2018 College Football Thread

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Your South Campus Stadium in Frisco is looking nice. They've added the Soccer Hall of Fame to the front of the stadium and have added other decorations as well. The green people will be pleased.

They're going to have to put an NDSU Hall of Fame addition on that stadium. We're 2 games from making the next trip down there. I know the Bison faithful have had their tickets since they went on sale before the season even started.

[RainMaker]

I know Oklahoma is getting in but sure feels like Ohio State is a better team. That Haskins kid is the real deal. Doubt they could beat Bama but could make it a game.

[jbergey22]

Looking for the best games you would have
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame

Most deserving
1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Notre Dame
4. Oklahoma(i just hate that team, how can one of the 4 best teams in the nation have such an awful defense two years in a row?)
5.Ohio State(Id rather have these guys in over Oklahoma)

Committee will choose the latter and claim the former.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Looking for the best games you would have


Most deserving

Committee will choose the latter and claim the former.

But neither phrase you used is what the committee actual does in the two step process (that is repeated a total of seven times)

Their charge is to pick the "best teams", neither the "most deserving" nor the ones that would match up for the "best games". The only time they get around to considering "best matchup" is when they're slotting the teams into the other (non-semifinal) New Year's Six bowls. But not before then.

edit to add:
1. Each committee member will create a list of the 30 teams he or she believes to be the best in the
country, in no particular order. Teams listed by three or more members will remain under
consideration. At the conclusion of any round, other teams can be added to the group of teams under
consideration by a vote of three or more members.
2. Each member will list the best six teams, in no particular order. The six teams receiving the most votes
will comprise the pool for the first ranking step. This is known as the “listing step.”
3. In the first ranking step, each member will rank those six teams, one through six, with one being the
best. The best team in each member’s ranking will receive one point; second-best, two points, etc.
The members’ rankings will be added together and the three teams receiving the fewest points will
become the top three seeds. The three teams that were not seeded will be held over for the next
ranking step.
4. Each member will list the six best remaining teams, in no particular order. The three teams receiving
the most votes will be added to the three teams held over to comprise the next ranking step.
5. Steps No. 3 and 4 will be repeated until 25 teams have been seeded. There will be seven rounds of
voting; each round will consist of a “listing step” and a “ranking step.”

[JonInMiddleGA]

For the curious, my end of regular season Top 25 is posted.

J3C College Football Top 25 (end of regular season) | Jon's Three Cents

[bhlloy]

ESPN also has the Buckeyes about a 75% chance of making the playoff, I just can’t see the logic there. For them to give up 24 to an 8-5 Northwestern team and have the result in some doubt until the 4th quarter, I just don’t see how that’s enough to jump an Oklahoma team that beat a much better team as convincingly.

I can see the logic for Georgia, I don’t necessarily agree but I think that one is down to the eye of the beholder as to what you think the rankings should reward. I just don’t see any logical way you can have Ohio State jumping Oklahoma after what happened on the field.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

ESPN also has the Buckeyes about a 75% chance of making the playoff, I just can’t see the logic there. For them to give up 24 to an 8-5 Northwestern team and have the result in some doubt until the 4th quarter, I just don’t see how that’s enough to jump an Oklahoma team that beat a much better team as convincingly.

I think part of that is simply this: I don't have THAT much difference between Texas & Northwestern honestly. (Yeah, I've got Texas 15th and Northwestern dropped out of my Top 25 ... literally my #26 ... but I don't think there's all that much difference in ranking anyone from about 15 thru about 35 at this point)

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

ESPN also has the Buckeyes about a 75% chance of making the playoff, I just can’t see the logic there. For them to give up 24 to an 8-5 Northwestern team and have the result in some doubt until the 4th quarter, I just don’t see how that’s enough to jump an Oklahoma team that beat a much better team as convincingly.

I can see the logic for Georgia, I don’t necessarily agree but I think that one is down to the eye of the beholder as to what you think the rankings should reward. I just don’t see any logical way you can have Ohio State jumping Oklahoma after what happened on the field.

