Help decide who should be in my dynasty's 4-team playoff?

[Funkycorm]

I would take D and E.

Yes, Team E did lose to team F in the championship game, but still proved better over ranked teams.

D looks like it should be in the playoff.

I didn't go with C because it looks like they had a weaker schedule and conference than the rest. Their only test against a top 25 team and they came out on the losing end. My guess, they are from a mid major conference or the American (assuming you have the conference alignment match to the real world conferences). Their 11-1 record looks deceiving to me.

Team F did beat team E in the conference championship but doesn't deserve to be in the playoffs.

[NolesFanatic17]

Team C seems like Fools Gold since they weren't tested so I'm goin D & E. Plus you stated E was down a QB and if he gets healthy that could mean a lot to their ability to win

[thesportsguru11]

Here we go! The big reveal.

Again, I apologize for severely dragging this out, but because this is my dynasty in that section of the boards (and because I'm controlling one of the teams), I needed to actually play some of these games. I appreciate all of your responses and suggestions.

Team A is Oregon, the Pac-12 Champs.

Team B is UConn, the Big 12 Champs.

Those two I deemed to both be "in".. 1-loss apiece, won their conferences, both looked like two of the top three teams all year long.

Team C is Arkansas State, the 3-time reigning Sun Belt Champs. I wanted to run this as blindly as I possibly could.. I'd have affected the outcome by saying they were a Sun Belt team. I was stunned to see so many of you ignore their strength of schedule and the fact that the only good team they played, they lost to. Had they been 12-0, instead of 11-1, they'd have been in. But that one loss bothered me... it was Auburn, a good team, but it was the only top 25 team they played..

Team D is Georgia Tech. They lost to Duke, and the two ended up tied in the Coastal (hence losing the tiebreaker and sitting idle on Champ Week), and their other loss was to Clemson on the road (a bowl bound team).

Team E is Nebraska. The Huskers were ranked #1 for much of the latter part of the season.. they, along with Oregon and UConn, were the other third of the "best looking team" observation.

Team F is Michigan. The Wolverines started 1-3 but got white-hot in Big 10 play and knocked off Nebraska. They had all the talent but couldn't put it together early and it cost them.

The bracket I assembled looks like this:




I picked teams D and E.


E - I kind of articulated Nebraska's case above. They were one of the best teams all year, and a weak bubble allowed (in my eyes) for some cushion from the #2 ranking they held going into Champ Week. Nebraska just ran into a hot team and lost a close game with their backup QB.

I had Arkansas State in Tech's spot as late as three days ago, but started to think about their strength of schedule again last week and changed it.. the two posts above sealed my decision. Arky State is "fool's gold" as you guys said above and didn't prove themselves in the only real game they played all year.

In the end, though the ACC had a down year, I took Tech and their better strength of schedule against Arkansas State.. their out of conference games (all wins) were to Notre Dame, and two talented but mediocre Georgia and Alabama teams.

And here's what happened: (If you're following my dynasty, I highly suggest you don't look at the spoiler!!!!)

Spoiler

UConn (me) blew out Nebraska in the Sugar Bowl. Starting QB Isaac Zazzarion returned but left with injury again for parts of the game.
We pulled away late thanks to a pick six.

Oregon beat Georgia Tech -- the margin being a missed Tech PAT to cap off a 21-0 run in the third quarter. There was no score in the fourth, so a 38-37 final is what we got, setting up teams A and B in the Title Game.

In a cold MetLife Stadium, Oregon ran all over our UConn front seven,
with their QB and RB each picking up over 150 yards en route to a 46-29 win to lock up Oregon's second Natty in the seven-year dynasty.

Thanks again everyone.

[Funkycorm]

Glad to be involved in the process! Thanks for the interactive aspect and taking the time to listen's to everyone's pros/cons for the teams you chose. I would like to see this happen again in the next season of your dynasty.

[nofx94]

We can be your unofficial playoff committee

[ClemTiger]

How do you set up a "playoff" on NCAA 14?

[thesportsguru11]

Quote: Originally Posted by Funkycorm

Glad to be involved in the process! Thanks for the interactive aspect and taking the time to listen's to everyone's pros/cons for the teams you chose. I would like to see this happen again in the next season of your dynasty.

Quote: Originally Posted by nofx94

We can be your unofficial playoff committee

I greatly appreciate the large number of folks who posted their suggestions and thoughts.. made me feel like I made the right/most legitimate decision in the end. You guys opened my mind to points about each team I hadn't previously considered.

If there's any debate regarding playoffs when next season rolls around, I'll absolutely make a post and we can have more discussion.

Quote: Originally Posted by ClemTiger

How do you set up a "playoff" on NCAA 14?

There's a stickied thread in the main NCAA section we're in. Can't miss it.

[heelboy94]

Quote: Originally Posted by nofx94

We can be your unofficial playoff committee

I totally agree with this! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^