Lucas's Power 5 Conference Rankings - Week 3

[Chasin' Utleys]

Give me some time, I need two bottles of Mad Dog to channel my Spartan intellect.

I likes you Samurai...please quaff a better potable as that Mad Dog ish'll KILL you!

 

[7Samurai13]

IMO, if you lose the final week of the season, you are pretty much done...even if that is your only loss. In the Michigan vs. OSU scenario, assuming both go undefeated into the November matchup and/or the winner of that game only has one loss, the loser would not only have a loss on their record, but lose a shot at the B10 Championship Game. Unless the top 10 is littered with two loss teams, I just don't see much of a scenario where the loser of the Michigan vs. Ohio State sneaks in the backdoor of the playoffs. Even if that loser has only one loss. When it comes to rankings, WHEN you lose a game in the season is often times as important as WHO you lost to. IMO, that is what makes the late November match up of Michigan v Ohio State so great! (or at least hopefully it becomes great again)

You would need a crazy situation. Picture last year had four loss USC and two loss Florida wins their CCG. Two loss Florida is easier to send in but had it been a three loss Florida beating a one loss Alabama. The committee has the options of 1 loss Oklahoma (in), undefeated Clemson (in), One loss Michigan State (in). So for the last spot you are looking at a three loss conference champs USC and Florida or one loss non-champ Alabama and Ohio State. It would be tough to send a three loss team in to the playoffs when there are one loss teams not in. You are going to be hard pressed to put Alabama in over Florida who just beat Alabama. The easy out for the Committee to explain in Ohio State over everyone else to minimize controversy.

 

[Across The Field]

Colorado is not a bad team. If they didn't lose their starting QB this one would have gone down to the wire. Michigan haters will say Michigan is soft because they let Colorado get up by two touchdowns, Michigan proponents will say they showed mettle and resolve against a talented team.

Michigan won, but didn't cover the 17.5 pt. spread - Harbaugh also didn't score another TD which would have been Michigan's third 50+ game in a row, something they haven't done since 1903. Speight is a huge QB with some mobility, I expect him to improve as the season continues (and am comfortable with O'Korn coming off the bench....they will suffice until McCaffery arrives in Ann Arbor. Where I see a need is in our backfield, lots of guys playin' tough but no world-beaters in that backfield (unless Peppers is back there ).

Anyone on this board who didn't watch the game can't name a single Colorado player outside of their QB. That is not a talented team. They have beaten 2 P5 teams in the last 3 years, come on dude.

I think michigan is better than what they showed Saturday, but this sudden pimping of Colorado is absurd. The last time they were even .500 was over a decade ago, and they've averaged nearly 10 losses per year for the last 5 years.

 

[7Samurai13]

I likes you Samurai...please quaff a better potable as that Mad Dog ish'll KILL you!

I believe after drinking four bottles in one night I became The Wolverine and am invincible.

 

[umichgradfan]

You're the one that came at me questioning my reasoning, getting all defensive because I brought up a very valid point. Sorry if you can't handle the truth.

I can handle the truth just fine. Believe me, after the last ten years of Michigan football, I have a very realistic view. You don't have to get all defensive just because I mention that Oklahoma may lose more games this season and make Ohio State's win look less impressive. It's a common concern even among other Ohio State fans despite your protests to the contrary.

 

[Clayton]

Bama has a 4 game stretch where they play @Arkansas, @Tennessee, A&M, @LSU. They have a ridiculous amount of talent but I wouldn't say its a 1 dog show yet when any of those teams could make the playoffs.

I think its kinda silly to rank the SEC lower because the assumption (obviously) is that Bama is going to beat everyone and/or only lose once and other teams will slip. That says more about Bama being good than the SEC being bad.

 

[belcherboy]

You're definitely not wrong, it would be very difficult. The reason I say it, though, is that even if OSU loses, we will still likely have 4 ranked wins on our record. If we keep winning impressively as we are, even 1 loss at the end of the year might not be enough for the CFP to keep us out. I think the Big 12 gets left out, and if Houston loses at all, they're out (which I think will happen vs. Louisville).

The ACC champ will get in (provided it's not some crazy upset team from the Coastal), The SEC champ (Alabama, let's be honest) will get in, the B1G champ would get in, and then you're looking at a scenario where the Pac 12 champ and OSU are the final choices. I'm personally not sold on Stanford or Washington as being better than OSU, and both could finish the year easily with a loss or two. The CFP is by no means obligated to take one of them of OSU if they believe OSU is one of the 4 best teams. That's the nice thing about having an objective committee to choose and not just going by the polls.

This would be the year to make it happen. The SEC looks very weak outside of Alabama right now. Louisville makes the ACC legit, and the winner of Clemson and Louisville will likely be the conference champ (unless Clemson wins, and then FSU can manage to knock off Clemson in Tallahassee and make things messy)

The B12 is likely done in it's playoff hopes, and Oregon losing has hurt the Pac12.

It would be pretty epic if Michigan and OSU made the playoffs, and were able to make it to the national title game together. As awesome of a game that would be, I still am rooting for OSU to lose every game by 50.

 

[umichgradfan]

Colorado is not a bad team. If they didn't lose their starting QB this one would have gone down to the wire. Michigan haters will say Michigan is soft because they let Colorado get up by two touchdowns, Michigan proponents will say they showed mettle and resolve against a talented team.