Id tOSU gets in over OK then it is all about the money and branding. We can't just act like the Purdue game didn't happen, and they also should have lost to Maryland, and if we go by the "eye" test they at the very least didn't look like a top 4 team in that game.

I get the narrative on OK, their defense sucks, but their loss is WAY better than tOSUs loss, especially when you consider they avenged it with a double digit win. They also held UT to 27 points yesterday and they average 31.3 on the season.

[Bobble]

How much value do you put on RECENT tOSU performance versus their entire resume? The OSU of the last two weeks seems markedly better than trash team that trotted out for Purdue, Nebraska, and Maryland.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Bobble

How much value do you put on RECENT tOSU performance versus their entire resume? The OSU of the last two weeks seems markedly better than trash team that trotted out for Purdue, Nebraska, and Maryland.

You have to look at the entire body of work.

UW looked great beating highly ranked Wazzou and Utah in the PAC 12 title game. Does that mean we throw out a close loss to Auburn and a road loss to Oregon ( both games they should have won)

[HerRealName]

Ranking Georgia ahead of Ohio State is really fucking stupid. Any logic that puts Georgia ahead of Ohio State puts both teams ahead of Notre Dame.

[BYU 14]

Looking at body of work the top 5 should be

Alabama
Clemson
Notre Dame
Oklahoma
Ohio State

Then
Georgia
UCF

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Lathum

and they average 31.3 on the season.

In their conference that ain't exactly a ringing endorsement, that's barely median.

[JPhillips]

OSU and Oklahoma are basically the same team. Any good argument for one probably applies to the other, so one team is going to be upset at the outcome.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

OSU and Oklahoma are basically the same team. Any good argument for one probably applies to the other, so one team is going to be upset at the outcome.

Or at least as many good arguments can be had for one as for the other.

I toyed with the idea of ranking them as #4 and #4.1

They're a coin toss, which doesn't really happen all that often in these discussions.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Ranking Georgia ahead of Ohio State is really fucking stupid. Any logic that puts Georgia ahead of Ohio State puts both teams ahead of Notre Dame.

5 or 6 is a meaningless distinction, and putting Georgia there allows the committee claiming the obvious ranking system (UGA is not one of the 4 P5/ND teams with the fewest losses this season) over the past 5 seasons isn't there

[JonInMiddleGA]

A few hours of social media and NOW I can truly enjoy last night's UGAg failure in all its glory.

Thanks for the reminder | Jon's Three Cents

[bob]

Looks like ACC stuck it to CPJ one last time

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by bob

Looks like ACC stuck it to CPJ one last time

?

[bob]

They should be going to a better bowl than Detroit

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by bronconick

5 or 6 is a meaningless distinction, and putting Georgia there allows the committee claiming the obvious ranking system (UGA is not one of the 4 P5/ND teams with the fewest losses this season) over the past 5 seasons isn't there

You're certainly right that it is a relatively meaningless ranking past 4 but the committee struggles to be consistent within the same year let alone year to year.
Hopefully they aren't so delusional that they think they are actually setting precedents with their rankings.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by bob

They should be going to a better bowl than Detroit

Eh, at least they didn't slip to the Gasparilla or the B'ham.

[MizzouRah]

I would love to see a 6 team playoff with the top 2 getting a bye.

[JonInMiddleGA]

ESPN headline
"Conference Bias ruined Wazzu chances, AD says"

Let's see about that, hmm?

Committee has them #13
AP has them #12
Coach poll has them #13

Those darned humans and their bias.

What about seven leading computer polls?
NCAA Football Superlist

rank team rating average median top30 top10 top5 top1
17 Washington St 83.286 18.429 17.0 7 0 0 0

Now what Pat Chun, now what? All the computer guys hate you too, right?

[Ksyrup]

That's probably more frustration at Larry Scott than anything else.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

That's probably more frustration at Larry Scott than anything else.

100%

It is a joke that after 8+ years they still don't have a deal worked out with the PAC 12 network. Combine that with how late many of their big games are on and it is a killer for exposure. Wazzou should be in a much better bowl game, it is a joke when you look at Florida and see what they got despite a dreadful OOC schedule and 3 terrible losses.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

OSU and Oklahoma are basically the same team. Any good argument for one probably applies to the other, so one team is going to be upset at the outcome.

