2016 NCAA Football Thread

[Seadragon76]

About the only two teams that could feel safe should be Alabama and Ohio State. Both teams have pretty much passed the 'eye test'... Alabama would be a clear unanimous #1 with a win next weekend. A loss and you could, all of a sudden, see Ohio State at #1 thanks in large part of not being involved in Championship Weekend.

 

Then, you get to #3 and #4. You have Clemson, Washington, Penn State, Wisconsin or Oklahoma fighting for those two spots. You know that the Big Ten Championship game will knock out one team... then, it comes down to hoping for an epic truckload of chaos to happen.

 

If nothing else, we can say that none of the New Year's Six games are set at this point, and that's fine by me.

[See Red]

Florida's offense is a complete train wreck.  Jim McElwain once said he could win football games with his dog playing QB -- I'd settle for the team having any semblance of an offense with a real live human.

[BlackBolt3]

56 minutes ago, Seadragon76 said:

About the only two teams that could feel safe should be Alabama and Ohio State. Both teams have pretty much passed the 'eye test'... Alabama would be a clear unanimous #1 with a win next weekend. A loss and you could, all of a sudden, see Ohio State at #1 thanks in large part of not being involved in Championship Weekend.

Man, this is problematic. In my mind, since Ohio State hasn't even won the division, let alone the conference, if Bama, Clemson, and Washington win next week, they should only be as high as #4. Yes, they may pass the eye test, but conference championships have to mean something. Why should we reward a team for not playing a 13th game, one that every other playoff team had to play. That's less chance of injury, less chance to lose, and more time to rest. As a fan of a possible playoff team, I would feel extremely disrespected to see Ohio State above Clemson and Washington.

[dfwabel]

15 minutes ago, BlackBolt3 said:

Man, this is problematic. In my mind, since Ohio State hasn't even won the division, let alone the conference, if Bama, Clemson, and Washington win next week, they should only be as high as #4. Yes, they may pass the eye test, but conference championships have to mean something. Why should we reward a team for not playing a 13th game, one that every other playoff team had to play. That's less chance of injury, less chance to lose, and more time to rest. As a fan of a possible playoff team, I would feel extremely disrespected to see Ohio State above Clemson and Washington.

Why feel  that  way? Big XII champ only plays 12, should they never be considered? OU/Okie St. even has this  weekend off.

Then  why  slight Western Michigan since they are currently unbeaten.

 

If the committee's charge is the "four best teams" as opposed to the "four most deserving",  Ohio State is a must. Alabama is a must, even  if the Gators upset them next to week.

[MJWalker45]

Leave it to Ohio State to be the one sticky wicket that will force a decision between the best teams out there or that only conference champs are allowed. I thin if Wisconsin beats Penn State, they'll be in unless there's an absolute blowout by Washington. Wisconsin has a big scalp in LSU, mainly because the SEC was higher ranked than the PAC-12. They also have wins over Iowa and Nebraska. 

[BlackBolt3]

29 minutes ago, dfwabel said:

Why feel  that  way? Big XII champ only plays 12, should they never be considered? OU/Okie St. even has this  weekend off.

Then  why  slight Western Michigan since they are currently unbeaten.

 

If the committee's charge is the "four best teams" as opposed to the "four most deserving",  Ohio State is a must. Alabama is a must, even  if the Gators upset them next to week.

(I don't like what the Big 12 does and I do think the Western deserves a shot, but I digress.)

 

The thing about the four "best" teams is that, once again, it's subjective. One might see Ohio State as a better team than Penn State, but there's no real way to quantify that, except that game that they played, which by score, showed that PSU was the better team. It's not perfect, and it's surely not clean, but things like head-to-head and conference championships are things that can't be disputed. Ohio State is a great team, but they lost the one game that ultimately cost them the division. And in my mind, OSU can't go in without the Big Ten champ, and leave out either Clemson or Washington, neither of which you can take a spot away from if they win their conference.

[2001mark]

Yay Noles.  A winning season & beating the Gators is never a bad season.

