So who gets the last playoff spot

[Used 2 B Hu]

BSU loss this weekend and they are out.

If SMU gets bounced for losing to a top-12 team in a CCG then we riot.

Get ready to riot. New rankings are out, and they're setting things up for Bama to get in.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

SMU should be in even with a loss over Alabama
Boise State should be in even with a loss over Alabama

And don't forget about Indiana in the rush to pile on Alabama.
SMU should be in over Indiana regardless.
Boise State should definitely be in over Indiana regardless.

Those teams will get screwed by virtue of earning a bonus championship game.
Both Boise State and SMU would get into the playoffs if they did not have to play title games.

 

[rmilia1]

I guess im one of the few people who WANTS Bama to make the CFP

Watching these SEC teams have to go to South Bend/ Columbus/Happy Valley in December and try to play a football game is going to be epically hilarious

 

[rmilia1]

SMU should be in even with a loss over Alabama
Boise State should be in even with a loss over Alabama

And don't forget about Indiana in the rush to pile on Alabama.
SMU should be in over Indiana regardless.
Boise State should definitely be in over Indiana regardless.

Those teams will get screwed by virtue of earning a bonus championship game.
Both Boise State and SMU would get into the playoffs if they did not have to play title games.

The issue with Bama is who they lost to though

Like you can't really say "Indiana only beat a bunch of 6 and 7 win teams" in one breath and then say " well its ok Bama lost to to 6 win teams"

That said i hope they get it and get a lovely trip to South Bend or Happy Valley in December

Its just beautiful that time of the year

 

[Used 2 B Hu]

I guess im one of the few people who WANTS Bama to make the CFP

Watching these SEC teams have to go to South Bend/ Columbus/Happy Valley in December and try to play a football game is going to be epically hilarious

If they get in, heck yeah, I would want them to get embarrassed in their opening game. That would teach the committee.

 

[belcherboy]

Here is my perspective:

In no matter what:
Oregon
Penn State
Ohio
Indiana
Texas
Georgia
Tennessee
ND

Highly likely to be in no matter what:
SMU
Alabama

Highly questionable if they could survive a loss:
Boise St

Have to win to be in:
Arizona St
Clemson
Iowa St

Need a perfect storm to get in: (Even then, I'm not sure they would get in)
Miami

 

[foster4prez]

Here is my perspective:

In no matter what:
Oregon
Penn State
Ohio
Indiana
Texas
Georgia
Tennessee
ND

Highly likely to be in no matter what:
SMU
Alabama

Highly questionable if they could survive a loss:
Boise St

Have to win to be in:
Arizona St
Clemson
Iowa St

Need a perfect storm to get in: (Even then, I'm not sure they would get in)
Miami

Based on what the committee said last night, it is impossible for Miami to get in.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

I still don't understand how INDIANA is in no matter what.....

SMU is currently above them in the playoff rankings. SMU has already played a similar mediocre schedule (#49 vs #43).
That is to say neither of them played anything truly tough, but SMU did a lot better with its one ranked opponent (BYU vs Ohio State).

This is not some name brand recognition thing either...about selling tickets...
Neither Indiana nor SMU can claim to be a huge brand name that will bring TV ratings.

Why should SMU drop below Indiana just because they finished #1 in their league and have to play a bonus game versus a ranked team???
SMU would be getting screwed over by winning a power five conference regular season title.

I can at least understand the Alabama argument: Huge brand name that won more ranked wins than anyone.
That argument about a "Huge brand name and high quality ranked wins " does not hold up for Indiana.

It is probably a moot point, as I think SMU destroys Clemson.....but it still perplexes me in my opinion.

 

[belcherboy]

Based on what the committee said last night, it is impossible for Miami to get in.

Yeah, that was what I thought too. Just leaving some sort of possibility if a few teams get absolutely annihilated that perhaps Miami gets in.

 

[belcherboy]

I still don't understand how INDIANA is in no matter what.....

SMU is currently above them in the playoff rankings. SMU has already played a similar mediocre schedule (#49 vs #43).
That is to say neither of them played anything truly tough, but SMU did a lot better with its one ranked opponent (BYU vs Ohio State).

This is not some name brand recognition thing either...about selling tickets...
Neither Indiana nor SMU can claim to be a huge brand name that will bring TV ratings.

Why should SMU drop below Indiana just because they finished #1 in their league and have to play a bonus game versus a ranked team???
SMU would be getting screwed over by winning a power five conference regular season title.

