It has been funny watching all the hubub this week. Sides are chosen and outrage is vented... All great. And all exactly as they want it. I'm sure most if not all of you realize there is no reason for the committee to release any rankings, now or at all. No reason with respect to the playoff that is. Note that basketball doesn't go through this nonsense... They do it because the networks and websites WANT IT. They need it to have something to fill all those hours of programming and blogs. It doesn't mean squat. What the committee releases this week, next week, or even the week before the actual selections are made is just fluff. (I'm thankful they proved that last year) So... when all the games are played, then we can get bent about who got left out. Right now, they are all still in. I'm just sad that we're 2/3 of the way through the season.
I was listening to College Sports on XM and they were talking about how they got to go to the meeting room where the committee meets and how much is there. They get all sorts of access to game, special cuts that allows them to watch a game in 1hour 45 minutes. They said it'd be one of the most watched shows on sports tv if they would put camera's in the room and do it like they do with Congress. Televise the whole thing.
This is essentially what Saban said this week. What does it matter? Too much football left to play? All of the top 4 can't continue to win. At least one of them will have an additional loss. I think the committee may have done this deliberately.
I just read an article that said that every year since 2008, Alabama has entered the month of November in contention for the national championship game. I haven't check the validity of that statement but I do know that I feel if we are not in contention, I kind of feel like the season is a disappointment. :?
The thing about today's top 4..... they wouldn't really be squeezing anyone out by winning out except for an unbeaten Big 12 team.... that could possibly jump a weak #4 if they go unbeaten. Florida and Stanford.... knocked out by Bama and ND. Iowa knocked out by OSU. LSU already lost to Bama and cannot win the SEC if Bama wins out. So only the Big 12 in reality would have a beef if the top 4 won out. Which is in and of itself extremely unlikely.
Enough teams outside of the current top 4 play other top teams that they can say the same. Stanford, Oklahoma, Iowa and Florida are four of those teams. A lot can happen obviously.
:idea: :arrow: I'm not sure that the Big 12 has any arguments. Baylor hasn't played a team with a winning record and this week they play Oklahoma, which has lost to one of the worst Texas teams in 50 years. Okie State may be their only chance this year...
Aw the kiss of death by Gip! Maybe we need to check with Lee Corso? :wink: Sid has spoken. :lol: Welcome to the top 4!
I'm very confident that a one loss ND, or a one loss conference champion from the PAC 12 or SEC will make the top 4. That's very likely two of the four invited. Otherwise does a one loss Big Ten or ACC Champion take the other spots from an unbeaten Big 12? Or if both of those conferences have unbeaten champions ( Clemson, OSU ) there are two of your teams right there. One loss Big 12 Oklahoma lost to Texas.... just can't see the Sooners knocking out any of the above because of that. Likewise on one loss LSU.... if they are not the SEC one loss champ.
Well a lot to playout in the last few weeks. I do think that a 1 loss OU, will be a team who could move into the top 4, inspite of the bad loss to Texas. They will have finished the season beating unbeaten Baylor, unbeaten OK State and once beaten TCU...that's a very solid finish to the season. I do think that if either OK State or Baylor finish unbeaten they will finish in the top 4, Bottom line is if you are an unbeaten Power 5 Conference winner you are in. 1 loss teams have to be dissected with a microscope to put them in the proper order. Irish could win out and drop out of the top 4. Maybe the only way they could guarantee staying in the top 4 is to finish with impressive wins over all remaining opponents. That's what Ohio State did last year, I don't think they would have jumped into the top 4 if they had beaten Wisconsin 24-17 or something like that.
I'm not holding my breath. I agree with Terry. Just because we are in the top 4 today does not mean that we will be there at the end even if we win out. I understand that. I don't like it, but I understand that undefeated power 5 conference teams and the one-loss SEC champ will get the nod. Such is life with a 4-team playoff format.
We obviously need to win out but we need to beat Wake Forest this week as badly as we possibley can. It's a home game against a 25 point dog. If we Kelly takes his foot off the gas and wins by ten we could drop out and never get back in. I'd like to see a 45-7 type score. Then we better hammer BC at Fenway by at least 17. Any margin over Stanford away is fine.
In order of teams controlling their own destiny, the following rank are the teams that can make the playoff (in my mind): 1. Undefeated ACC champ (Clemson) 2. Undefeated B10 champ (OSU, Iowa) 3. 1-loss SEC champ (Bama, Florida, LSU) 4. Undefeated B12 champ (Baylor, OSU) 5. 1-loss ND / 1-loss P12 champ (Stanford) 6. 1-loss P12 champ (Utah) 7. 1-loss B12 champ (OU, OSU) 8. 1-loss B10 champ (OSU, MSU) 9. 1-loss B12 champ (TCU, Baylor) 10. 2-loss SEC champ (Bama, Florida, LSU) 11. 1-loss B10 champ (Iowa) 12. 2-loss P12 champ (Stanford, Utah) 11. 1-loss ACC champ (Clemson, UNC) 12. 2-loss B10 champ 13. 2-loss ND 14. 2-loss B12 champ 15. 2-loss ACC champ I have confidence we'll see more losses between now and the end, so 1-8 are probably still reasonable possibilities.
Interesting read on the CFP rankings.. http://sportstreatise.blogspot.com/2015/11/the-playoff-rankings-are-win-for.html
With the schedules they play the only thing I know about the Big 12 is that the moment that they play a team with a pulse TCU rolled over and OK can't handle a mediocre at best Texas team. Lucky for them all they have to do is beat their own sorry asses to end the year.