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Info used from USAToday Sports Would an unbeaten Houston get fair Playoff shot?
Imagine it’s Dec. 3 and the College Football Playoff selection committee has just watched Alabama and Ohio State punch their tickets to the semifinals as the last two undefeated teams. That leaves two more spots to one-loss champions in the Pac 12 and ACC, along with a couple viable one-loss teams that didn’t win conference championships.
And then there’s Houston.
Obviously, there are a million scenarios that could play out between now and the end of the season, but Houston’s viability as a playoff contender if it finishes 13-0 is going to be the most hotly debated topic in college football with the likelihood that two or perhaps three of the Power Five champions will have a loss.
Given the selection committee’s emphasis on strength of schedule, it’s clear the bar for a team outside the Power Five to make the playoff will be high. But will it be equitable for a team from the American Athletic Conference?
USA TODAY Sports surveyed 15 FBS athletics directors about whether they thought Houston would get a fair shake in the committee room, with the understanding that their colleagues represent five of the committee’s 12 votes (each Power Five league nominates one athletics director to be on the committee).
Those who responded were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor about the process.
Of the 15 who weighed in, only one — an athletics director outside the Power Five — believed strongly that the process would be stacked against Houston due to pure bias over conference affiliation.
Five others said they thought it would be very difficult, but not impossible, for Houston to make the Playoff because its strength of schedule would be a major negative, even with non-conference victories against Oklahoma and Louisville. Essentially, the feeling among that group was that Houston’s overall résumé would not match up favorably if there was a second viable team from the Big Ten or SEC with one loss.
One athletics director who went to the CFP’s mock selection process in Dallas this week said the Cougars will get a fair shot, but even that won’t necessarily be enough to get them in. Another, who works at a Power Five now but came up through smaller schools, said the level of competition across 12 games will hurt Houston significantly against a one-loss team and that there’s simply a clear separation between the Power Five and everybody else.
The rest of the group, however, was much more positive about Houston’s prospects.
Three of the athletics directors noted that Houston already has credibility with the committee due to its win against Florida State last year. One of them went so far as to map out Houston’s path: having Oklahoma rebound to finish in the top 25, Louisville finishing with 9-to-11 wins and beating a 10-win South Florida team in the American Athletic Conference title game. That athletics director said it also helps that Houston passes the so-called “eye test” and predicted it will not get left out of the playoff at 13-0.
Another athletics director noted that the committee understands it would do damage to the sport if a team with top-four credentials was blatantly left out due to Power Five basis and that there will be significant media pressure to include Houston if several other conference champions have a loss. The key, that athletics director noted, might be whether Houston got a 13th “data point” against a one-loss team in the AAC title game and looked good winning it to leave a positive impression on the committee.
Several of those who responded said regardless of the outcome, they had no question about the integrity of the selection committee. One non-Power Five athletics director complimented the football minds in the room and noted that CFP executive director Bill Hancock has been insistent on the process being equitable.
Houston’s best bet, however, might be for the entire college football world to descend into chaos. It can happen, one athletics director said, but they’ll need help.
As speculation rages behind the scenes about what jobs will open up in the coming weeks, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin remains a divisive potential candidate. There’s no doubt he has earned another opportunity based on his rehabilitation tour under Nick Saban, but some athletics directors will question whether he completely has his act together after the flameout at USC. If Kiffin can assuage those concerns, he’ll get a job. But what does Kiffin’s perfect landing spot look like?
With the help of several people in the coaching search industry, we took a stab at projecting where he might fit.
► West Virginia: Shane Lyons, who took over as athletics director last year, came from Alabama where he worked closely with the football program. Dana Holgorsen is perceived to be on the hot seat, and if he doesn’t work out you’d have to think Nick Saban’s recommendation would carry a lot of weight.
► Arizona: Rich Rodriguez was considered damaged goods when athletics director Greg Byrne hired him, so there’s a history of rolling the dice on big names. Rodriguez has been involved with several coaching searches the last couple years, and industry perception has been that he’d like to get back to the East Coast.
►N.C. State: It still seems unlikely the Wolfpack will make a change, but Dave Doeren is 6-18 in the ACC and if things continue to go south, who knows?
►Kentucky: Nobody is going to be a bigger rock star in Lexington than John Calipari, but Kiffin might give him a run for his money.
►Houston: If Tom Herman left, the school would undoubtedly want to think big and bold given the recent success and financial resources that have been poured into the football program. Art Briles may be too toxic politically, but Kiffin would be splashy and continue the recruiting success Herman started.