I can at least understand the Alabama argument: Huge brand name that won more ranked wins than anyone.
That argument about a "Huge brand name and high quality ranked wins " does not hold up for Indiana.

It is probably a moot point, as I think SMU destroys Clemson.....but it still perplexes me in my opinion.

SMU won’t fall behind Indiana unless they lose.

If Indiana were to move ahead of SMU, it would likely be because their strength of schedule (SOS) is similar, and the committee might favor a one-loss team over a two-loss team from a weaker conference, even if one of those losses came in the conference championship. The real risk for SMU would come if they lose to Clemson in a decisive manner. In that case, the committee would have to decide whether to include two ACC teams in the playoffs. If they go that route, Alabama could be the team left out. It’s hard to imagine the committee picking a two-loss ACC runner-up like SMU over a three-loss SEC team like Alabama.

That said, SMU is clearly ahead of Indiana right now. If SMU wins, Indiana won’t catch them. Indiana absolutely deserves a playoff spot. If you only lose one game in a conference that already has three playoff contenders, it’s tough to justify excluding them.

 

[Xeliou66]

It would be a joke if Bama got in over SMU or Miami. Bama doesn’t deserve it, they got beat by 2 mediocre teams in Vandy and Oklahoma as well as losing to Tennessee. Miami and SMU are both more deserving, if Clemson beats SMU. SMU should still get in, and if SMU wins, Miami should get in over Bama.
One thing is clear is that there will still likely be some controversy about who gets in - that’s never going to go away unless they expand the playoff to the point where the regular season is meaningless, like college basketball’s is. But it should be clear that Miami and SMU are more deserving than Bama.

 

[Hornsstampede2.0]

likely to go with one loss team

It is Indiana. They played the easiest Big 10 schedule possible in its history. They did not play the #1, #2, (they are #3), #5, #6, #8, or #9 teams.
They played only two top half Big 10 teams (#4 and #7). They got blow out by the #4, and a 5 point win at home versus the #7.
Just saying they played in the Big 10 is ignoring that they never really played anyone at all good in the Big 10.

Indiana played teams that were (13-23) overall OOC....none of which are bowl eligible, no P4 teams, including an FCS team, all at home.
SMU played teams that were (26-23) overall OOC. Two bowl eligible (both P4 teams at 8-4/10-2) and one team they played on the road.

I still cannot think of a single reason Indiana is a mortal lock over SMU if they lose other than record only caused by the extra game.
They should at least look at them side by side if SMU loses to Clemson.

 

[rmilia1]

I still don't understand how INDIANA is in no matter what.....

SMU is currently above them in the playoff rankings. SMU has already played a similar mediocre schedule (#49 vs #43).
That is to say neither of them played anything truly tough, but SMU did a lot better with its one ranked opponent (BYU vs Ohio State).

This is not some name brand recognition thing either...about selling tickets...
Neither Indiana nor SMU can claim to be a huge brand name that will bring TV ratings.

Why should SMU drop below Indiana just because they finished #1 in their league and have to play a bonus game versus a ranked team???
SMU would be getting screwed over by winning a power five conference regular season title.

I can at least understand the Alabama argument: Huge brand name that won more ranked wins than anyone.
That argument about a "Huge brand name and high quality ranked wins " does not hold up for Indiana.

It is probably a moot point, as I think SMU destroys Clemson.....but it still perplexes me in my opinion.

Because there's something to be said for winning every single game you're supposed to win

No team in CFB on the P4 save Oregon, Penn State and Indiana can say they've done that

Not Georgia. Not ND. Not OSU. Not Bama.

Winning still matters and its tough to win week in and week out even when you're supposed to win.

Ask yourself this

If Indiana has beaten OSU but lost to Washington and Michigan would you be saying they should be in? Probably not

You'd be pointing at their bad losses

With 12 teams getting in there are gong to be teams with flaws. There just are. There's not going to be 12 1 loss/ unbeaten teams with no bad losses and some good wins

So you need to prioritize something when deciding between those teams and winning is as good as anything else

 

[Clayton]

I don't hate Alabama at 11 or 12. They are kinda the definition of a wild card this year. They can look dominant and they can look bad. Once you get down to team 12 they're all just okay teams.

 

[belcherboy]

It is Indiana. They played the easiest Big 10 schedule possible in its history. They did not play the #1, #2, (they are #3), #5, #6, #8, or #9 teams.
They played only two top half Big 10 teams (#4 and #7). They got blow out by the #4, and a 5 point win at home versus the #7.
Just saying they played in the Big 10 is ignoring that they never really played anyone at all good in the Big 10.