[FinsUp1214]

8 hours ago, BlackBolt3 said:

(I don't like what the Big 12 does and I do think the Western deserves a shot, but I digress.)

 

The thing about the four "best" teams is that, once again, it's subjective. One might see Ohio State as a better team than Penn State, but there's no real way to quantify that, except that game that they played, which by score, showed that PSU was the better team. It's not perfect, and it's surely not clean, but things like head-to-head and conference championships are things that can't be disputed. Ohio State is a great team, but they lost the one game that ultimately cost them the division. And in my mind, OSU can't go in without the Big Ten champ, and leave out either Clemson or Washington, neither of which you can take a spot away from if they win their conference.

 

This is exactly my issue. It keeps somehow getting forgotten that we're playing with 100% subjectivity here in this system, and using subjectivity as the sole basis of determination is perhaps this system's greatest flaw. It frankly in my mind hasn't fixed a dad-gum thing if we take tangibles like division and conference titles and act like they don't matter that much because some guys in a room are throwing hypotheticals around without any way to quantify them. There are those that say Conference titles do matter, but if they really did, why aren't they required by the committee? Why don't they care that one their likely final four didn't even win their division? When that's regarded as no big deal, that's a problem.

 

I look at Ohio State and see a really, really good team, don't get me wrong. But I also see a team that did not do what they needed to in order to win their own division. Yes, on-field eye tests are good to go by of course, but there also has to be some level of "earning it" here in this system. I mean, we talk about "body of work" and all that jazz, but is a conference championship (let alone a division championship) NOT included in "body of work" now? We can throw hypotheticals all around and "is such and such really a better team than such??", but at the end of the day, we have two big tangibles that can't be disputed: 1) there are two teams vying for the Big Ten conference title that aren't Ohio State, and 2) we don't get another OSU-PSU rematch to see who comes out a second time. We have what we have, and that's a head-to-head Ohio State didn't win the first and only time they had a chance to do it.

 

If you don't want any concern as to whether or not you belong in the playoff, win that game. Period. (Also, don't add to that concern by barely squeaking by lowly Sparty so late in the season.)

 

Now, based on trend and where they're at now, I do believe they're getting in. I'd be absolutely flabbergasted if the selection committee had a change of heart and switched them out. And if they get in and end up winning it all, good for them! But I don't necessarily agree that they should be there. Sue me, but I just feel like this system is failing if it really doesn't give a rip whether or not you win your conference. 

[HedleyLamarr]

Ohio State is in big trouble, as far as the playoffs are concerned.  Let's not forget the CFP committee protocols Link:

 

-Championships won

-Strength of schedule

-Head-to-head competition (if it occurred)

-Comparative outcomes of common opponents (without incenting margin of victory)

 

Assuming Alabama, Clemson, and Washington win...those three are in.  It then comes down to the Big Ten title game.  If Penn State wins, the math goes against OSU (PSU beat OSU, PSU won the conference.).  There's no real defending OSU when they lost to the conference champion.  If Wisconsin wins, it basically puts OSU and Wisconsin in a dead heat.  OSU beat WIsconsin in overtime, but Wisconsin won the conference.  If Ohio State got in over TCU/Baylor because OSU clearly won their conference, it would be awfully hypocritical if OSU gets in and their own conference champion doesn't.

 

I think Ohio State's best chance to sneak in the playoffs isn't tied into the Big Ten championship game, but either having Clemson lose to Virginia Tech (better chance of happening, I think) or Alabama losing to Florida.  I believe the Pac-12 winner is definitely in (both Washington and Colorado are top-10), as well as the Wisconsin-Penn State winner (again, both in top 10).

 

 

[DG_ThenNowForever]

If I know anything about college football -- and it isn't much -- I know that Ohio State and generally Oklahoma will get pushed into championship opportunities. Oftentimes when they shouldn't be.

[OnWis97]

If Penn State had gone 0-3 in the non-conference would we still be talking this way?  Or would (provided they beat Wisconsin next week) the Big Ten just be out in favor of Oklahoma?  

