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Who’s in and who’s out?

CC Mac

All-Big Ten
Aug 19, 2002
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Reading articles trying to justify putting Georgia in the playoffs.
No way they should be included over Ohio St which I despise,Oklahoma or even Central Florida.
No way a 2 loss team should get in,they were up 2 TD’s yesterday and couldn’t finish the job.They have no one to blame but themselves.
 
I think Oklahoma deserves in. OSU's loss to the boilers solidified that in my mind. Alabama, Clemson, ND, Oklahoma.
 
I'd put Georgia in over ND. Yes they are 12-0 but not being in a conference they can make their own schedule and don't have to play in a championship game. If ND played in the SEC or even BIG 10 they would not be undefeated.[/QUOTE

True, but they bring in tons of revenue and fan support. I fully support them playing 13 a season, but they'll continue this loophole as long as it exists. Or they need to take basketball out of conference too.
 
I agree on ND ,but they are a lock.They always go on and on about their schedule but I just don’t see it being difficult.
That being said,they would have been in with one loss,media loves them.
 
I agree on ND ,but they are a lock.They always go on and on about their schedule but I just don’t see it being difficult.
That being said,they would have been in with one loss,media loves them.

They do play a bunch of what could be really marquee matchups, but this year and most years that ND is “good” most of those opponents are having mediocre if not historically bad seasons.
 
Reading articles trying to justify putting Georgia in the playoffs.
No way they should be included over Ohio St which I despise,Oklahoma or even Central Florida.
No way a 2 loss team should get in,they were up 2 TD’s yesterday and couldn’t finish the job.They have no one to blame but themselves.
the road to the national championship goes thru alabama. georgia had their opportunity yesterday.
 
I'd put Georgia in over ND. Yes they are 12-0 but not being in a conference they can make their own schedule and don't have to play in a championship game. If ND played in the SEC or even BIG 10 they would not be undefeated.
nd beat michigan and northwestern and played a pretty good schedule. georgia made their claim yesterday and fell short
 
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I'd put Georgia in over ND. Yes they are 12-0 but not being in a conference they can make their own schedule and don't have to play in a championship game. If ND played in the SEC or even BIG 10 they would not be undefeated.

Yeah, B1G West would have been a meat grinder for Notre Dame.
 
I think Oklahoma deserves in. OSU's loss to the boilers solidified that in my mind. Alabama, Clemson, ND, Oklahoma.

I agree...except that I think Oklahoma's win over Texas should leapfrog them over Notre Dame. I think it should be Bama vs. ND and Clemson vs. OU.
 
if it's "the 4 best teams" then I'd still pick Georgia over either Oklahoma or Ohio State simply because I think UGA's a better team than either of the other two. If Georgia blew it yesterday by only leading #1 Bama for something like 59 minutes (at one point leading by 2 TD's IIRC) then Okla also blew it by losing to an overrated (IMO) Texas team and Ohio State totally blew it with a 29-point loss to a 6-6 Purdue team. And UCF, with its schedule, doesn't even belong in the conversation.

But then I firmly believe it's not really about the "4 best teams" as much as the "4 teams that'll bring the highest ratings" despite what the committee says. That's why the FBS "playoff" is IMO such a totally bogus arrangement anyway--just another NCAA cash cow that's designed to preserve the 3,728 other bowl games. It makes me appreciate the FCS' true playoff more and more each season.
 
It makes me appreciate the FCS' true playoff more and more each season.

Agree. For years the only argument against a playoff was players missing class time. I guess FCS aren't really student athletes (as opposed to all the Rhodes Scholars in the SEC).
 
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The championship should be between Alabama....and the three teams most likely to beat Alabama.
 
if it's "the 4 best teams" then I'd still pick Georgia over either Oklahoma or Ohio State simply because I think UGA's a better team than either of the other two. If Georgia blew it yesterday by only leading #1 Bama for something like 59 minutes (at one point leading by 2 TD's IIRC) then Okla also blew it by losing to an overrated (IMO) Texas team and Ohio State totally blew it with a 29-point loss to a 6-6 Purdue team. And UCF, with its schedule, doesn't even belong in the conversation.

But then I firmly believe it's not really about the "4 best teams" as much as the "4 teams that'll bring the highest ratings" despite what the committee says. That's why the FBS "playoff" is IMO such a totally bogus arrangement anyway--just another NCAA cash cow that's designed to preserve the 3,728 other bowl games. It makes me appreciate the FCS' true playoff more and more each season.

