Early Top 25 College Football Rankings

[7Samurai13]

Such fucking B.S. Who said that divisions were a great idea again?

Not really sure. All I can say about the BigTen divisions right now is @ least they aren't called the Leaders & Legends. Whoever thought of that crap should have been fired.

I've said before, with the nine game conference schedule move Michigan State to the west and move Purdue to the East. You have a angled division line like in the SEC.

Next you have one protected crossover game.
Michigan State - Michigan
Nebraska -Penn State
Wisconsin - Ohio State
And down the line.

That gives you 6 divisional games, one protected cross, and you can do a three year rotation of the other division teams. For MSU something like
2017 @Ohio State and Rutgers
2018 @ Penn State and Maryland
2019 @Purdue and Indiana
2020 Ohio State and @Rutgers
Rinse repeat

 

[TexasExes98]

It's fucking stupid. Teams in the same conference should play every team in that conference. The end. If you don't, then you aren't in the same conference.

Totally agree. This is the reason I do not want the Big 12 to expand. I like the round robin format. You do not avoid anybody. There is no need for a CCG if you play everybody on your schedule. Iowa would not have even been top 25 if they had to play the Big 3 last year.

 

[Wamu]

And at least Michigan and OSU are in the same one. Now that we are, along with most of the good teams in the B10, I could care less about what happens in the west. The west is now essentially just a hurdle the East champion has to jump on their way to the Rose Bowl or CFB playoff.

Yeah no doubt the W division is the weaker of the 2.

 

[theSabanator20]

It does take some skill to continue things moving in the right direction, but it's much different than actually flipping a program around.

Not to mention, as impressive as it seems Shaw has been, he has yet to coach a 1 loss season at Stanford. Harbaugh was able to within the building process.

 

[MAIZEandBLUE09]

Totally agree. This is the reason I do not want the Big 12 to expand. I like the round robin format. You do not avoid anybody. There is no need for a CCG if you play everybody on your schedule. Iowa would not have even been top 25 if they had to play the Big 3 last year.

Yeah, it seems like that happens every few years here in the B10 -- a team just scoots through without playing some of the major teams. Just dumb. Kick out 4 teams, get the conference down to 10, play everyone and call it a day.

 

[Olyduck]

Harbaugh did it... as a matter of fact, you could say

Nick Saban--->Les Miles
Jim Harbaugh--->David Shaw

Very, VERY identical situations.

Harbaugh laid the foundation, like Saban did, and their predecessors walked in and were basically asked to babysit.

Jim harbaugh 0 Pac 12 titles
David Shaw 3 Pac 12 titles including one 5 years post harbaugh.
Shaw ---> Harbaugh

 

[Deep Creek]

Iowa plays meeeechegan on 11-12-16. For a 3rd year in a row they don't face Ohio State or Michigan State though.

And yet they are in the same "conference". smh

 

[Codaxx]

Not to mention, as impressive as it seems Shaw has been, he has yet to coach a 1 loss season at Stanford. Harbaugh was able to within the building process.

Probably need to dig into that a little more. Pac has gotten better in recent years. Its quite possible Shaw's 2 loss teams were more impressive than Harbaugh's 1 loss team. SOS can inflate records.

 

[theSabanator20]

Jim harbaugh 0 Pac 12 titles
David Shaw 3 Pac 12 titles including one 5 years post harbaugh.
Shaw ---> Harbaugh

Did David Shaw build Stanford up from a pile of shit? He may have helped but he's not the mastermind. And his coaching decisions in big games have cost him epicly over the last several years.

Tell me, if he's better than Harbaugh, then why hasn't he had a 1 loss season? Just a bunch of 2 loss seasons that could have been prevented with better coaching decisions.

If you want to see how great of a coach he is, watch the last 2 minutes of regulation in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl.

 

[Codaxx]

Did David Shaw build Stanford up from a pile of shit? He may have helped but he's not the mastermind. And his coaching decisions in big games have cost him epicly over the last several years.