Michigan won, but didn't cover the 17.5 pt. spread - Harbaugh also didn't score another TD which would have been Michigan's third 50+ game in a row, something they haven't done since 1903. Speight is a huge QB with some mobility, I expect him to improve as the season continues (and am comfortable with O'Korn coming off the bench....they will suffice until McCaffery arrives in Ann Arbor. Where I see a need is in our backfield, lots of guys playin' tough but no world-beaters in that backfield (unless Peppers is back there ).

That's just what I said to Across the Field.

 

[Wamu]

Colorado is not a bad team.

Well they certainly aren't a good team. According to Pac12.com their preseason rankings have them finishing last in the south division.

 

[Wamu]

Anyone on this board who didn't watch the game can't name a single Colorado player outside of their QB.

I can! But then again my oldest son graduated from CU, my youngest son is a junior & I live in Boulder.

 

[Chasin' Utleys]

Anyone on this board who didn't watch the game can't name a single Colorado player outside of their QB. That is not a talented team. They have beaten 2 P5 teams in the last 3 years, come on dude.

I think michigan is better than what they showed Saturday, but this sudden pimping of Colorado is absurd. The last time they were even .500 was over a decade ago, and they've averaged nearly 10 losses per year for the last 5 years.

I looked up their record over the last decade and have to admit they stunk on ice (didn't realize they were that lousy). FWIW, I though they were still in the Big XII....lol...I'll concede that their QB is a beacon of light on the team, but I watched the whole game and he made the players around him better, conversely when the backup QB came in he made the Buffs look like a high school team. I still think Colorado is a pretty good tam this year, and if they play as hard their remaining schedule as they did in Ann Arbor they'll end the year with 7-8 wins.

 

[Chasin' Utleys]

I can! But then again my oldest son graduated from CU, my youngest son is a junior & I live in Boulder.

Why the FUCK, don't they have a 'useful' icon for the sports threads?

 

[Brasky]

One thing people don't understand or miss completely is that this is the first year the conference as a whole played big time non conference games leading up to a 9 game conference schedule.

Traditionally the SEC front loads their conference schedule with big time in conference games with some non conference cupcakes sprinkled around in early and then later in the season. So really they've their big statements in September where the B1G has rarely made an across the board statement early in the season on a national level.

Really this is just the result of extremely smart scheduling by the B1G.

Since this kind of scheduling will now become the norm for the B1G, this may signal the end of the SEC dominating the airwaves all the way through to bowl season.

 

[Wamu]

Why the FUCK, don't they have a 'useful' icon for the sports threads?

 

[7Samurai13]

Why the FUCK, don't they have a 'useful' icon for the sports threads?

The useful icon definitely seems more important than in the Political forum since there is nothing useful in the Political Forum.

 

[belcherboy]

I looked up their record over the last decade and have to admit they stunk on ice (didn't realize they were that lousy). FWIW, I though they were still in the Big XII....lol...I'll concede that their QB is a beacon of light on the team, but I watched the whole game and he made the players around him better, conversely when the backup QB came in he made the Buffs look like a high school team. I still think Colorado is a pretty good tam this year, and if they play as hard their remaining schedule as they did in Ann Arbor they'll end the year with 7-8 wins.

It depends on the health of that QB. If he is healthy enough to return on Saturday, we'll know more about the future of this team. They play @ Oregon. I don't see things going well for them after Oregon lost last weekend. They certainly don't stand a chance without their starting QB.

 

[ericd7633]

I personally think Colorado is a much improved team from years past. It's a shame their QB got hurt because they were winning before he went down, and Michigan didn't look like it had an answer for their playcalling. Colorado really shot themselves in the foot with special teams mistakes. With that said, I would be surprised if they made a bowl game. I'd say their ceiling is about a 5-7 team.

Also, I'd be surprised if Michigan kept it within 2 TD's against Ohio State this year. If they couldn't guard Colorado's skill position players, there's no way they'll be able to slow down Ohio State's.

 

[umichgradfan]

Well they certainly aren't a good team. According to Pac12.com their preseason rankings have them finishing last in the south division.

The operative term here is "preseason." I don't put much stock in preseason rankings. I mean, it's not like they have never been wrong. LOL.

 

[umichgradfan]

It depends on the health of that QB. If he is healthy enough to return on Saturday, we'll know more about the future of this team. They play @ Oregon. I don't see things going well for them after Oregon lost last weekend.

Just what I've been saying . . . But, IF Liufau is able to play efficiently, Oregon may be in for a surprise. It all depends on Liufau's health.

 

[7Samurai13]

One thing people don't understand or miss completely is that this is the first year the conference as a whole played big time non conference games leading up to a 9 game conference schedule.

Traditionally the SEC front loads their conference schedule with big games, so they make their big statements in September where the B1G has rarely made an across the board statement in September on a national level.

Really this is just the result of extremely smart scheduling by the B1G.

Since this kind of scheduling will now become the norm for the B1G, this may signal the end of the SEC dominating the airwaves all the way through to bowl season.

This is probably the best year for the B1G when it comes to perceived quality wins. Oregon, Oklahoma, LSU, Notre Dame.