You do realize that if it's the four best teams, that defeats the purpose of playing the season, right? I would argue that the Alabama team with Richardson, Julio Jones, etc that went 9-3 was the best team that year...but the games mattered.

You don't go to UCF if you want to play for national championships just like you don't go to Indiana, Akron, or North Texas. You cost yourself that opportunity in high school.
 
You do realize that if it's the four best teams, that defeats the purpose of playing the season, right? I would argue that the Alabama team with Richardson, Julio Jones, etc that went 9-3 was the best team that year...but the games mattered.

You don't go to UCF if you want to play for national championships just like you don't go to Indiana, Akron, or North Texas. You cost yourself that opportunity in high school.
That is what is wrong with football is that teams like UCF never will get a chance to compete unlike they do in basketball. That is why the NCAA tournament is the best sporting event in the country. You get teams like Butler or VCU or Loyola you get a chance to compete against the big conference teams and do well.
 
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Reading articles trying to justify putting Georgia in the playoffs.
No way they should be included over Ohio St which I despise,Oklahoma or even Central Florida.
No way a 2 loss team should get in,they were up 2 TD’s yesterday and couldn’t finish the job.They have no one to blame but themselves.
LOL.

UGA, and BAMA too, would blow past either O$U or UM with relative ease. UGA's athleticism and team speed surpasses O$U's, much less UM's, and the coaching for each of those programs is better by a good margin . . . .

The B1G's catering to O$U and UM by hook and crook is coming back to haunt those two programs . . . the lack of legitimate competition for them within the conference and more specifically within the B1G East - in part because they get favorable calls/noncalls on the field from the conference's referees against lesser programs, like IU - has left O$U and UM soft, and the conference is paying for it now by being bypassed in the FBS playoffs.

PSU is a nice program, but it's 2nd tier at best. MSU is a tough out, but this year they're playing in a bowl that IU had aspirations of playing in at the beginning of the season. That playoff year in 2016? A once in a lifetime event for that program . . . and they got clocked in the semi-final.

The B1G West? Nice conference division, but name me a team there that would compete year in and year out in the SEC, or even the BIG 12 or PAC 12.

I get your argument, but frankly it's a homer analysis. When O$U plays in either of LSU's or Clemson's Death Valley stadiums, and remains unbeaten at the end of the year, I'll sit up and take notice. Until then, the best the B1G has to offer is a team that PU crushed. Think about that for a minute, and then tell me that UGA is less deserving than O$U.
 
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That is what is wrong with football is that teams like UCF never will get a chance to compete unlike they do in basketball. That is why the NCAA tournament is the best sporting event in the country. You get teams like Butler or VCU or Loyola you get a chance to compete against the big conference teams and do well.

Apples to oranges, IMO. Playing a regular season basketball schedule in the Big Ten really isn't that much more grueling than playing in the Big East, A10, etc. All the teams come into the tournament on a relatively level playing field. That would not be the case at all at football.

Also, small schools can be more competitive in basketball, which is why we had single class, and 300ish teams play Division One basketball. It is pretty basic that Butler could win the Big Ten in basketball, but UCF would never win the SEC in football. The sports could not be more different.
 
LOL.

UGA, and BAMA too, would blow past either O$U or UM with relative ease. UGA's athleticism and team speed surpasses O$U's, much less UM's, and the coaching for each of those programs is better by a good margin . . . .

The B1G's catering to O$U and UM by hook and crook is coming back to haunt those two programs . . . the lack of legitimate competition for them within the conference and more specifically within the B1G East - in part because they get favorable calls/noncalls on the field from the conference's referees against lesser programs, like IU - has left O$U and UM soft, and the conference is paying for it now by being bypassed in the FBS playoffs.

PSU is a nice program, but it's 2nd tier at best. MSU is a tough out, but this year they're playing in a bowl that IU had aspirations of playing in at the beginning of the season. That playoff year in 2016? A once in a lifetime event for that program . . . and they got clocked in the semi-final.

The B1G West? Nice conference division, but name me a team there that would compete year in and year out in the SEC, or even the BIG 12 or PAC 12.

I get your argument, but frankly it's a homer analysis. When O$U plays in either of LSU's or Clemson's Death Valley stadiums, and remains unbeaten at the end of the year, I'll sit up and take notice. Until then, the best the B1G has to offer is a team that PU crushed. Think about that for a minute, and then tell me that UGA is less deserving than O$U.
I agree that Georgia is better than anyone in the B10 but I saw no way they would put a 2 loss team in the final 4.
I’m predicting a Alabama Clemson final and my gut says Clemson.
 