Tell me, if he's better than Harbaugh, then why hasn't he had a 1 loss season? Just a bunch of 2 loss seasons that could have been prevented with better coaching decisions.

If you want to see how great of a coach he is, watch the last 2 minutes of regulation in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl.

What's with the 1 loss? Pac is a better conference the last few years, than when Harbaugh was there.

 

[4down20]

Stanford deserves top 15 due to having the best coach in the country.

That's a pretty odd statement. He did better than I expected this past year, but I was pretty worried he wasn't able to do anything without Harbaugh's recruits.

At any rate, they lost games they shouldn't have and once again this next year is going to be a bit of a mystery.

The jury is still out on Shaw.

--The .2 Stanford fan.

 

[Codaxx]

That's a pretty odd statement. He did better than I expected this past year, but I was pretty worried he wasn't able to do anything without Harbaugh's recruits.

At any rate, they lost games they shouldn't have and once again this next year is going to be a bit of a mystery.

The jury is still out on Shaw.

--The .2 Stanford fan.

I do think this year alleviated the fears that SHaw was just riding the coattails of Harbaugh. NW game was a bit of a mystery, but West Coast teams usually have issues with early games across the country.

 

[fishinabarrel]

C'mon Sabanator, even you know Saban couldn't do what Shaw is doing at Stanford. Not many coaches could since Stanford's players have to actually be literate and go to class.

Not one to rush to the defense of Nick Satan, I mean Saban but the guy has won 4 out of the last 7 national titles. The excuse "well anyone could win at Alabama" is just not there because 4 out of 7 is epic once in a lifetime good. Shaw having Stanford competitive and winning the occasional Pac title doesn't mean squat compared to that.

Also, had Saban followed Harbaugh as Stanford's coach I would put it out there that Stanford would have won a Natty by now

 

[umichgradfan]

Not one to rush to the defense of Nick Satan, I mean Saban but the guy has won 4 out of the last 7 national titles. The excuse "well anyone could win at Alabama" is just not there because 4 out of 7 is epic once in a lifetime good. Shaw having Stanford competitive and winning the occasional Pac title doesn't mean squat compared to that.

Also, had Saban followed Harbaugh as Stanford's coach I would put it out there that Stanford would have won a Natty by now

Saban at Stanford is a great thought-experiment. I think he would fail miserably. First, Stanford expects its players to be "students" in the actual sense of the word and has admission standards for them well above those at Alabama. At Stanford, he would have to compete with the other PAC-12 schools while at the same time managing those higher admission standards for athletes. Evidence: Saban did not do well in the B1G when he was at Michigan State because, overall, the B1G has higher admission standards for athletes (though not as high as Stanford's) and because of competition for recruits from other conference teams while having to contend with those higher admission standards. Nope. He's not an elite coach at Stanford--not even close.

 

[Deep Creek]

Not one to rush to the defense of Nick Satan, I mean Saban but the guy has won 4 out of the last 7 national titles. The excuse "well anyone could win at Alabama" is just not there because 4 out of 7 is epic once in a lifetime good. Shaw having Stanford competitive and winning the occasional Pac title doesn't mean squat compared to that.

Also, had Saban followed Harbaugh as Stanford's coach I would put it out there that Stanford would have won a Natty by now

I think this was more of the jest of the statement. Besides Stanford, would he have won a natty had he stayed at Sparty? How about a place like Miss State? Duke? Similar question throwing Urban into the equation...would Urban have won some at similar places? Would he have won one if he had stayed at Utah?

They've proven they can at blue blood schools. I don't think there is any doubt Saban/Urban would have also won multiple ones at places like USC, Michigan, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia, etc.

 

[Deep Creek]

Saban at Stanford is a great thought-experiment. I think he would fail miserably. First, Stanford expects its players to be "students" in the actual sense of the word and has admission standards for them well above those at Alabama. At Stanford, he would have to compete with the other PAC-12 schools while at the same time managing those higher admission standards for athletes. Evidence: Saban did not do well in the B1G when he was at Michigan State because, overall, the B1G has higher admission standards for athletes (though not as high as Stanford's) and because of competition for recruits from other conference teams while having to contend with those higher admission standards. Nope. He's not an elite coach at Stanford--not even close.

If by elite you mean winning three recent nattys at Stanford then I would agree. I can't envision the Bama success level at Stanford because of the items you mention. But, he'd still have a more impressive record at Stanford than Harbaugh and Shaw IMHO. The only edge I would give would be regarding Luck. I think Harbaugh did better with Luck than Saban would have. JMO.

 

[TexasExes98]

Not one to rush to the defense of Nick Satan, I mean Saban but the guy has won 4 out of the last 7 national titles. The excuse "well anyone could win at Alabama" is just not there because 4 out of 7 is epic once in a lifetime good. Shaw having Stanford competitive and winning the occasional Pac title doesn't mean squat compared to that.

Also, had Saban followed Harbaugh as Stanford's coach I would put it out there that Stanford would have won a Natty by now

Saban wouldn't come close to the same success. Stanford is all about academics 1st and foremost. Saban is a great coach, no doubt about it, but he has all the tools and support he needs. A staff of about 100 people, top notch facilities, a strong fan/alumni base, lower academic requirements (not just Bama, but at any major blue blood program) and a university that has no problem pouring millions upon millions of dollars into the football program. That's not the case at Stanford, hence the reason why I think Shaw is the best coach in the country. Hell, when Saban retires Shaw could keep the machine going if Bama were to hire him.

 

[theSabanator20]

Saban at Stanford is a great thought-experiment. I think he would fail miserably. First, Stanford expects its players to be "students" in the actual sense of the word and has admission standards for them well above those at Alabama. At Stanford, he would have to compete with the other PAC-12 schools while at the same time managing those higher admission standards for athletes. Evidence: Saban did not do well in the B1G when he was at Michigan State because, overall, the B1G has higher admission standards for athletes (though not as high as Stanford's) and because of competition for recruits from other conference teams while having to contend with those higher admission standards. Nope. He's not an elite coach at Stanford--not even close.

Link?

Also no one likes to bring up the fact that Michigan State was on probation when Saban took over.

Oh by the way...

James Franklin---> Jim Harbaugh and David Shaw, by your standards.

 

[theSabanator20]

Someone has to explain to me the Tennessee and Arky hype. LSU has no business at #1, should be Clemson. Bammer is #2. Okie jr has no business in the top 15 let alone top 10. UF definitely has no business in the top 25; they are there by default due to a shit division. I would put UofH in UF's place. Stanford deserves top 15 due to having the best coach in the country. Wiscy too high, and I would leave Iowa out of the top 25. I don't think the Hawkeyes have the luxury of avoiding MSU, Michigan and tOSU for the 3rd year in a row, although I haven't looked at their schedule. I am glad to see at least one poll not overhype and overrate the ever living shit out of USC for a change. Anyway, I guess that's why they call it the early top 25 for a reason.

Skip to 1:51:00 and watch from there. That loss can be fully blamed on Shaw's coaching.

 

[4down20]

I do think this year alleviated the fears that SHaw was just riding the coattails of Harbaugh. NW game was a bit of a mystery, but West Coast teams usually have issues with early games across the country.

It would have except USC had it's own problems and didn't seem to be "back" yet, and then the rest of the Pac12 just really wasn't that good. They lost to Oregon and of course the already mentioned NW game - which with all that time to prepare was pretty bad.

So I don't know if what happened was a product of Shaw, or a product of a Pac12 that was already down. They plowed Iowa in the Rose, but again Iowa was an obvious product of weak SoS. The Notre Dame win was a big deal.

But if he can keep putting up such seasons, I got no complaints. I was happy with the results this year.