Where I think the disconnect between our two viewpoints is how you determine “better” and “fortunate” in this context. Yards gained is a factor in a win but not the ultimate indicator. And turnovers are not (in most cases) a function of one team’s performance.
In your example of Georgia v Notre Dame you say that they won by virtue of 4 ND turnovers as if Georgia just idly stood around on defense and Notre Dame handed them the ball. Georgia’s defense was as instrumental in creating those 4 turnovers as Notre Dame’s defense was in holding Georgia to a low yardage total. So it would be just as valid for me to say that Georgia was “better” for forcing and capitalizing on 4 turnovers while Notre Dame was “fortunate” to keep the score as close as they did. Statistics are great but they are also the opiate of the masses because they can be attributed or ignored to support bias.
There’s a reason higher point total is the ultimate arbiter. It doesn’t matter how you score more points than your opponent or whether the perception of how you did so is more aesthetically pleasing than your opponents performance. It just matters that you accomplished that task. And quite frankly, I’d rather be considered “fortunate” instead of “better” twelve times if it meant an undefeated season. Talking heads and fans can gripe all they want but they can’t take away the fact that I accomplished my goal of scoring more points than my opponent every time I stepped on the field.
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