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I agree that Georgia is better than anyone in the B10 but I saw no way they would put a 2 loss team in the final 4.
I’m predicting a Alabama Clemson final and my guy says Clemson.

I think it was still close and judging how the vote went they would have been on over OSU if OU had lost.
 
I agree that Georgia is better than anyone in the B10 but I saw no way they would put a 2 loss team in the final 4.
I’m predicting a Alabama Clemson final and my guy says Clemson.

OK, I'm not going to argue the first point . . . it's not illogical when you take out the comparison to O$U, and I do think the country would like to see how Kyler Murray can play against the best competition the nation has to offer. So I'm OK with that choice . . .

. . . but I will say that UGA is a far better team, having played a far better schedule, than the faux unbeaten team from South Bend. I'd like to have seen a UCF - Notre Dame bowl match up . . . that'd have been a helluva game, and I'd not have given points either way.
 
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I’m predicting a Alabama Clemson final and my guy says Clemson.
OK, I hear ya, Mac. The one thing I'd suggest you consider is that a true freshman QB will be playing against Saban's defense. Trevor Lawrence's arm is unwordly - he played high school ball about 25 miles from here, and he's as much of a legend as UGA's Justin Fields, who played about 8 miles from here - but he's not seen the level of athleticism and coverage disguising that BAMA can throw at him.

If there's another program whose athleticism rivals that of BAMA's and UGA's, I'd agree with you it's Clemson's . . . and Clemson's might be better than BAMA's or UGA's even. That said, Clemson had some tough games this year so maybe not . . .

. . . I just don't see Lawrence being ready for BAMA's sophistication. OTOH, his arm might be just the talent that can beat BAMA's sophistication on defense, so we'll just have to see. But I agree with you, that it's most likely BAMA - Clemson in the final.
 
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You do realize that if it's the four best teams, that defeats the purpose of playing the season, right? I would argue that the Alabama team with Richardson, Julio Jones, etc that went 9-3 was the best team that year...but the games mattered.

You don't go to UCF if you want to play for national championships just like you don't go to Indiana, Akron, or North Texas. You cost yourself that opportunity in high school.

I agree that Georgia is better than anyone in the B10 but I saw no way they would put a 2 loss team in the final 4.
I’m predicting a Alabama Clemson final and my guy says Clemson.
I agree that UGA > tOSU and OU, and IMO it's not even all that close. What hurt UGA is not barely losing to Bama, it was losing earlier to LSU. And they didn't do themselves any favors with their cheesy out-of-conference schedule either.

But if the committee is going to be consistent (for a change) then I would argue that tOSU should be penalized even more for its 29-point loss to the Brohmies and, to put it bluntly, no team that plays defense like Oklahoma (up until yesterday) should even be considered for the top 4.

I expect it's just a matter of time before it's expanded to 6, with the top 2 getting a bye and 3-vs-6, 4-vs-5 taking place a week before.
 
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You do realize that if it's the four best teams, that defeats the purpose of playing the season, right? I would argue that the Alabama team with Richardson, Julio Jones, etc that went 9-3 was the best team that year...but the games mattered.

You don't go to UCF if you want to play for national championships just like you don't go to Indiana, Akron, or North Texas. You cost yourself that opportunity in high school.
Well, IU and Akron are playing in this year's College Cup . . .

. . . so you must mean your post to apply only to football, and not futbol, right? :D
 
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IMO, the goal is to find a national champion that the choice can be defended - not to find the four best teams. Think back to an undefeated BYU team crowned national champs after beating a 6-6 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl. Georgia and Ohio State lost their argument to be number one: Georgia with a tough loss to Alabama and Ohio State with a blowout loss to Purdue and barely beating Maryland.
 
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IMO, the goal is to find a national champion that the choice can be defended - not to find the four best teams. Think back to an undefeated BYU team crowned national champs after beating a 6-6 Michigan team in the Holiday Bowl. Georgia and Ohio State lost their argument to be number one: Georgia with a tough loss to Alabama and Ohio State with a blowout loss to Purdue and barely beating Maryland.
but the same argument applies IMO to Oklahoma: they lost their argument to be number one when they were beaten by a team that actually LOST to Maryland. And I suspect, had Georgia not lost to LSU, they probably would have been chosen over Oklahoma. Certainly their loss to Bama is not as bad a loss as OU's loss to Texas or tOSU's loss to Purdue.

in the end, I think the actual reason Oklahoma was chosen was optics: the network and committee guys think Murray/Riley's offense vs. Saban/Bama's defense is a more marketable attraction than an SEC rematch with a Georgia team that I think is better and more balanced than this year's Sooner team.
 