 

That tOSU is not a conference champ is a bit of a fluke based on tiebreakers and division alignment.  Wisconsin really has no business being Big Ten champs over either team with its two losses.  And if Wisconsin wins I can't say they are more deserving than OSU.  Penn State has their head-to-head case.  I would pick OSU regardless of what happens but I think Penn State gets in with a win.

 

I think Wisconsin is better than Penn State but they had opposite results with OSU.  PSU and OSU each have one conference loss and Wisconsin has two.  If they win the Big Ten it's a bit of a fluke.

 

In short, if it were up to me, conference titles wouldn't mean much.  Head-to-head would but it would not mean everything.

[JWhiz96]

I just don't see how an OSU team that didn't even win their division gets a spot in the playoff. If that's the case, then they get the benefit of not playing on championship Saturday, which irks me. Then again, Bama did win a Natty whilst not even winning the division, so...

[DG_ThenNowForever]

I think we all know what's going to happen - OSU will leapfrog Washington and join Penn State or Wisconsin in the Playoff. It feels pretty inevitable.

[Discrim]

I remember back in August, I was telling my cousin I was far more excited about Notre Dame's season than I was about Wisconsin's this year...and around the same time, i was thinking about how Colorado used to be national contenders back in the 90s but were, frankly, horsecrap now.  Naturally, the Irish underachieve all season, the Badgers overachieve somewhat (and let's not act like either Michigan or OSU blew them out)...and Colorado is the surprise team of the year.  Did anyone see CU coming?  Honestly?  I sure didn't.

[oldschoolvikings]

Homer speak, admittedly...

 

Ohio State has road wins over Oklahoma (#8), and Wisconsin (#6). They have home wins over Nebraska (#16) and Michigan (#3).  That's the best resume of wins of any team in the top ten.  Their one loss was on the road to Penn State (#7), and it took a 4th quarter blocked field goal return to get them.    

 

Supposedly, the only true criteria is who are the 4 best teams.  Seriously, you think tOSU isn't one of the 4 best teams?

[crashcarson15]

Ohio State beat three top-10 teams. There ain’t another team out there that has a more impressive resume.

[HedleyLamarr]

21 minutes ago, oldschoolvikings said:

Homer speak, admittedly...

 

Ohio State has road wins over Oklahoma (#8), and Wisconsin (#6). They have home wins over Nebraska (#16) and Michigan (#3).  That's the best resume of wins of any team in the top ten.  Their one loss was on the road to Penn State (#7), and it took a 4th quarter blocked field goal return to get them.    

 

Supposedly, the only true criteria is who are the 4 best teams.  Seriously, you think tOSU isn't one of the 4 best teams?

I already posted this once.

 

Assuming they win this weekend, Alabama (#1), Clemson (likely #3 this week), and Washington (likely #4) are in.  If Penn State wins, do you think OSU...which already lost to PSU and PSU won the conference...gets in over PSU?

[dfwabel]

9 minutes ago, HedleyLamarr said:

I already posted this once.

 

Assuming they win this weekend, Alabama (#1), Clemson (likely #3 this week), and Washington (likely #4) are in.  If Penn State wins, do you think OSU...which already lost to PSU and PSU won the conference...gets in over PSU?

But September wasn't a month of exhibition games.

Ohio State beat Oklahoma and a Tulsa team, who finished 9-3. That's why they're currently at #2.

[Dynasty]

Even with Penn State going to the B1G Championship game, I still think Ohio State has not only accomplished more, but are overall a better-rounded team, even if they lost to the Nittany Lions. And hell, I could argue that Ohio State has been more impressive than the likes of Washington and Clemson, regardless if THEY win their respected conferences.

[2001mark]

Are Conf Championships over or under rated?  I say properly, on a pedestal so be it.  If a 2 loss team defeats an undefeated, I think that 1 loss team should move down the playoff ladder.  Otherwise wtf is the point of making such a big deal about title games if they're just neutral field potential re-matches.