StevensTechU wrote:Alabama and Cincinnati should switch places. Good lord.
You really think Cincinnati is the better team?
Bama's best win so far is the #16th ranked team and lost to an unranked team. Cinci's is #10. Whether or not anyone thinks bama has more talent or is better is irrelevant right now. Cinci is undefeated and anyone that think's they shouldn't be in the top 4 until they lose is fucking high. This list is a joke.
Regular Season
DATE OPPONENT
Sat, Sep 4
vs
Miami (OH)
Sat, Sep 11
vs
Murray State
Sat, Sep 18
@
Indiana
Sat, Oct 2
@
Notre Dame
Fri, Oct 8
vs
Temple
Sat, Oct 16
vs
UCF
@
Navy
Sat, Oct 30
@
Tulane
Sat, Nov 6
vs
Tulsa
Fri, Nov 12
@
South Florida
Sat, Nov 20
vs
SMU
Fri, Nov 26
@
East Carolina
No offense but, is that the schedule of a top five playoff team? To me that looks like a season long non-conference schedule of patsies. Hell Portland State would have a shot at a winning record with that schedule.
Dope. Anyone could say the same thing about our schedule with the exception of one game because our conference is hot garbage. And that's not even accounting for the mighty Stony Brook, who we embarrassingly struggled with at times during the game. If people are going to try and do some mental gymnastics to discredit undefeated teams, then the entire thing is fucking pointless and we might as well not even call it a playoff. At that point its just an invitational because they are just going to invite the teams they want regardless.
Didn't Cin barely beat Navy?
lol, we going to try and ignore the fact that we barely beat a s*** Cal team and struggled for most of a game with an arizona team that most people consider one of the absolute worst teams in all of FBS? Oh yeah, and both those games were at home. This is a silly argument.
I am completely shocked, but I actually think they got the top 4 right this time. You HAVE to reward teams for going on the road and beating good teams.
Someone mentioned Alabama shouldn't be there, but they have two CFPR Top 20 wins, a SOS of 13, and their loss is to No. 14 in the CFPR.
Oregon got that 4th slot because they have wins over a Top 25 team (FSU) and a Top 5 team (tOSU) and a SOS of 22. They absolutely deserved it.
If you are on the selection committee, can you make an argument for putting any of the below teams in over Oregon or Alabama? The only one is Cincinnati, with a Top 10 road win and no losses, but their SOS is tragic. If you do not have a win against a Top 25 team in the CFPR, you have no business being in the discussion for the Top 4 right now. Sorry to tOSU, Oklahoma, and Wake.
Here are the resumes for 5-10
No.5 tOSU = One loss, ZERO wins against the Top 25 and a SOS of 74. Lost head to head to Oregon.
No. 6 Cinci = Undefeated with one Top 10 win, but an SOS of 100.
No. 7 Michigan = One loss, one Top 10 win, and a SOS of 44.
No. 8 Oklahoma = Undefeated, ZERO Top 25 wins, and a SOS of 69.
No. 9 Wake = Undefeated, Zero Top 25 wins and a SOS of 98.
No 10 ND = One loss, one Top 25 win and a SOS of 38.
Last edited by northbeachsf on Tue Nov 02, 2021 9:17 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Oklahoma jumps us if they run the table, but otherwise I think we're safe in the top 4 as long as we win out. Shouldn't even matter if Georgia beats Alabama, which seems highly likely.
If we go to 12 teams, you have players going through a 16 game season. I'm very in favor of 8, but doesn't seem like that's going to take. Cut conference title games? 8 game conference schedules? The injuries are going to be insane at 16 games.
StevensTechU wrote:If we go to 12 teams, you have players going through a 16 game season. I'm very in favor of 8, but doesn't seem like that's going to take. Cut conference title games? 8 game conference schedules? The injuries are going to be insane at 16 games.
I agree - 8 teams. Power 5 conference champions + highest rated mid major + 2 at large. The best thing about this format is conference championships will still matter.
