want to keep your team healthy.The Colts know they cant rely on pure luck for that anymore.They used four of eight draft picks on offensive linemen, in hopes of protecting their star quarterback. The

The best thing about college football is that we all feel like we own it. Thats occasionally the worst thing, too. But the passion that the sport engenders is what separates it from the NFL, thank goodness.This has been an unusual year, from the uber-dominance of Alabama every single week to the uber-goofiness of the Big Ten Conference race, college footballs postseason inkblot test. If you have an opinion about the College Football Playoff, theres a Big Ten team for you.Believe in the sanctity of a conference champion? Believe in rewarding the best team? Believe that a good loss is better than a bad win? Yeah, the Big Tens got that.I walked into Lucas Oil Stadium in high dudgeon that a victorious Penn State would be jobbed, that the Big Ten champion that beat Ohio State should be in line ahead of the Buckeyes. In theory, perhaps. In reality, the Nittany Lions neither looked nor played like one of the four best teams in the nation Saturday night. Their chemistry is undoubtable, their spirit unquenchable, and no team east of USC improved more over the course of the season.But I would say the four teams in the playoff are better than Penn State, and No. 6 Michigan beat the Nittany Lions by 39 points. I dont want to see Penn State playing Alabama.The committees decision to reward Ohio State, and not the Big Ten champion, will be fodder for the eight-team playoff crowd. Maybe someone out there wants to decry the injustice of not seeing a rematch of No. 1 Alabamas 52-6 defeat of No. 9 USC, or would love to see an Ohio State-Michigan quarterfinal rematch, or see Clemson play Oklahoma in the postseason for a third consecutive season. The charms of those three matchups escape me.Lets face it. We all see Alabama walking down the 18th fairway of the final round of The Open, and we expect the telecast director to cut to the shot of the engraver etching Nick Sabans name onto the Claret Jug one more time. By this time, the guy ought to be able to do it in his sleep.Alabama is courting history in the College Football Playoff. The semifinals will reprise one famous college football game, and one infamous.Southern football announced itself on the national stage in the 1926 Rose Bowl when Alabama, invited only after Dartmouth, Yale and Colgate said no, beat a Washington team considered unbeatable. The Tide spotted the Huskies a 12-0 lead, but then came back in the second half to win 20-19.We will spend the next four weeks debating Alabamas place in history more than we will debate whether Washington, a team with the kind of speed at the skill positions that has challenged the Crimson Tide, not to mention a smart, athletic defense, will pull off the upset.No team needs a respite more than the Crimson Tide, which lost another defensive starter to injury Saturday when linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton suffered a right knee injury. Safety and kick returner Eddie Jackson already is out for the year, and cornerback Marlon Humphrey has a tender hamstring.Ohio State and Clemson forever will be linked by the 1978 Gator Bowl, when elderly, infirm Buckeyes coach Woody Hayes punched Tigers linebacker Charlie Bauman after his late interception sealed Clemsons 17-15 victory. Ohio State fired Hayes the next day, guaranteeing Bauman fame he never desired. More college football fans think of that game than of Clemsons 40-35 victory over Ohio State three years ago.The Buckeyes and the Tigers shared a propensity for winning close games, a muscle that Alabama barely even flexed. Ohio State won four games by one score, two of them in overtime over the Wolverines and No. 8 Wisconsin, and two of them over 6-6 Northwestern and 3-9 Michigan State. Perhaps the latter two are why the Buckeyes fell to No. 3.Clemson won six games by seven points or fewer, which begs the question at what point a virtue becomes a liability. The selection committee evidently appreciated that four of Clemsons close victories came against teams in the final 25.But lets not allow the Xs and Os to overtake these games just yet. History is hovering close by, no matter who wins. If Alabama extends its winning streak to 27 games, the comparisons to the sports greatest teams will begin in earnest. And if Washington, Clemson or Ohio State knocks off Alabama, there will be a page in college footballs family bible for that game, too.Either way, the playoff will be making history. Andrus Peat Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Sheldon Rankins Jersey . Carey Price didnt, but he still came out on top against one of his rivals for the No. 1 job at the Sochi Games. 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The Indianapolis Colts came to training camp with plenty of questions.They headed home from Anderson University still searching for many of those answers.Coach Chuck Pagano has not named the starting offensive linemen, new defensive coordinator Ted Monachino is dealing with injuries along the defensive line and Andrew Luck continues to work on his form, footwork and faster decision-making.Productive, yes. Perfect, no.Ive made my fair share of mistakes, thats for sure, like anybody in training camp, Luck said Thursday. Id like to think that I havent repeated many of the same mistakes.It is unclear how much the Colts got accomplished during the 2 1/2-week camp. Some of the obstacles were beyond their control, such as the cancellation of last weekends Hall of Fame Game because of an unsafe field. Luck hasnt played in a game since Nov. 8, though he should finally return Saturday at Buffalo.Injuries didnt help, either.Rookie center Ryan Kelly, Indys first-round draft pick, missed more than a week with an injured left shoulder. Starting right tackle Joe Reitz and Hugh Thornton, who is competing for the right guard job, also missed time.The safety spot was so thin during the first week that the coaches temporarily had Darius Butler, Indys nickel-package cornerback, lining up there.This weeks big concern is the defensive line, which will not have any of its three projected starters available this weekend.Henry Anderson remains on the physically unable to perform list as he recovers from a torn ACL, Kendall Langford is out after having arthroscopic knee surgery and Pagano said Art Jones wont play, either. Jones will miss the first four regular season games after violating the league policy on performance-enhancing substtances but can play in the preseason.dddddddddddd.In spite of all those obstacles, Pagano believes the Colts have improved.I am pleased with where we are at as a football team, he said. We got a lot of work done. We are excited to go play a game and see exactly where we are at.One noticeable difference during camp was veteran participation.Pagano figured with no more than three consecutive days of practice, the older players shouldnt need any extra time off, and he and his revamped staff also wanted to send a message that Indy must be more physical this year.You have to put the pads on and you have to develop that mindset on both sides of the football, specifically on the line of scrimmage, Pagano said. You have to do it but there is a fine line there because you want to keep your team healthy.The Colts know they cant rely on pure luck for that anymore.They used four of eight draft picks on offensive linemen, in hopes of protecting their star quarterback. They believe Kelly will solidify the middle. And with Thornton out, converted tackle Denzelle Good appears to be the front-runner at right guard.The good news is that the Colts also may have found a hidden gem in tackle Joe Haeg, a fifth-round pick who has impressed the coaches.But in Indy, the key to success will always be based on Luck and whether he can regain his Pro Bowl form after the worst season of his career.Maybe theres a little motivation from last year and what happened, Luck said. But youre going to be motivated each year to go out and prove yourself.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '