College Football 2023-Year of The Dawgs?

[GAN]

I would discount any rumor from an SEC fan. They are not credible. These are the same fan bases the majority of which believe in Jewish space lasers starting forest fires, a human trafficking ring operating in the basement of a pizza place that in fact has no basement, etc, etc.

Trust me -it wasn't a rumor by a random SEC fan(although they are an SEC fan). I will tell you this much ...if you watched the Selection Show, you saw the person I heard it from and I'll leave it at that.

 

[Tess]

Gonna float this out there - Washington and Michigan are MILES better than Texas, Georgia and Alabama. So what if Alabama beat Georgia? They didn't beat Washington, Ohio State, Oregon, or Michigan. Frankly, and I said this when it happened, the national champion was decided on a missed field goal the FIRST time Washington beat Oregon. Washington only beat Oregon by 3 the second time they played. I truly believe that Alabama and Georgia have been getting a biased ranking the entire season. Including Texas and FSU in the BCS was the RIGHT thing to do. I think the even bigger tragedy is that the rumored Oregon-Ohio State Cotton bowl isn't happening. I was SOO looking forward to that game! Ohio State playing Arkansas and Oregon playing Liberty? WHY?? The Oregon State v. Notre Dame game is far more compelling.

Meh - what do I know? I am a CPSLO grad with a so-so Div 1 football team. It's never mattered there.

One small point, Ohio State is playing Mizzou in the Cotton Bowl. I'm with you though--would have liked to see another OSU v Oregon game. Full disclosure, I am a Buckeye fan from birth who lives in MI--I can't stand TTUN and given its history (major choke at bowl time), I don't see them getting past Bama (another team I despise because of Nick the ****--who, out of the blue (no pun intended) left Michigan State University years ago for greener $$$$$ pastures).

 

[Lumpy1106]

You know, this whole discussion is making me miss the good ol' days when the top two teams just played for the championship and we all called it a day. To recap, that would have left us with Washington vs. Michigan in the Rose Bowl - just like it would have been even BEFORE the championship game idea came to be. Oh the irony!

That's fine, I'll play the part of the crodgetty old purist yelling into the wind - STUDENT ATHELTES! Not the other way around. If you want to watch playoffs those take place in that other Sunday league. And no, this arguing over who should get to play in the playoff is no more fun than the old traditional Bowl system it replaced.

 

[Lumpy1106]

One small point, Ohio State is playing Mizzou in the Cotton Bowl. I'm with you though--would have liked to see another OSU v Oregon game. Full disclosure, I am a Buckeye fan from birth who lives in MI--I can't stand that TTUN and given its history (major choke at bowl time), I don't see them getting past Bama (another team I despise because of Nick the ****--who, out of the blue (no pun intended) left Michigan State University years ago for greener $$$$$ pastures).

Mizzou, not Arkansas - quite right - just shows how little I want to see that matchup. I'd MUCH rather see Ohio State playing Oregon. Be sure and be seated for kickoff in that long anticipated Oregon vs. Liberty matchup absolutely nobody wanted. I really don't expect Bo Nix to play past the halftime show.

 

[longboard55]

Never in the history of football going back to the 2 team or just the AP vote have they ever put a no loss power 5 team behind 2 one loss teams. Never. We change the rules every year to suit the SEC. The SEC did not have a great OOC record, they are not deserving.

 

[WEDWDW]

Donald Trump has now weighed in on behalf of FSU blaming the omission on poor lobbying by Ron Desantis!

You can't make this stuff up!

 

[Marrila]

Good grief.
I guess Grampa is gonna Grampa.

 

[dcassetta]

Someone will be along to tell you that Liberty isn't in a Power 5 conference. That was the excuse for UCF in 2017. (I have a UCF National Champions T-shirt. )

Tulane had an outstanding 1998 season and was never even considered for a BCS bowl in the first year. But, a 2 loss UF got an at-large.

 

[GAN]

Never in the history of football going back to the 2 team or just the AP vote have they ever put a no loss power 5 team behind 2 one loss teams. Never. We change the rules every year to suit the SEC. The SEC did not have a great OOC record, they are not deserving.

I get the frustration. But there are a lot of non-selection committee member fans who also believe the SEC is the nations dominant conference ..kind of hard to argue. Even though you can say ACC was 6-4 vs. SEC this year, there's a lot to peel back using that as a comparison. So do you not put the SEC champion in the Playoff? I'd be complaining about the other 3 schools before I used an SEC team to point a finger at.

 

[HokieRaven5]

A fun glimpse into the selection committee room:

 

[Kestryl]

What are you getting at? Georgia was ranked ahead of FSU last week. Alabama played and beat the committee’s number one team. Don’t you think that game improved Alabama’s strength of schedule and gave them (probably) the best win of the season? It is far superior to any win FSU has.

The weekly rankings are not projections, but rather a snapshot in time.

I guess conspiracies are more interesting than logic.

I find it interesting that the top 4 in the AP poll differs from the playoff rankings. And the coaches poll has Texas and Alabama tied for 4 with FSU at 3. Sure, it's happened before, but it probably indicates a controversial pick.

I mean, the committee should have just outright said, we will have an SEC team in because of "strength of schedule."

Though I'd prefer that, if the wins at the very end of the season are weighted differently, Cupcake Week should be a major factor considered.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I get the frustration. But there are a lot of non-selection committee member fans who also believe the SEC is the nations dominant conference ..kind of hard to argue. Even though you can say ACC was 6-4 vs. SEC this year, there's a lot to peel back using that as a comparison. So do you not put the SEC champion in the Playoff? I'd be complaining about the other 3 schools before I used an SEC team to point a finger at.

I think it’s just this year didn’t help the idea that the SEC will always get some benefit of the doubt over everyone else.

In terms of play the games in front of you, Bama lost to one of the current playoff teams, by 10, at home.

FSU, as bad as they looked on the eye test on Saturday, still wound up winning and every single time they took the field, they won.

There’s arguments on either side of FSU getting in or Bama getting in. If both have solid enough arguments for getting in, I give the edge to the team in the comparison who won every game that was in front of them.

 

[Kestryl]

But that's why they play the games.

Bama's Strength of Schedule was #5 after Saturday's games. Beating the #1 team helps.

FSU' Strength of Schedule was #55 after Saturday's games.

Michigan, Texas, and Washington were also carrying good SoS.

One of these things is not like the other.

It's part of the committee's rules to look at SoS so they did. I've read 5 committee members have ACC ties and only 2 have SEC ties. But it's only one factor. Another is quality wins.

Finally, the CFP tried to go to a 12-team playoff for this season in 2023 but remember the ol' handshake alliance of the ACC, B1G, and PAC commish's that formed after it was announced Texas and Oklahoma were bolting to the SEC? The three of them BLOCKED going to 12 in 2023. And the FSU Athletic Director issued a statement supporting the ACC Commish.

Bama Ed

Yeah, I mean, an Alabama fan is gonna be for this, right?

(Assuming based on "Bama Ed.")

(I'm a Michigan State grad, I have no real promotion for any legit team this year, we suck.)

 

[Kestryl]

Those advocating for FSU, do you think Liberty should be in the playoffs also? They went undefeated and won their conference also. I mean if FSU got snubbed, so did Liberty, right?

Either the ACC is a Power Five conference and is supposed to be afforded all benefits that comes with that, or it's not.

Really, it's like it's the Power Four conferences and the SEC.

 

[Music City Mama]

I would discount any rumor from an SEC fan. They are not credible. These are the same fan bases the majority of which believe in Jewish space lasers starting forest fires, a human trafficking ring operating in the basement of a pizza place that in fact has no basement, etc, etc.

Whoa, dude, that's a little out of line.

Lots of good points on this thread. As a Bama fan, I just wanted to win on Saturday. I wasn't expecting the decision yesterday but of course knew it was a possibility. I think it was a hard decision for the committee, I really do. I also think if any other SEC team would've been in our exact position, it would have ended up the same -- i.e., it's not about Bama, it's about the SEC -- which basically translates to ratings. I feel bad for FSU and its fans, but at the same time, I think a valid argument was made for who was chosen and do I believe they made the right decision. I think it's better for FSU to hold that grudge to make them better next season vs. getting shamefully beaten going forward. In the end, it's just a game -- good luck to all! Oh, and roll tide!

 

[sam_gordon]

Was the committee's role to pick the four best teams or the four most deserving teams? Folks are poo-pooing Liberty because they're not in a strong conference. I don't disagree. But IS the ACC "equal" to the SEC? Some will say "look at their records... the ACC won 6/10 against the SEC." Kentucky, which, while having a winning record, finished in the bottom half of the SEC, beat the ACC runner up on their home field.

There are five conference champions. Three of which were undefeated. There are four available slots. If they would have only picked two, you'd still have the problem.

In my mind, knocking off the #1 team in the country, the two time defending champions, who haven't lost a game in nearly 3 years, DOES count for something.

I feel a lot of the hate is more because people either don't like Alabama or don't like the SEC. "There's never been a P5 team with an undefeated record left out of the playoffs!" Has there ever been a playoff WITHOUT an SEC school?

Not one person has come on here and said they think FSU is a better team than Alabama. And so go back to my first question in this post. If you feel FSU DESERVES it more, that's one thing. If you think FSU is BETTER than Alabama, what do you base it on?

Oh, and as far as playoff being in "the other Sunday league"... all other Divisions have figured out how to hold tournaments to decide a National champion. D1 is the only one doing this half assed 4 team vote thing.

 

[GAN]

I think it’s just this year didn’t help the idea that the SEC will always get some benefit of the doubt over everyone else.

In terms of play the games in front of you, Bama lost to one of the current playoff teams, by 10, at home.

FSU, as bad as they looked on the eye test on Saturday, still wound up winning and every single time they took the field, they won.

There’s arguments on either side of FSU getting in or Bama getting in. If both have solid enough arguments for getting in, I give the edge to the team in the comparison who won every game that was in front of them.

Okay ...they did have a bad loss to Texas. But anyone(and I'm assuming the selection committee did) who watched all of Bama's games easily realize that they are not the team now that they were. Milroe is a raw talent and his development game-game has been eye-opening -I never would have thought he'd be where he is right now. Likewise, I believe the committee watched the FSU games as well and realized that they are not the team that they were. Let's face it -the system in place right now has been a disaster from day one, not that it makes anyone feel better but we'll see if things improve next year.

 

[HokieRaven5]

Okay ...they did have a bad loss to Texas. But anyone(and I'm assuming the selection committee did) who watched all of Bama's games easily realize that they are not the team now that they were. Milroe is a raw talent and his development game-game has been eye-opening -I never would have thought he'd be where he is right now. Likewise, I believe the committee watched the FSU games as well and realized that they are not the team that they were. Let's face it -the system in place right now has been a disaster from day one, not that it makes anyone feel better but we'll see if things improve next year.

Just saying, if it’s a close decision between two schools of what are supposed to be considered power conferences, I personally give the nod to the team that didn’t lose a game.

Even if that school (FSU) is the one that crushed the one and only chance my Alma mater has ever had at a National Title…

And yeah next year it likely won’t be an issue as the power conference winners probably get a bid into the 12-Team playoff.

 

[Sanchez]

The real problem here is that the four team playoff system is terrible and this year there are probably seven teams who have a legitimate claim. Nevertheless, this discussion has gone on for several pages without much mention of the committee rules and criteria. College football has always been unfair and teams selected for bowls, and then the BCS (which heavily relied on rankings) were mostly selected because of their brand. When selecting the "best teams" (and not necessarily the most deserving teams) there is no real criteria, but I would think that a belief that Team A would defeat Team B in a head-to-head is the standard. Also, I don't see how Michigan and Washington are getting a pass here. I guess one could argue that going undefeated makes a team the best, but as stated before in this thread conference affiliation matters, so only certain conferences have that advantage. The bottom line is that any number of arguments can be made to support whatever position you wish. I continue to say that the SEC's performance in the playoffs (16-5 record) probably gives comfort to the committee members who stand to take the blame when blowouts happen.

In any event the rules seem to provide a two step process: 1) Select the four best teams for the playoff; and 2) If teams are comparable (meaning you can't decide which one is better), then use the criteria (see below.)

The CPF Selection Committee website: https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2016/10/24/selection-committee-protocol

Mission:

• The selection committee’s task will be to select the best teams, rank the teams for inclusion in the playoff and selected other bowl games and then assign the teams to sites.

Principles:

• The selection committee will select the teams using a process that distinguishes among otherwise comparable teams by considering:
  • Conference championships won,
  • Strength of schedule,
  • Head‐to‐head competition,
  • Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory), and,
  • Other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.

 

[bama_ed]

Yeah, I mean, an Alabama fan is gonna be for this, right?

(Assuming based on "Bama Ed.")

(I'm a Michigan State grad, I have no real promotion for any legit team this year, we suck.)

Yeah, true. I didn't try to hide it.

But I try to stay fact-based and not let emotions take over.

Bama was left out of the 4-way playoff last year. That, sadly, was fair.

Bama Ed