StevensTechU wrote:If we go to 12 teams, you have players going through a 16 game season. I'm very in favor of 8, but doesn't seem like that's going to take. Cut conference title games? 8 game conference schedules? The injuries are going to be insane at 16 games.
I agree - 8 teams. Power 5 conference champions + highest rated mid major + 2 at large. The best thing about this format is conference championships will still matter.
Agreed, except for the automatic ‘highest mid major’. 3 at large, period, regardless of tier. What if the highest rated mid major isn’t even ranked in the top 10?
I'd still like the highest rated mid-major to go regardless. Some years they'll be #15, some years they'll be #2. They're a 'cinderella' team either way, and it would add more intrigue to the CFP than a 4th Southeastern Conference team....
I think the thing to remember is all of this is going to change before the season is done. Honestly I think this list is pretty fair. Everyone in the top 9 is in a good spot to be in the final four if they handle their business with the exception of Cincinnati. They are going to need a little help but if Notre Dame wins out and Cin dominates here on out they will likely be in the top 4 at the end of the year.
I don't think winning out for teams like Cincinnati is enough. It sucks for them but it just not the same competing in their conference as it is in power 5 conferences. Even if it is a power 5 that is in a down year.
For what it is worth I want the final four to be Georgia, Michigan State, Wake Forest and Oregon in no particular order. I wouldn't be mad at Baylor getting in there. Ultimately I wouldn't mind Cincinnati either if everyone else craps themselves.
Can we expand the playoffs to 8 or 12 already though?
If people are going to try and do some mental gymnastics to discredit undefeated teams, then the entire thing is fucking pointless and we might as well not even call it a playoff. At that point its just an invitational because they are just going to invite the teams they want regardless.
This is how I feel about teams that don't win their conferences getting into such a limited playoff. If we had an eight- or 12-team playoff, then great, I get it, and it makes sense. You can have all the Power 5 conference champs plus wildcard pics. But if we only have four spots, then those spots should go to conference champions. Otherwise, what's the point of even having conferences? The NCAA should just have a massive seeding committee and arrange regional scheduling as best as it possibly can to even the strength-of-schedule playing field and not even bother with the rest.
The current setup has always bothered me, because what is the point of competing in sports if you have no opportunity to actually win the ultimate prize. Either separate the Group of 5 conferences and let them have their own championship, or allow them to compete for the actual championship. This is why I've always been a proponent of the 8 team playoff. It's garbage that over half of the NCAA has absolutely no opportunity to compete for an actual championship. I also agree that conference championships should mean something, or there's no point in having conferences. Having automatic bids for the champions removes the constant debate about strength of conference based on simply the eye test. It removes a lot of the inherit bias toward certain conferences.
Needless to say, Georgia controls its destiny. I don't care where Alabama is ranked. If they win out, they are in, no question. If they lose a game, they are out. I think that three Big 10 teams control their destiny, that is, winning out gives one of them the Big 10 title and enough SOS to edge out a one loss Oregon. So that's three spots.
Here are the schools Oregon would have to hold off to keep the fourth spot: unbeaten Cincinnati, Oklahoma, and Wake Forest; 1-loss Oklahoma State, Baylor, and Notre Dame; and two-loss Auburn (they would have to close out the season beating Alabama and Georgia). Which of these schools would pass Oregon if they won out?
Which of these schools would pass Oregon if they won out?
Assuming we win out, I think our only threat is an undefeated Oklahoma team. I just don't see Cincy going over a 1-loss Oregon team with our win over Ohio State. (And our Fresno State win keeps looking better.)
I also don't think Ohio State should jump us if it wins the Big 10 title because we beat them head-to-head. I think there's a good chance this ends up 1) Georgia, 2) Alabama, 3) Oregon, 4) Ohio State. Or, possibly, 1) Georgia, 2) Alabama, 3) Oklahoma, 4) Oregon.
Of course, we have to win out or none of this means anything. I like our chances, though. We're starting to dominate on both sides of the ball.