Agree. It was a coin flip.

The part that annoys me is that if the two "basically the same" teams had been, say, Oklahoma and Northwestern, then you know it would have been Oklahoma. Or, if it had been Ohio State and Baylor, then you know it would have been Ohio State.

The only reason it was a close call is because the two teams at issue have equal levels of prestige.

[bob]

I'm not so sure it was that close.

Oklahoma lost by 3 to a rival and then avenged that loss.

Ohio St. lost by 29. Unfortunately for them, they didn't get a chance to avenge that loss in the Big 10 championship game because Purdue was 6-6.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Agree. It was a coin flip.

The part that annoys me is that if the two "basically the same" teams had been, say, Oklahoma and Northwestern, then you know it would have been Oklahoma. Or, if it had been Ohio State and Baylor, then you know it would have been Ohio State.

The only reason it was a close call is because the two teams at issue have equal levels of prestige.

It is exactly what happened with TCU a couple years ago. They were #3. Won something like 55-10, and dropped a spot, setting it up for them to get bounced.

[bob]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Eh, at least they didn't slip to the Gasparilla or the B'ham.

As much as they were ready for a change, I knew lots of people that were considering traveling to CPJ's last game at Tech, especially if it was a good matchup. No offense to Minnesota, but playing in Detroit the day after Christmas in a mid-afternoon match up is just going to reinforce the whole "GT fans don't travel" complaint.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by bob

I'm not so sure it was that close.

Oklahoma lost by 3 to a rival and then avenged that loss.

Ohio St. lost by 29. Unfortunately for them, they didn't get a chance to avenge that loss in the Big 10 championship game because Purdue was 6-6.

This.

Its also why UGA couldnt be taken seriously. They got drug by 20 and it could have been worse at LSU

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by bob

I'm not so sure it was that close.

Oklahoma lost by 3 to a rival and then avenged that loss.

Ohio St. lost by 29. Unfortunately for them, they didn't get a chance to avenge that loss in the Big 10 championship game because Purdue was 6-6.

Osu should have lost to Maryland also.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Osu should have lost to Maryland also.

Eh, same could be said about Oklahoma State who lost on a failed 2 pointer.

[Hammer755]

Originally Posted by Lathum

Osu should have lost to Maryland also.

I don’t understand why you’re so hung up on Maryland when, as was pointed out, OU beat OkSt (who was 3-6 in conference, just like MD) in the exact same circumstance. I mean, if you want to play the should have game, Army was obviously the superior team in Norman ... but the Sooners still won in OT.

I still think that the Bucks had a convincing argument - their 3 Top 25 wins (#7, #12, #22) were better than OU (#15, #16, #24). But I can also accept that the Purdue loss was bad enough to offset all that.

[HerRealName]

I 100% guarantee that Ohio State will be criticized and penalized next year for a weak schedule* after getting no credit for playing 9 conference games and 12 P5 opponents this year. If only they could have replaced Purdue with The Citadel.

*TCU backed out of the trip to Columbus

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Ranking Georgia ahead of Ohio State is really fucking stupid. Any logic that puts Georgia ahead of Ohio State puts both teams ahead of Notre Dame.

Agree Georgia should be 6 behind OSU, but I don't get the logic behind OSU over ND... both beat Michigan & NW, OSU beat Penn State close (or James Franklin lost it), while ND killed slightly lower ranked Syracuse. Both teams had some 1 score games vs mediocre teams, and oh yeah, ND didn't lose by 30 to a 6-6 team.

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

ESPN headline
"Conference Bias ruined Wazzu chances, AD says"

Let's see about that, hmm?

Committee has them #13
AP has them #12
Coach poll has them #13

Those darned humans and their bias.

What about seven leading computer polls?
NCAA Football Superlist

rank team rating average median top30 top10 top5 top1
17 Washington St 83.286 18.429 17.0 7 0 0 0

Now what Pat Chun, now what? All the computer guys hate you too, right?