►San Diego State: Rocky Long is going stronger than ever, but he turns 67 in January and there have been retirement whispers. It’s unclear if the Aztecs would have the resources to pull Kiffin, as he already makes nearly twice Long’s current salary.
►Fresno State: It’s a little known fact that Kiffin graduated from Fresno State in 1996 and started his coaching career there. Like the San Diego State job, it would allow him to move back to the West Coast where his children live.
►Auburn: No way, right?
Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason already is on thin ice with the Commodores fan base for his 8-19 record, and his rhetoric this week leading up to Saturday’s game at Western Kentucky isn’t helping matters.
On the SEC teleconference Wednesday, Mason called the game a “border war” and a “backyard brawl,” referring to the hour of driving distance separating the two campuses.
Given the situation, it does Mason no favors to bring rivalry talk into the equation, especially when the Hilltoppers won the game last year and are favored by a touchdown this season. And it’s not like there’s some long history between Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky; in fact, this is only the fifth time they’ve played.
No disrespect to Western Kentucky, which has had terrific success recently, but it doesn’t help the self-image of a downtrodden SEC program when the coach tries to gin up a rivalry with a Conference USA school.
Jim Harbaugh offended the entire population of skim milk drinkers this week during an interview on the Dan Patrick Show. Harbaugh, who last year classified sleep, milk, water and steak as “natural steroids,” revealed on the show that Michigan had chocolate milk, whole milk and 2% available for players but acknowledged that the players had to talk him into stocking the 2%.
When Patrick quipped that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer drinks 1% milk, Harbaugh shot back: “We refuse to drink the candy-ass skim milk.”
But maybe he's got a point. According to a Time magazine article in April, a study of 3,333 adults conducted by the Nurses’ Health Study of Health Professionals found no evidence that those who consume lowfat dairy products have a lower diabetes risk than those who drink full-fat milk.
Kent State football has gone through some difficult years recently, including 3-9 last season. This year, the Golden Flashes already have a loss to North Carolina A&T. They are in no way, shape or form in position to take on a team like Alabama. But that’s exactly what they’ll have to do on Saturday as 44-point underdogs. Maybe Nick Saban, who played at Kent State in 1970-71 and started his coaching career there, will take take it easy on his alma mater.
Imagine it’s Dec. 3 and the College Football Playoff selection committee has just watched Alabama and Ohio State punch their tickets to the semifinals as the last two undefeated teams. That leaves two more spots to one-loss champions in the Pac 12 and ACC, along with a couple viable one-loss teams that didn’t win conference championships.
And then there’s Houston.
Obviously, there are a million scenarios that could play out between now and the end of the season, but Houston’s viability as a playoff contender if it finishes 13-0 is going to be the most hotly debated topic in college football with the likelihood that two or perhaps three of the Power Five champions will have a loss.
Given the selection committee’s emphasis on strength of schedule, it’s clear the bar for a team outside the Power Five to make the playoff will be high. But will it be equitable for a team from the American Athletic Conference?
USA TODAY Sports surveyed 15 FBS athletics directors about whether they thought Houston would get a fair shake in the committee room, with the understanding that their colleagues represent five of the committee’s 12 votes (each Power Five league nominates one athletics director to be on the committee).
Those who responded were granted anonymity in exchange for their candor about the process.
Of the 15 who weighed in, only one — an athletics director outside the Power Five — believed strongly that the process would be stacked against Houston due to pure bias over conference affiliation.
Five others said they thought it would be very difficult, but not impossible, for Houston to make the Playoff because its strength of schedule would be a major negative, even with non-conference victories against Oklahoma and Louisville. Essentially, the feeling among that group was that Houston’s overall résumé would not match up favorably if there was a second viable team from the Big Ten or SEC with one loss.
One athletics director who went to the CFP’s mock selection process in Dallas this week said the Cougars will get a fair shot, but even that won’t necessarily be enough to get them in. Another, who works at a Power Five now but came up through smaller schools, said the level of competition across 12 games will hurt Houston significantly against a one-loss team and that there’s simply a clear separation between the Power Five and everybody else.
The rest of the group, however, was much more positive about Houston’s prospects.
Three of the athletics directors noted that Houston already has credibility with the committee due to its win against Florida State last year. One of them went so far as to map out Houston’s path: having Oklahoma rebound to finish in the top 25, Louisville finishing with 9-to-11 wins and beating a 10-win South Florida team in the American Athletic Conference title game. That athletics director said it also helps that Houston passes the so-called “eye test” and predicted it will not get left out of the playoff at 13-0.
