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My opinion:

FSU, even if they win the ACC, is absolutely not as good as Oregon. Especially now that they've lost Jordan Travis. Oregon has to beat UW and if they do... should be in.

Even if Georgia loses to Alabama in the SEC title game, they deserve a spot in the playoff. Texas may have beat Alabama, but who thinks they're a better team? Only Texas fans.

Michigan has to be in. They're unbeaten and beat a top 10 team in OSU in their conference championship. If Washington beats Oregon, they'll also deserve a spot.

We'll have to see how these games go this weekend.

😆

Actually, I wrote up a response but got distracted and accidentally deleted it.

Oregon is officially out... UW has to be in.

Go Noles

2 losses for Oregon. They are out.

If UGA loses they'll get left out. I don't think they should, but I think they will.

Honestly, win or lose today, I don't think Free Shoes University is deserving, but if they win they will probably get in. Damn shame because I think they'll get crushed by whoever they play in the first round without Jordan Travis.

Michigan is in. Washington is in. Let's see how it plays out.

Miracles happen, Conan... miracles happen.

Before the season started I wasn’t an Alabama / Nick Saban fan but watched his weekly interviews on the Pat McAfee Show. Nick’s straightforwardness and humbleness flipped that card. I won’t say I’mma fan but I certainly don’t root against them anymore.

Well Wash and Mich are in.
Last two spots?
I’m leaning towards Bama and Texas.
FSU will scream………..no one cares….
Georgia will scream……but how can you put them in ahead of Bama?
Bama loss to Texas early??……not a horrible loss
Texas’ loss to Oklahoma wasn’tt a bad loss either.

bama and Texas had by far, the highest strength of schedule rating.
But if that was a serious determining factor, Mich and Wash wouldn’t be in the conversation, but FSU would be….

Lets just go to 8 teams now and call it good.
Arguing about the 7th and 8th team selected won’t be as painful……

Welp…….looks like they went with my picks, as well they should……..
FSU getting hosed a bit…………but, their QB issues certainly didnt help their cause

Bama gonna smash Michigan
Texas/Wahington will be close, with Bama smashing the winner….

So, yeah... Georgia lost to Alabama in their conference championship. Tough loss. But 29 wins in a row and 2 time defending champ and you leave them out?

That said, who thinks Georgia is NOT one of the 4 best teams in the country?

Better than UW and Texas for sure.

Woulda loved to have watched the Committee discussions held last night / early this morning.

I’ve never been a big follower of college football but with the early excitement created by Colorado and Nick Saban on the Pat McAfee show, I’ve probably watched more games this season than I have the last 3 years combined.

Imho, the Alabama - Michigan matchup is the championship game. Too bad it has to be a semi-final.

Mich is a 2.5 point favorite.
I won’t bet, but I think ALA wins by 13.

Sucks to be Florida State and Georgia But, I do agree 100% with the selections.

College football is and has mostly always been about the polls. As such any fan knows that one’s last performance leading to the weekly Sunday polls have a significant bearing on the standing in that poll. Florida St was lack luster. Georgia lost. Chit happens. Get over it.

Am not a big supporter of FSU, but they absolutely got jobbed. The stats speak for themselves.

Imagine if the exact same thing were to happen not to FSU, but to an SEC team?
By noon, the breakout of the second American Civil War would be underway.

For the record, one un-waiverable prerequisite to being an LSU fan is a rabid hate for BAMA. As such, I’m damn sure anyone who knows me knows that I’m nothing if not an an absolutely fanatical LSU fan. With that out of the way, as much as I hate to admit it BAMA was correctly selected based on the selection criteria that FSU through their membership in the ACC agreed to when the FBS system was implemented.

Per those guidelines, beginning at week 10 I think,13 people submit their weekly picks listed in order 1-6. Then those picks are given points. A 1 is given x points, a 2 y points, etc…. Once all of the ballots are submitted the point values are totaled and based on said total a rank is assigned each team. When there is an aggregate point total tie then there is a set criteria used to determine how teams tied are ranked.

That brings back to how the pickers assigning points for their individual picks. Before championship weekend FSU was ranked above BAMA. So one would logically ask what caused that to change. For me it’s pretty clear by considering a few things. BAMA beat the #1 team. FSU beat #14. BAMA scored a 3 TD’s and 2 FG’s against the #1 team. FSU scored a TD and 2 FG’s against #14. I watched both games. FSU was flat. Since they vote weekly it should be safe to assume there is an expectation that each week the pickers will re-scrutinize those teams. Otherwise, why submit those picks every week going forward?

