I agree with that. Ohio State's selection last year was far from unanimous, and they turned out to be the best team of the four that got in. FCS has 24 teams in their playoff system. One day the bowls will realize how much money they would rake in from playoff games that everyone watched instead of regional bowl games that only limited fanbases care about.
Oklahoma beat the out of them and was ranked two spots behind them the next season. Even when Alabama loses its last two games they find an excuse to rank them too high the next year. It's good for the other SEC teams because you get a boost for beating them and it doesn't hurt you too badly if you lose.
You think it helped LSU when Bama made the le game over Oklahoma State? It was a ing disaster. We probably would have beat the Cowboys by 4 TD's.
If you're saying the SEC as a whole is overrated in the rankings every year, that's a different matter entirely. I think teams like Ole Miss and Arkansas get brownie points for being "SEC" when they really add nothing of value to the conference. The real SEC elite is Alabama, Florida, LSU, and occasionally Auburn. Everyone else needs to win a ing natty this century before they get some respect.
No, I don't think that at all. ESPN isn't going to look out for a single SEC team at the cost of the whole conference. There's absolutely no question that it helped the SEC having two teams in the national championship game, which is the goal. Everybody else gets ed by the "Alabama didn't lose by much, so we just won't count it as a real loss" mentality by ESPN/SEC Network, and in 2011 that bit LSU in the ass. But every SEC team has been benefitting from that rationale for years, Alabama is just the most consistent of the bunch and has the "fluke" losses that are easy to explain away.
Sucks for LSU, because they couldn't have done any more to reinforce their season that year. It was a ing murderous schedule by any standard. They had to play West Virginia, Oregon and Georgia. Meanwhile Alabama played North Texas, Kent State and Georgia Southern, then got rewarded with an extra week of rest and preparation.
Alabama and LSU were ranked 2 and 3 the following season, and Oklahoma State got dropped to 19. Fair and balanced.
Too bad we'll never know, and it's by design. The idea that no other 11-1 team is worthy because they don't play in the SEC is precisely the thinking that cost LSU any chance of playing anyone other than Alabama, because Alabama's loss didn't count as much as anyone else's. If Oklahoma State had been allowed to play and had managed to beat LSU, then suddenly the house of cards falls down. Then they don't have any excuse for dropping Oklahoma State that far in the rankings the next season. They managed to do it to Oklahoma after they beat Alabama and nobody seemed to notice. If they can minimize it they can chalk it up to luck, I guess.
LSU went 4-4 last year in the SEC, and Florida has had two winning conference records in the last six years. Somehow the SEC has 8 or 10 teams in the top 25 to start the year, and they all get a boost when they beat each other, and don't drop much when they lose. When one of the teams turns out to be a fraud, it doesn't matter because the teams that beat them already got the bump in the rankings.
Well said....and I agree with most if not everything.
The SEC does get "preferential treatment" from the media...no doubt about it. However, it does have something to do with all the National Championships in a row. If the Big 12 won that many straight (with four different teams) I'm sure the country would give them the benefit of the doubt when it comes to one loss teams being the highest ranked.
Like you said....Baylor holds their own destiny in their hands. Win out...and you'll have nothing to worry about.
One last thing to add....and it's just my opinion. The lack of a Big 12 le game really pisses off the committee. Your thoughts on that?
I agree. The Big 12 needs to add at least two teams and have a le game. I think if it comes down to a team that has to play a conference championship and one that does not, the one that plays and wins will get in every time.
Actually it was pretty obvious. The SEC gets all the love while the Big12 doesn't. Ohio State/Clemson a sure lock.
What's going to happen is all those LSU vs RinkyDinky State games will be dumped, which will hurt the small schools $$$$$. Strenght of schedule becoming huge.
Obviously LSU will be out of the top 4 next week when they lose to Alabama. Not even Fournette can run on that Bama D. So we will be seeing a Big12 team there real soon.
But.....running the ball (which gives your D a blow) stuffing the run (putting them in third and long, so here comes that pass rush) and winning the TO battle is still the way to win Championships. Tossing the ball all around, nay~~~~~~
Last edited by Avante; 11-04-2015 at 12:16 PM.
Look at this dummy, too stupid to realize NOBODY was talking about the FINAL FOUR!!!!!!!, this was about the...RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
ing moron.
Because the top four teams are incredibly important RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!
Lol fat ol
Is this one dumb muther er or what? Who said anything about the importance of this? OBVIOUSLY...it's meaningless RIGHT NOW...ya reckon? All I was doing was nailing it.....RIGHT ING NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What a ing idiot this got is, sheesh~~~~~~~~~
Who will be in the...... FIRST....... NCAA top 4? I think I'll guess, Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, Bama. Only a total idiot like this Blake freak would think that had anything to do with the............ final four. What a moron.
Last edited by Avante; 11-04-2015 at 01:35 PM.
There's no doubt that the SEC does well in bowls, but it's hard to win 7 straight national championships if you don't have at least one team in the game. The Big 12 had two shots at it and blew it. Gotta win the games.
