout Garrett Wilson caught five passes for 95 yards and two scores, including a 54-yarder. Second-year wide receiver Elijah Moore, whose role in the offense had evaporated to the point he requested a trade earlier this season, caught a pair of passes for 64 yards and a score.

Tight end Tyler Conklin, who started the season hot only to vanish once Wilson got back in the lineup, reeled in three passes for 50 yards.

The Jets run game got a boost, too. Since rookie phenom Breece Hall went down with an ACL tear several weeks ago, the Jets rushing attack had faltered. But despite veteran James Robinson being a healthy scratch, the Jets piled up 158 rushing yards on 32 carries.

Amazing what can happen if opposing defenses can't stack the box with impunity.

After the game, an elated Moore pointed to Sunday's effort as an indication of what these Jets are capable of.

"That's what happens when we play New York Jets football. ... That's the real New York Jets football," Moore told Jeane Coakley of SNY after the game. "That's the definition of team football. I can't do nothing but thank Mike. Thank the defense. We played as a team."

The Jets did indeed play as a team. Granted, it came against a Bears team that ranked 22nd in total offense entering Week 12 and without Justin Fields. Nonetheless, the Jets allowed just 292 yards of offense, logged a pair of sacks, forced a turnover and allowed just four third-down conversions in 13 attempts.

New York's defense playing well is hardly a surprise, as the unit has carried the team for much of the season. The Jets entered Sunday sixth in the league in total defense, 10th against the pass, ninth in scoring defense and fifth in sacks. This is a unit that held the Bills to just 17 points in a Week 9 win. But as last week's loss to the Patriots showed, a stellar defensive effort is of little use if the team doesn't score any points.

It admittedly came against a Bears defense that has struggled at times this season, but White's performance on Sunday offers hope that the offense can at least hold its own moving forward and that the team's biggest liability could become an asset.

It's not like it doesn't have passing-game weaponry. It was just of little use to a unit that couldn't move the ball through the air.

White's big game couldn't have come at a better time for the Jets, not just because New York had lost two of three. With New England losing at Minnesota on Thanksgiving, the Jets moved past the Patriots and into third place in the AFC East.

The Jets are also headed into an absolutely pivotal and brutal two-week road trip. Their validity as a contender may well be determined in Minnesota and Buffalo.

The Jets team we watched pitch and lurch around Gillette Stadium in Week 11 likely doesn't have much of a chance to beat the Vikings or Bills. Even if the defense plays lights out, that version of the offense was too limited to hang with the league's heavyweights.

However, if the Jets can get play like from White on any sort of consistent basis, it's a whole new ballgame. The Jets already had an elite defense and offensive weapons. All the Gang Green symphony needed was a conductor. A maestro who could lead the team into the postseason for the first time since 2011.

Mike White just might be that guy.

And these Jets could well be a tough out the rest of the way this season.

WWE Survivor Series WarGames on Saturday night from the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts felt like one of the better pro wrestling events of the year.

A huge chunk of that credit goes to Sami Zayn's storyline in the Bloodline drama and the way he has totally revitalized a Roman Reigns unified-title storyline that was stuck in purgatory.

The Honorary Uce was by far the centerpiece to the night's main event as The Bloodline (Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Zayn and The Usos) went against the hodgepodge of The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Ridge Holland, and Butch), Drew McIntyre, and Kevin Owens.

This was, without exaggeration, one of the best modern bits of storytelling in wrestling to date.

The biggest takeaway from the match? It is going to hurt if and when The Bloodline turns on Zayn.

Did @SamiZayn do the right thing?#SurvivorSeries #WarGames pic.twitter.com/UfgBNT6uFf

— WWE (@WWE) November 27, 2022

Saturday night's events will play a huge part in that. And that's probably the point. If WWE wants to capture the lighting in a bottle that was Daniel Bryan's "Yes Movement" all those years ago, it's blatantly right here with Zayn.

But even as a standalone thing, the WarGames match was a gluttony of great storytelling. Zayn had his tension-filled dustups with Jey Uso. After close chats with Reigns throughout the night, the unified champ always had a close eye on things.

And there was a long, long callback to the friendship between Zayn and Owens that was strong enough to make even the smartest of fans second-guess whether the adopted Uso might just betray his new family.

And while fans understand that big takeaway, there's something to be said for the sheer entertainment value of the match.

There's now the question of where things go from here and at what pace. Zayn will eventually figure out The Bloodline might not intend keeping him around for the long term. While they did appear to patch things up, the Jey-Sami relationship continues to be volatile.

There's a real chance, too, that Saturday night's event could ultimately lead to Zayn playing a role in the outright main event of WrestleMania 39. Things are so good on this front that he could be a dark horse to shove the likes of Cody Rhodes and perhaps even The Rock out of the limelight come 'Mania season.

It's worth pointing out that the WarGames match itself played a pivotal role here, as just any other Survivor Series showdown wouldn't have carried the same weight. It meant no silly "wrestlers laying around" stuff so other story beats could happen. Some guys just weren't permitted in the ring yet, as one prominent example.

The new man in charge of creative as of roughly six months ago, Triple H, has given new prominence to the WarGames stipulation amid a host of other changes to the direction of WWE.

The first WarGames match of the night benefited from the match type, too. First up was Team Belair (Bianca Belair, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Mia Yim, and Becky Lynch) clashing with Team Bayley (Damage CTRL's Bayley, Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky, plus Nikki Cross and Rhea Ripley).

The match was a thriller with outstanding storytelling. Sure, the big thing was Lynch's return as the fifth member of the team and her working with, not against, Belair. But little things in that match, like planting the seeds for Lynch vs. Bayley and only Asuka's mist being able to slow Ripley really showed a respect for the wrestlers and viewers alike.

Was the match an all-time classic that moved the needle dramatically? Absolutely not, but it was an entertaining affair that made more sense than the usual cobbled-together Survivor Series matches. This had meaning and the fallout will, too.

It's one step in WWE revamping the pay-per-view schedule in refreshing ways. None of it works without a talent like Zayn in a prominent role, but the creative match type also really let his tale spread its wings in refreshing ways.

Maybe that's underselling the 38-year-old, the outright MVP of WWE's main event scene right now (one can almost see that acknowledgment on Reigns' face, too). Few Superstars can step in and do what he's doing right now. He is the guy, after all, who ruined (the good kind of ruined) a super-serious segment recently by making Reigns and The Usos crack up during a live segment.

Paul Heyman himself, also slightly corpsing in that segment thanks to Zayn, actually hit on these notes about the adopted Uso in the post-event press conference.

"Sami brings a dynamic none of us were prepared for, and we're prepared for everything," he told reporters. "What Sami also brings is a connection with the audience that none of us can have because we have been too busy being the top act in the entire industry for over two years."

That character and storytelling range—from goofy to the serious happenings of the WarGames match—makes Zayn must-see television, and he's carrying Reigns and Co. right along with him. He's invested, fans are invested, and Survivor Series 2022 will be remembered mostly for his moments.

It's unfathomable momentum for a fresh-feeling WWE that hasn't seemed this great in a long time. Saturday night, Zayn simply proved once more he's the one controlling the ship, even if the guy next to him is the supposed gold-wearing captain.