Like I said I hate BAMA, but BAMA knew they had to go out and outperform if they wanted a shot. On the other hand, I think FSU felt all they needed to do was win without regard for the quality of play, and they would be given a berth. They seemed to forget they were onstage to be judged one more time.

As our mutual friend likes to say; play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

See above

Edit: There is quite a bit more that goes into deciding who gets a berth. It’s not a popularity contest based on what a fan wants. The conference’s all agreed to a format. Just because that format doesn’t work out in a certain teams favor means the results are unfair. Again, it’s what was agreed upon years ago. FSU is a signatory to that agreement as a member of the ACC.

I’ll ask you to consider some things very carefully. If week to week performance wasn’t going to be considered, then why would there be a weekly re-evaluation of all potential invitees. If record was the only criteria, then why have a panel of evaluators at all?

I will say this though. The system of naming a national champion based on polls sucked. The BCS system which was 2/3’s weighted by polls sucked and the current system sucks.

Polls suck because IMHO the only poll that counts is the one labeled “Final Score”. In addition, a 4 team playoff falls woefully short because it excludes too many teams deserving of a shot to compete for the title.

I would like to see a 16 team tournament played over a period of four weeks. There is a model for this. It’s called March Madness. Instead of 64 teams which would take six weeks to play. Reduce it to 16 teams. If a team can’t make it into the top 16 then they have absolutely no claim to play for the title. This format would put an end to all of this annually recurring nonsense.

Russ I understand your viewpoint and I respect it, though like you said of mine I disagree. If you’ll look at my last post before this one though you’ll find quite a bit of common ground at the end.

Not talking about bye weeks. The number of teams who will be in the playoffs.
12 years ago, the NCAA didn’t want any teams in a playoff. Some BS about the sanctity of the game.Too much travel for the kids, taking away from the athletes portion of the Student-Athlete label. We’ve had a four team playoff for a decade. Next year, 12. As it is all about maximizing revenue streams and creating new ones, it will go to 16 next.

If you need a point of reference for how it will look, don’t have to go any further than the March Madness tournament.
Last year, there were 68 teams in it. In 1939 when it began, there were 8.

In the end, it doesn’t matter. Few things do.

I think 2 things can be true at the same time.

FSU got f--ked. And not in the way that feels good. They did... no way around it. They checked all the boxes, had the better record and were left out.

I also think the committee did the right thing. Without Jordan Travis, I think FSU would lose bad to any of the teams selected. We will see if the committee screwed up when UGA and FSU go head to head.

IIRC there is a provision in the selection criteria that mentions key players.

In the 36 team model, the 1-12 teams would get a first round bye.
Much like they are going to do with the 12 team playoff next year, where I believe the top four will get a bye.

If the didn’t, 12 would become 6, 6 would become 3. And then….

In the sidebar under “Principles”:

“Other relevant factors such as unavailability of key players and coaches that may have affected a team’s performance during the season or likely will affect its postseason performance.”

Yah…………..what would be fuqin hilarious?
FSU 42. UGA 13

And then Bama beats Texas 16-14 in the championship game.

Now FSU has a strong case to be #1 in the nation.

Why? They lost their star QB and they still won without him. I remember when the TV swami's were saying how this new bowl schedule will weed out the 1-2 loss teams from being up there with the undefeated teams. Not their fault most of America doesn't know the conferences these undefeated teams come from! I say put them in. Regardless. I'm no fan of giving trophies away. Losing builds character too, and we were all robbed from seeing undefeated teams slug it out. Instead they dropped teams to fit their supposed narratives (Can't wait till we find out they were PAID OFF!!!!) into their little bowl games. Meh. Said it years ago, let them play.

Everyone should be outraged about this crap. It's a cheat. A swindle. Are they going to erect barbwire barricades around all of the stadiums like they did in DC for Biden's Walk of Shame? Kinda the same thing isn't it.

Hahahahahaha! In what fantasy world are you living in?

Damn Russ I get all that. 😂


EDIT: BTW Russ this not to be construed as a disagreement with you, but more of wondering aloud.


The point I’ve been trying to make in like 4 posts is why give anyone a bye. March Madness doesn’t give byes. Inviting 16 teams though would add 2 additional games wouldn’t extend the season because those 2 extra games would be played the same week as the other 6 games in round 1. Plus it adds 4 more teams to the mix making the system fairer perhaps by giving 4 more teams the opportunity to compete.

I can see it now. Team A beats Team B in round 1. In round 2 Team A loses to Team C who happened to have had a round 1 bye. Now Team A claims they were robbed because Team C had an extra week to heal, prepare, etc….

So instead of a new and improved dog we simply have the same dog, just different fleas. Eliminate the byes and this possibility goes away.