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nd beat michigan and northwestern and played a pretty good schedule. georgia made their claim yesterday and fell short
For what it's worth, Sagarin has ND playing the 42nd toughest schedule in the country, and ND was 1-0 against top 10 teams (Michigan) and 2-0 against top 30 teams (Sagarin's ratings). UGA played the 6th toughest schedule and was 0-1 against top 10 teams (BAMA, no disgrace there) and 5-2 against top 30 teams (BAMA and at LSU - neither one anything to be ashamed of).

For perspective, Sagarin has IU's schedule at 19.

http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm

Do you think ND would have been unbeaten playing either of UGA's or IU's schedules?

BTW, I'd love to see how ND fares playing at night in front of all those raging drunks at LSU, or any time at Clemson.
 
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One more thing: Notre Dame played 5 ACC teams during the regular season. In one sense I can't fault them for who they scheduled in VA Tech, Florida State, Pitt, Wake Forest and Syracuse, but neither VA Tech nor Florida State were up to their historical reputations this year, and none of Pitt, Wake Forest or Syracuse were ranked. In a way, you could say that ND's game against Clemson pits two schools "from" the same conference, even though ND technically remains an "independent". If you're going to have 2 schools from the same conference, BAMA and UGA make more sense to me . . . .
 
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For what it's worth, Sagarin has ND playing the 42nd toughest schedule in the country, and ND was 1-0 against top 10 teams (Michigan) and 2-0 against top 30 teams (Sagarin's ratings). UGA played the 6th toughest schedule and was 0-1 against top 10 teams (BAMA, no disgrace there) and 5-2 against top 30 teams (BAMA and at LSU - neither one anything to be ashamed of).

For perspective, Sagarin has IU's schedule at 19.

http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm

Do you think ND would have been unbeaten playing either of UGA's or IU's schedules?

BTW, I'd love to see how ND fares playing at night in front of all those raging drunks at LSU, or any time at Clemson.[/Q

Sagarin rates Purdue's SOS 7...again crippling the argument that JB has had it so much easier than TA.
 
Dies the number 1 seed get to pick what bowl they want? They said on espn that Bama didn't want to play OU in the Cotton Bowl so they are playing in the Orange Bowl.
 
One more thing: Notre Dame played 5 ACC teams during the regular season. In one sense I can't fault them for who they scheduled in VA Tech, Florida State, Pitt, Wake Forest and Syracuse, but neither VA Tech nor Florida State were up to their historical reputations this year, and none of Pitt, Wake Forest or Syracuse were ranked. In a way, you could say that ND's game against Clemson pits two schools "from" the same conference, even though ND technically remains an "independent". If you're going to have 2 schools from the same conference, BAMA and UGA make more sense to me . . . .

Notre Dame did not play Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee or UMass caliber opponents. Or for that matter OSU did not strategically schedule the likes of Arkansas State, Louisiana Lafayette or the Citadel!
 
They do play a bunch of what could be really marquee matchups, but this year and most years that ND is “good” most of those opponents are having mediocre if not historically bad seasons.
Good point, turney. This season it is especially evident that some of the typically strong schools ND played had sub-par seasons (FSU, Va Tech, USC, even somewhat Stanford). Navy also was down in a big way. The schedule did include a Ball State and a not typically strong Vandy. Anyhow, this ND team caught some schedule breaks this year, while playing better ball than they have in quite a few years. Of the final four, they have less talent than the other three and will likely be dominated by Clemson. Still, they had a playoff-worthy 12-0 season.
 
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One more thing: Notre Dame played 5 ACC teams during the regular season. In one sense I can't fault them for who they scheduled in VA Tech, Florida State, Pitt, Wake Forest and Syracuse, but neither VA Tech nor Florida State were up to their historical reputations this year, and none of Pitt, Wake Forest or Syracuse were ranked. In a way, you could say that ND's game against Clemson pits two schools "from" the same conference, even though ND technically remains an "independent". If you're going to have 2 schools from the same conference, BAMA and UGA make more sense to me . . . .
You make good points about the Irish catching scheduling breaks this season. Including USC and Stanford being somewhat down too. Something to note about the 5 ACC schools annually on ND’s schedule is that the ACC has scripted years ahead who they play each season. This time around, they played mostly teams with down seasons. I do wish they would go all-in with the ACC for football, but I just don’t see that happening in the near future as long as they have the NBC contract and don’t ever have to share bowl revenue with anyone else.
 
For what it's worth, Sagarin has ND playing the 42nd toughest schedule in the country, and ND was 1-0 against top 10 teams (Michigan) and 2-0 against top 30 teams (Sagarin's ratings). UGA played the 6th toughest schedule and was 0-1 against top 10 teams (BAMA, no disgrace there) and 5-2 against top 30 teams (BAMA and at LSU - neither one anything to be ashamed of).

For perspective, Sagarin has IU's schedule at 19.

http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm

Do you think ND would have been unbeaten playing either of UGA's or IU's schedules?

BTW, I'd love to see how ND fares playing at night in front of all those raging drunks at LSU, or any time at Clemson.
per notre dame: you're about to. i'm not saying georgia isn't one of the best 4 teams in the country but consider this. what is the whole point of the national championship playoff? so the championship is decided by teams on the gridiron. not decided by sports writers, computers, and football math nerds. georgia had their chance against bama to decide it on the field, man to man. georgia played well. left it all on the field. they lost.
 
if it's "the 4 best teams" then I'd still pick Georgia over either Oklahoma or Ohio State simply because I think UGA's a better team than either of the other two. If Georgia blew it yesterday by only leading #1 Bama for something like 59 minutes (at one point leading by 2 TD's IIRC) then Okla also blew it by losing to an overrated (IMO) Texas team and Ohio State totally blew it with a 29-point loss to a 6-6 Purdue team. And UCF, with its schedule, doesn't even belong in the conversation.

But then I firmly believe it's not really about the "4 best teams" as much as the "4 teams that'll bring the highest ratings" despite what the committee says. That's why the FBS "playoff" is IMO such a totally bogus arrangement anyway--just another NCAA cash cow that's designed to preserve the 3,728 other bowl games. It makes me appreciate the FCS' true playoff more and more each season.
you left out, then georgia blew it by getting pounded by lsu
 
but the same argument applies IMO to Oklahoma: they lost their argument to be number one when they were beaten by a team that actually LOST to Maryland. And I suspect, had Georgia not lost to LSU, they probably would have been chosen over Oklahoma. Certainly their loss to Bama is not as bad a loss as OU's loss to Texas or tOSU's loss to Purdue.

in the end, I think the actual reason Oklahoma was chosen was optics: the network and committee guys think Murray/Riley's offense vs. Saban/Bama's defense is a more marketable attraction than an SEC rematch with a Georgia team that I think is better and more balanced than this year's Sooner team.
I don’t disagree with your logic. Nobody on the committee is going to lose sleep about it. The third and fourth teams seeded are both double-digit underdogs.
 
That is what is wrong with football is that teams like UCF never will get a chance to compete unlike they do in basketball. That is why the NCAA tournament is the best sporting event in the country. You get teams like Butler or VCU or Loyola you get a chance to compete against the big conference teams and do well.
what would you propose to fix "what is wrong with football"?
 
I agree that UGA > tOSU and OU, and IMO it's not even all that close. What hurt UGA is not barely losing to Bama, it was losing earlier to LSU. And they didn't do themselves any favors with their cheesy out-of-conference schedule either.

But if the committee is going to be consistent (for a change) then I would argue that tOSU should be penalized even more for its 29-point loss to the Brohmies and, to put it bluntly, no team that plays defense like Oklahoma (up until yesterday) should even be considered for the top 4.

I expect it's just a matter of time before it's expanded to 6, with the top 2 getting a bye and 3-vs-6, 4-vs-5 taking place a week before.
it will never be a 6 team playoff. a bye in a football playoff is a huge advantage. i know it's done in the nfl but putting student athletes in that position won't be considered, in my opinion. 8 teams is coming, i think
 
One more thing: Notre Dame played 5 ACC teams during the regular season. In one sense I can't fault them for who they scheduled in VA Tech, Florida State, Pitt, Wake Forest and Syracuse, but neither VA Tech nor Florida State were up to their historical reputations this year, and none of Pitt, Wake Forest or Syracuse were ranked. In a way, you could say that ND's game against Clemson pits two schools "from" the same conference, even though ND technically remains an "independent". If you're going to have 2 schools from the same conference, BAMA and UGA make more sense to me . . . .
i think syracuse is ranked. maybe pitt too?
 
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