Back to schedules, which I should probably just let rest and move on, but Alabama has beaten one ranked team this year, but gets credit for quality wins and strength of schedule because three of their opponents were ranked at the time of the game, even though none of them are ranked now. Meanwhile Iowa State, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Kansas State, and even Texas have schedules full of losses to the big four in the conference and good non-conference opponents, but all anyone is looking at is their record. Since none of them started off the year in the top 25, it's a "weak" schedule.
That's what they say, and Bob Bowlsby did a great job of opening the door for the committee last year. Clearly, the fact that Baylor doesn't just schedule harder teams pisses the committee off enough to penalize TCU. At what point do we say that the committee is just looking to find a reason not to give them credit? Looking at the Big 12's schedules and results, If the SEC were having the year the Big 12 is having, I don't think it's wrong to suggest that they would have three teams in the top four right now.
This is a bit tongue in cheek, but only a bit...
But LSU's loss won't count for very much because they lost to Alabama, and they won't drop significantly because suddenly the committee doesn't think it fair to penalize a team for a late loss. Then watch the loser of the Baylor TCU game, if both are undefeated, drop to 15. I wouldn't be surprised if there ends up a scenario where people are making a case for a 2-loss Alabama team over an undefeated Big 12 team in the final four, and doing so with a straight face.
I suppose that's possible, but Baylor has like nine or ten seniors on the offensive and defensive line, the best receiver in the nation, and one of the top running backs. The freshman they have to turn to is not only one of the highest rated players they've ever signed, he's also from the high school that Art Briles used to coach, and has been running the system for years. If you're going to lose your starting quarterback, I don't think you could dream up a more favorable scenario in which to do it.
As a Baylor fan for the last 25 years, I have a really hard time feeling sorry for the situation the team is in right now.
Correct me if I'm wrong....it's hard to remember if these teams were ranked at that time....and what they were ranked.
But, I think Ole Miss (loss), Miss. St. (win), and Aggy (win) were all ranked teams when they played Alabama.
Also, all three of those teams are ranked right now....#18-#20.
There will be no 2 loss team in the mix, that won't happen.
There is this perception that the SEC has a lot more quality depth especially on the defense than other conferences. The voters are an older group, they look at things like that over 55 -38 type games.
Last edited by Avante; 11-04-2015 at 09:00 PM.
The playoff committee showed last year that conference championships are the most important qualification for a playoff berth. BIG 12 doesn't have a conference championship game. Oops. Maybe you should invite Texas A&M and Missouri back into the conference. If the Big 12 were to miss the playoffs again, it would be the 3rd time in the last 5 years that a lack of a conference le game costs the Big 12 a shot at a le berth. Okie State being 11-1 instead of 12-1 gave the BCS the excuse they needed to slide Saban's to the back of their throat.
All of this stuff will be decided on the field in the next few weeks. Win and you're in. The committee won't put a 2 loss at large Bama team ahead of an undefeated conference champion, including Baylor or TCU.
True but it still sucks. Like Alabama playing Missouri to get in was soooo important last year.
Oddly I have the biggest problem with Ohio St.
Virginia Tech gives them a tough out of conference schedule because VT pounded them LAST year. So they need to check the other unwritten category for previous winners getting big points.
The others I got no problem.
Yes, it appears you are correct. I don't know what I was thinking.
I would not be a ing bit surprised f there's not a faction of people trying to make a case for it. They successfully talked a one loss team into the top four.
The playoff committee is just like the BCS, moving the goalposts to suit their agenda. They talk down margin and style points, but then Ohio State beats a team that doesn't show up and they get into the final four.
No worries....
Excellent thread.
I was waiting for this.
This is a very interesting topic as this process is so incredibly difficult. I still would like the SEC to play more in conference games, same with the Big 10, etc...I think playing the entire conference is an advantage the Big 12 has compe ively, but the committee sees this otherwise. The schedule Missouri had last year in getting to the SEC finals was ridiculous.
Actually, I was wrong. Don't know what the I was thinking....but we (Miss. St.) haven't played Alabama yet. Got them in two weeks. (Don't know why I confused the Auburn game with Alabama....I'm an idiot)
Alabama will play LSU this weekend and Miss. St the following weekend. If Miss. St. beats Missouri tonight they will be another ranked team that Alabama will play....bringing the # up to four I think.
An undefeated Big12 team will get in this year, especially if it's Baylor. Only way this MIGHT not happen is if Clemson, Bama, Ohio State and Notre Dame all win out. LSU wins their remaining games and TCU is the team that runs the table.
Then you would have Clemson - In, Ohio State - In, Bama - In and the last spot coming down to 1-loss ND, 1-loss LSU and undefeated TCU. I still think an undefeated TCU would slide in under this scenario but not a for sure thing like Baylor IMO. The committee is obviously higher on Baylor then they are on TCU and the only reason Baylor got left out is 1. Their star QB is injured and 2. The committee does not want to reward Baylor and Art Briles for scheduling absolutely nobody non-conference. Last thing they want to do is encourage teams to stop playing compe ion out of conference. Too much good comes from big out of conference games like exposure, money, etc. They want those to keep happening.
Saying all that, Ohio State still has to play Michigan State and Michigan. I doubt they win out. Bama/LSU will sort itself out this weekend. Clemson will likely run the table if they get past FSU this weekend.
Interesting team is Iowa>?????
Iowa would have to win the Big 10 le game
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