Indiana played teams that were (13-23) overall OOC....none of which are bowl eligible, no P4 teams, including an FCS team, all at home.
SMU played teams that were (26-23) overall OOC. Two bowl eligible (both P4 teams at 8-4/10-2) and one team they played on the road.

I still cannot think of a single reason Indiana is a mortal lock over SMU if they lose other than record only caused by the extra game.
They should at least look at them side by side if SMU loses to Clemson.

You realize Indiana doesn’t control their conference schedule, right? So, you’re saying they should be penalized for the league creating them a schedule in arguably the toughest conference right now, even though they won all but one game—a road game against another playoff team?

SMU played 4 OOC games against Nevada (3-10), Houston Christian?? 5-7, TCU 8-4, BYU 10-2

I just don't see much difference between the two teams, outside that SMU is favored to win a much weaker conference. If Indiana had two losses, I would agree that they should be on the playoff bubble....if not included at all.

Neither team is sniffing a championship, and both are just hoping for maybe one upset. They are basically the same team in my mind.

 

[belcherboy]

College football feels like it’s always the same story—only 3-4 teams realistically have a shot at winning the championship. The rest are either tune-up games for those top teams or matchups between teams fighting for the chance to lose in the next round.

That’s why all the complaints about seeding and teams being left out don’t really matter. If you’re not in the top six, you’re not winning a title anyway. (I say top six because a couple of teams will almost always be over-seeded thanks to how conference champions are prioritized.)

 

[PhilSimms11]

SMU should be in even with a loss over Alabama
Boise State should be in even with a loss over Alabama

And don't forget about Indiana in the rush to pile on Alabama.
SMU should be in over Indiana regardless.
Boise State should definitely be in over Indiana regardless.

Those teams will get screwed by virtue of earning a bonus championship game.
Both Boise State and SMU would get into the playoffs if they did not have to play title games.

This is why I'm in favor of an NFL type format. 72-team league, two conferences...East and West, 4 divisions of 9 in each conference, play a round robin schedule within your division (8 games), and four non-division games. No more CCGs as we no them. The CCGs would be the last two teams remaining in each conference.

 

[belcherboy]

This is why I'm in favor of an NFL type format. 72-team league, two conferences...East and West, 4 divisions of 9 in each conference, play a round robin schedule within your division (8 games), and four non-division games. No more CCGs as we no them. The CCGs would be the last two teams remaining in each conference.

I don't even think you need that many teams. I'd start with 40, and let the others earn their way in if they feel like having an expansion.

4 divisions based mostly on geography, 10 teams each.

Play a 9 game division schedule, and 3 cross division games.

16 team playoff (four bottom seeds determined by the lower league tournament).

The remaining other teams that are left out would have their own 40 team division, divided up exactly like above.

They would play a 16 team playoff, the final 4 teams in the playoff would become the bottom seeds of the upper league tournament.

 

[Gator]

I guess im one of the few people who WANTS Bama to make the CFP

Watching these SEC teams have to go to South Bend/ Columbus/Happy Valley in December and try to play a football game is going to be epically hilarious

So how come the B1G doesn't play games in Baton Rouge, Tuscaloosa, Athens, Tallahassee, or Clemson in August? B1G wants to play in domed stadiums.

 

[Gator]

Because there's something to be said for winning every single game you're supposed to win

No team in CFB on the P4 save Oregon, Penn State and Indiana can say they've done that

Not Georgia. Not ND. Not OSU. Not Bama.

Winning still matters and its tough to win week in and week out even when you're supposed to win.

Ask yourself this

If Indiana has beaten OSU but lost to Washington and Michigan would you be saying they should be in? Probably not

You'd be pointing at their bad losses

With 12 teams getting in there are gong to be teams with flaws. There just are. There's not going to be 12 1 loss/ unbeaten teams with no bad losses and some good wins

So you need to prioritize something when deciding between those teams and winning is as good as anything else

This is total BS. This is the drivel push by fans of teams that play wussy schedules in order to pump up their records. Schedule IS important. If teams want to reach the CFP they MUST play at least an "average" P4 schedule. Over the past 24 seasons the current P4 teams played an average of 3.4 AP ranked teams (FINAL POLL - NOT PHONEY GAME-TIME RANKINGS) during the regular season. Let's see Indiana played ONE and lost, PSU played TWO, ended up 1-1. Iowa played two and ended up 0-2. The SEC teams actually PLAY ranked teams.