Another athletics director noted that the committee understands it would do damage to the sport if a team with top-four credentials was blatantly left out due to Power Five basis and that there will be significant media pressure to include Houston if several other conference champions have a loss. The key, that athletics director noted, might be whether Houston got a 13th “data point” against a one-loss team in the AAC title game and looked good winning it to leave a positive impression on the committee.
Several of those who responded said regardless of the outcome, they had no question about the integrity of the selection committee. One non-Power Five athletics director complimented the football minds in the room and noted that CFP executive director Bill Hancock has been insistent on the process being equitable.
Houston’s best bet, however, might be for the entire college football world to descend into chaos. It can happen, one athletics director said, but they’ll need help.
As speculation rages behind the scenes about what jobs will open up in the coming weeks, Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin remains a divisive potential candidate. There’s no doubt he has earned another opportunity based on his rehabilitation tour under Nick Saban, but some athletics directors will question whether he completely has his act together after the flameout at USC. If Kiffin can assuage those concerns, he’ll get a job. But what does Kiffin’s perfect landing spot look like?
With the help of several people in the coaching search industry, we took a stab at projecting where he might fit.
► West Virginia: Shane Lyons, who took over as athletics director last year, came from Alabama where he worked closely with the football program. Dana Holgorsen is perceived to be on the hot seat, and if he doesn’t work out you’d have to think Nick Saban’s recommendation would carry a lot of weight.
► Arizona: Rich Rodriguez was considered damaged goods when athletics director Greg Byrne hired him, so there’s a history of rolling the dice on big names. Rodriguez has been involved with several coaching searches the last couple years, and industry perception has been that he’d like to get back to the East Coast.
►N.C. State: It still seems unlikely the Wolfpack will make a change, but Dave Doeren is 6-18 in the ACC and if things continue to go south, who knows?
►Kentucky: Nobody is going to be a bigger rock star in Lexington than John Calipari, but Kiffin might give him a run for his money.
►Houston: If Tom Herman left, the school would undoubtedly want to think big and bold given the recent success and financial resources that have been poured into the football program. Art Briles may be too toxic politically, but Kiffin would be splashy and continue the recruiting success Herman started.
►San Diego State: Rocky Long is going stronger than ever, but he turns 67 in January and there have been retirement whispers. It’s unclear if the Aztecs would have the resources to pull Kiffin, as he already makes nearly twice Long’s current salary.
►Fresno State: It’s a little known fact that Kiffin graduated from Fresno State in 1996 and started his coaching career there. Like the San Diego State job, it would allow him to move back to the West Coast where his children live.
►Auburn: No way, right?
Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason already is on thin ice with the Commodores fan base for his 8-19 record, and his rhetoric this week leading up to Saturday’s game at Western Kentucky isn’t helping matters.
On the SEC teleconference Wednesday, Mason called the game a “border war” and a “backyard brawl,” referring to the hour of driving distance separating the two campuses.
Given the situation, it does Mason no favors to bring rivalry talk into the equation, especially when the Hilltoppers won the game last year and are favored by a touchdown this season. And it’s not like there’s some long history between Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky; in fact, this is only the fifth time they’ve played.
No disrespect to Western Kentucky, which has had terrific success recently, but it doesn’t help the self-image of a downtrodden SEC program when the coach tries to gin up a rivalry with a Conference USA school.
Jim Harbaugh offended the entire population of skim milk drinkers this week during an interview on the Dan Patrick Show. Harbaugh, who last year classified sleep, milk, water and steak as “natural steroids,” revealed on the show that Michigan had chocolate milk, whole milk and 2% available for players but acknowledged that the players had to talk him into stocking the 2%.
When Patrick quipped that Ohio State coach Urban Meyer drinks 1% milk, Harbaugh shot back: “We refuse to drink the candy-ass skim milk.”
But maybe he's got a point. According to a Time magazine article in April, a study of 3,333 adults conducted by the Nurses’ Health Study of Health Professionals found no evidence that those who consume lowfat dairy products have a lower diabetes risk than those who drink full-fat milk.
Kent State football has gone through some difficult years recently, including 3-9 last season. This year, the Golden Flashes already have a loss to North Carolina A&T. They are in no way, shape or form in position to take on a team like Alabama. But that’s exactly what they’ll have to do on Saturday as 44-point underdogs. Maybe Nick Saban, who played at Kent State in 1970-71 and started his coaching career there, will take take it easy on his alma mater.