I still don't think Wazzu would have been or deserved to be in the top 4 with the loss to Washington, but I imagine part of the argument is that the conference conspired to help USC beat WSU (which they did).

[HerRealName]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Agree Georgia should be 6 behind OSU, but I don't get the logic behind OSU over ND... both beat Michigan & NW, OSU beat Penn State close (or James Franklin lost it), while ND killed slightly lower ranked Syracuse. Both teams had some 1 score games vs mediocre teams, and oh yeah, ND didn't lose by 30 to a 6-6 team.

To be clear, I wouldn't rank OSU ahead of Notre Dame.

My thinking is that Ohio State absolutely completely destroyed the favored Michigan team that has only beaten Ohio State 1 time in the last 15 years and Notre Dame beat them by 7. Ohio State also beat Northwestern by 21 compared to a 10 point Notre Dame win over Northwestern. If we're just using the committee logic and discounting 1 loss, Ohio State would have an advantage over Notre Dame. Plus, Georgia was beaten badly by OSU's back-up QB .

[JonInMiddleGA]

Appy State's Satterfield to Louisville according to reports

[Ksyrup]

Not a huge surprise, but Urban Meyer is reportedly done.

[Butter]

Urban Meyer "retiring" after Rose Bowl

[bronconick]

So taking over for Todd Helton in 2020 at USC after a year off.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by bronconick

So taking over for Todd Helton in 2020 at USC after a year off.

I know he played football at Tennessee, but had no idea he coached USC .

[MrBug708]

Originally Posted by bronconick

So taking over for Todd Helton in 2020 at USC after a year off.

I call him Todd all of the time too, but it does make sense now.

[Scoobz0202]

I know there will be plenty of jokes about "see you in two years urban", but let's say he really is done. Where does he end up in the All-Time coaching list? Top 5 for sure? Maybe approaching top 3?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Butter

Urban Meyer "retiring" after Rose Bowl

Michigan's biggest win of the year!

[Butter]

I think Harbaugh staying at Michigan will be Ohio State's biggest win of the year.

[Ksyrup]

Brady Hoke is now available.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by HerRealName

Ranking Georgia ahead of Ohio State is really fucking stupid. Any logic that puts Georgia ahead of Ohio State puts both teams ahead of Notre Dame.

Georgia lost by 20 to LSU. Ohio State lost to 29 to Purdue. Oklahoma lost to a mediocre Texas team. Georgia's only other loss is to what most people think is the #1 team in the nation in a very close matchup. IMO the Alabama loss shouldnt hurt Georgia because it was such a close game. Georgia is really the first team to actually make Alabama look beatable all season.

I think if Georgia played Oklahoma/Ohio State on a neutral site they would win 55-60 percent of the time.

Both Ohio State and Oklahoma have glaring warts. Ohio State is not consistent from week to week and Oklahoma like last year has a defense that struggles to stop anyone. Neither of them are very deserving hence the arguments. At their best I think Ohio State can give Alabama a decent game where as I dont think Oklahoma can stay within 17 points and will likely give up 50+

[Hammer755]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Georgia lost by 20 to LSU. Ohio State lost to 29 to Purdue. Oklahoma lost to a mediocre Texas team. Georgia's only other loss is to what most people think is the #1 team in the nation in a very close matchup. IMO the Alabama loss shouldnt hurt Georgia because it was such a close game. Georgia is really the first team to actually make Alabama look beatable all season.

I think if Georgia played Oklahoma/Ohio State on a neutral site they would win 55-60 percent of the time.

The difference between #5 & 6 is meaningless, so I’m not real worked up about it.

I concede that the Purdue loss was an awful blemish ... but you can’t just use it to trump all other arguments. Just like you can’t pretend the loss to Alabama didn’t happen - the Dawgs played great, but they are still a 2-loss team who didn’t win their conference. Additionally, Georgia had fewer quality wins than OSU and against lower ranked teams comparatively.

So again, I’m not supremely upset about it, but OSU clearly should have finished above UGA IMO.

[ISiddiqui]

And you can think Texas is a mediocre team, but they are still ranked #15. Not too far from #11 ranked LSU.