You guys do realize this is now the time of the year in which I root for anarchy, right? Florida SEC champs, Sparty B1G champs. USC wins the Pac12. Just a big flaming bag of poo on the doorstep of the sportswriters. Maybe we can get Memphis back into this thing!?
Florida.... not a prayer.... Bama in. MSU or Iowa either one goes to the CFP as the winner. Oklahoma in. That only leaves open the possibility of UNC getting left out if they beat Clemson..... and I just don't see it. One loss UNC over one loss Stanford or one loss Ohio State..... closer than the experts think. The Buckeyes are probably the best team not going to the CFP. Looking forward to a Citrus Bowl redemption and a kickstart toward next season.
Right.... 2 losses for Stanford. out PAC12 out I think only Ohio State could beat out a one loss UNC ACC Champion but I don't think they will. That conference champion thing will be the deciding factor if that happens. That said I think Ohio State would be very difficult to deal with in a playoff.
I have a feeling we are done with the upsets. I think Clemson and Bama will take care of business and the winner of Iowa/MSU is in and OU is done with it's season and nothing that happens will knock them out.
This whole thing is setting up well for Saban to cement his legend. I really do think Urban and the Buckeyes were his biggest threat.
After watching Ohio State dismantle a pretty good Michigan team and OU dismantle OKState I would say that the top coaches in college football remain the same. Saban has Alabama again in the NC mix, you can't win them all but he's had Alabama in the conversation every year at the end. Urban now having won 3 titles and at 2 different schools is clearly another guy who always has his team in the conversation at the end. Stoops is sort of a restoration of reputation this year kind of guy, he had a pretty good string for a long time of winning 1 title and playing for a couple of others, recently he's fallen off a little bit, had a terrible year last year for him, but recognized things needed to change and made the necessary changes to the staff and now he's back in the hunt. I think Harbaugh based off of what he did at Stanford resurrecting an awful program and making them into a power program and doing it with significant academic restrictions, more than even ND and Northwestern. And now turning around the Michigan program in 1 year is up there in the top 5 and in the next 4 years could end up surpassing those other guys. He'll have better players at UM than he ever could get at Stanford. I don't know who that last guy for the top 5 is to tell you the truth. Maybe Mark Dantonio, but I'll wonder how he'll do now that Harbaugh is at Michigan. He got lucky this year and beat them on the weird play at the end. Michigan is going to out recruit MSU and while he was clearly a better coach than Hoke, that's not so clear anymore. I think probably there are a bunch of good coaches who fit that #5 slot. Maybe it's Jimbo Fisher at the #5 slot, he does have a Nat'l Title and he did make the playoffs last year. But IMHO he's a slime ball, so I hate to give him any credit.
Huh? Where do you come up with that? Dantonio's team won that game because his teams are well prepared and never let up from beginning to end. Luck had nothing to do with what happened at the end of the MI game. Plus, he does more with less than any other top coach. He is solidly entrenched in my top 5. Actually, based on the foregoing, on consistency year to year, and on the number of NCs, I rank only 3 in this order: Saban, Meyer, and Dantonio. IMO no one else is close.
Would love to see another Saban-Meyer clash in the CFP but Saban-Dantonio would be interesting as well.
Sid it's pretty well accepted that Stanford is harder for a football player to qualify for than ND for sure. We've, I can't name them, kids who ended up in our laps because they couldn't make it in at Stanford. In this years class we have a kid we are after named Demetrius Robinson, he has Stanford as his leader and is interested in the Irish. I have read several times that he would have verballed to Stanford but he still hasn't been admitted, ND would take his verbal. I get what you are saying about Dantonio, and I will give him that he's done a terrific job at MSU and deserves all the accolades that come his way. But he's also done it at a time when UM was wandering with Rodriquez and then Hoke. Now with Harbaugh at UM it's going to get harder for him. And as far as this years game, no matter how hard he prepped for that game, and no matter how well he coached that game. He still had to have a play of the year type of thing happen at the last second to win. Sort of a Hail Mary. Kudo's to him and the ST coach for setting it up and the kids for executing it. We'll wait and see what happens as Harbaugh builds UM back to dominance.
Terry, I personally don't have the kind of information that would refute the "well accepted" thought, so I'll just agree to disagree on the general principle of refusing to cede to Stanford. My strongest point point about Dantonio is what he does with generally lesser rated recruits than Michigan and OSU. That to me is the measure of an outstanding coach. The play that won the Michigan game is itself evidence of how well-coached his teams are. You call it luck. I call it a refuse-to-lose mentality that propelled the player to block the punt. Tomato, to-mah-to.
No surprises here. 1 Clemson 12-0 — 2 Alabama 11-1 — 3 Oklahoma 11-1 — 4 Iowa 12-0 — 5 Michigan State 11-1 — 6 Ohio State 11-1 2 7 Stanford 10-2 2 8 Notre Dame 10-2 2 9 Florida State 10-2 4 10 North Carolina 11-1 What is surprising is the resurgence of MIdwest Football. Please note the presence of 1 SEC team in the Top 10 and 4 Midwest (3 Big10 + ND).
5 Big Ten teams in the top 15 with NW at 14 and M at 15. Considering that M routed NW 38-0, I am a little surprised NW was ranked higher. Their record was better and they had a marquee win over Stanford but they also avoided playing OSU and MSU this season.
This article in the South Bend Tribune focuses on ND but in a wider sense describes how the playoff committee looks at the contending teams: http://www.ndinsider.com/football/a...5-897a-1fa84f8844b9.html?utm_source=hootsuite The article cites the obvious, i.e., absent a crushing win vs. Stanford, ND lost its chance to be among the top 4 teams with a lackluster performance vs. 3-9 Boston College. It's nothing we don't know. It just confirms, along with the facts cited in the article, that a 1-loss ND will be eligible for consideration on an equal basis with a 1-loss power 5 conference champ, regardless of number of games played.
If Florida scores two TDs on either special teams or defense and then plays Tennessee-like defense vs. the Tide then the Gators have a shot at keeping the SEC out of the playoff. 8) Otherwise Bama blows the Gators out of the Dome....
If Clemson and Bama lose, this thing will turn upside down and it'll be great. They aren't going to, but a man needs dreams.
I take nothing for granted. The Alabama defense is very strong, but turnovers and special team play can negate that strength in a hurry. :shock: