Crimson Red Sports

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11860641/college-football-playoff-rankings-tcu-horned-frogs-move-first-four

Today's committee poll results:

1   Mississippi State   9-0
2   Oregon   9-1
3   Florida State   9-0
4   TCU   8-1
5   Alabama   8-1
6   Arizona State   8-1
7   Baylor   8-1
8   Ohio State   8-1
9   Auburn   7-2
10   Ole Miss   8-2
11   UCLA   8-2
12   Michigan State   7-2
13   Kansas State   7-2
14   Arizona   7-2
15   Georgia   7-2
16   Nebraska   8-1
17   LSU   7-3
18   Notre Dame   7-2
19   Clemson   7-2
20   Wisconsin   7-2
21   Duke   8-1
22   Georgia Tech   8-2
23   Utah   6-3
24   Texas A&M   7-3
25   Minnesota   7-2



So, TCU pulls a last second win to beat WV by a point, a team we beat by 10; and Ole Miss was at #3, directly after losing to LSU, a team we beat?

Oh yeah, I've got tremendous faith in this committee!

I understand that if we win out, we shouldn't have anything to worry about, but this committee makes me worry.

Agreed.  Those rankings don't give one a "warm and fuzzy" feeling toward the committee at all...

Absolutely! And the barn loses to a mediocre team with a backup QB, and are still in the top 10.

If we beat their #1 we are in. End of story. Plus, I predict that FSU will not win out.

I agree with you, ATU. It just pisses me off that everything hinges on this committee, and it appears that they are not a very rational group.

We are in if we beat Miss State and win out. The committee does not want two SEC teams in the top four. They are making sure a Big 12 team jumps Miss State when we beat them.

I am not worried about the committee.  All I care is Bama takes care of their business and the rest will take care of itself.

And that would make matters worse, IMO. How could they justify knocking Miss St out of the top 4, if they lose to Alabama, when Ole Miss came in at #3 after losing to LSU?

For what it matters though, I do agree that Oregon is better than FSU...

We knew going in that this bunch of people would be like everybody else. They all want their pick to get in the playoffs and Alabama is not on either one of them minds. However, the sun still shines because when we beat the #1 team in the nation on Saturday and then win out there is no way in fairness they can stop Alabama from being in the playoff even though their little voting pinky will hurt to say our name. Merry you Christmas committee. RTR!

"Oh look; polls are out."

 :yawn:

Winning the rest of our games will, to some degree, take the decision out of the committee's hands.  Not saying they could not still stick it to us, but they'd loose all cred if they did so.

Big question to me is...given where MSU is now, what will they do with a one loss MSU?

Hard to be impressed with the rationale they are putting out there.  Not well thought out to me.

Hopefully, CNS will use this as fodder to motivate the team.

All speculation, but if Alabama wins out and MSU loses only to Alabama, both could get in the playoff.  But MSU only gets in if FSU, Oregon, or TCU lose.  Too soon to speculate; lots of games to play yet.

Sucks for TCU and Baylor.  No championship game for the Big 12, so it's just a beauty pageant.  Baylor is definitely getting the shaft.

If we win, we are in.  If they want to put 3 cupcakes in there with us, so be it.  You would think they would have learned after they served up Notre Dame for us.

We complained about the BCS. Now we're complaining about the committee. If the playoff was expanded to 8 or 16 teams we'd complain about the loss of what makes college football so unique: the fact that every single game matters for a championship contender. 

If Bama beats MSU and both finish with one loss I don't think the committee could leave MSU out.  If we lose another one we don't belong in the discussion anyway. It will all work itself out.

As Tonto said to the Lone Ranger, "What do you mean 'we', white man?"  :lol2:

I was actually very vocal about college football moving away from the BCS to a committee. I never had any issues with the BCS. This committee scares me to death. I know that if we win out, we are most likely in. I just don't like our fate in the hands of a bunch of irrational, apparently ill informed maroons.

You, scared?  You?
You know damm well that we'll be in after we win.  Nobody in America can deny that.
Meanwhile, all we need to do is beat the Castranians on Saturday.

 :popcorn2:

And that ain't no bull.

Ok, e-creds for the bull funnies to you both.  #+ #+

We need to let the season play out and see what happens. We complained starting at mid-season each year about the BCS but when it was all said and done they got the two best teams in the championship game. We can only hope the best four teams make the playoffs.

We don't have much choice, do we?  :lol2:

I hope it does turn out to be the best 4 teams, but I have my doubts. Right now, TCU is ranked higher than Baylor. Baylor beat them head to head. TCU is ranked higher than us and I've already addressed that. Does not compute.

Freudian slip or just totally focused on this week's game?   Either way...  #+ #+

Yeah, and we're ahead of Ole Miss.  They beat us.
Believe me, if I analyzed data and drew conclusions as they do, you'd all be taking faux-medications and I'd be rich.
Do I look rich?

 :unsure:

Yes, you do, but that's beside the point.  :lol2:

NALT, I like where you're going with the Freudian slip. You might have something there.  :clap:

We win, we in.  We can't, we ain't.

fsu loses this weekend to miami. 

I think they also lose to uf.

It will be interesting to see what the committee does with the final 4 picks.

While initially the top 4 was SEC-heavy, we knew that SEC teams would beat each other up and move down the list.

It appears that we'll probably have 4 conferences represented when all is said and done, with Miss. State having an outside shot to make it as a second SEC team if they lose to Bama then win out.

While it is a coin toss, I can understand favoring TCU over Baylor, even though TCU lost at Baylor.  TCU has looked to be the better team this year, clobbered OK and Kansas State, and should have won the Baylor game.  If conference champion plays a role, though, Baylor might get the nod eventually.  That is part of the equation that we haven't seen yet.

Whoever wins between Oregon and Arizona State should make it in as well, assuming no other losses.

That leaves room for one SEC team and Florida State -- but if FSU loses then I think it is out.

While the subjectivity of the selection committee is clear, it also is pretty clear that picking the top 4 teams is a crap shoot with this process.  The advantage I see to the SEC is that in future years it should get a 1-loss team into the playoffs even when there are two other power-5 undefeated teams, something that would not happen with the BCS system.  And there also is the off-chance of the SEC getting two teams into the playoffs, but I see that as only slightly less likely than the Bama v. LSU BCSCG.

With so many college teams playing different opponents, selecting the best 4 is always going to draw criticism.  But it is the system in place, and I do prefer it to the BCS.

Just win, baby, and the rest will take care of itself.

I like the idea that all MSU players and fans are "maroons".  Indeed.   :lol2:

(https://www.hogblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Miss-State-fans.jpeg)


About the committee:

I like it WAAAAY better than the polls.  I had zero confidence that the pollsters watched more than one game.  And the maroons that would vote "Navy #1" one week (just to congratulate them on a win) were a pain. 

This way the committee sits to discuss the rankings, and works out fine details.  The only reservation I have with this comes from years of participating in committee meetings.  If they get a blow-hard bully among the committee members, he could persuade others to follow his vote (or vote against 'his team').  And generally, committee decisions end up being an average between those members who are most perceptive (who reward the innovative teams) and those who simply look at records ("FSU and Marshall are still undefeated, so they're #1 and #2.").  So, you end up with average scores for many teams, and they get bunched up in a meaningless arrangement.

But, what else can we do?  It's nonsense to compare games, because (1) teams play different schedules; (2) teams improve or degenerate during the season; (3) games played at home are an advantage; (4) luck and bounce of the ball decides games; and (5) Notre Dame sucks.

 :dunno:

At least the committee chair has an SEC relationship, though I doubt we see his team ranked.

(5) The committee appears to agree, mostly.   :lol2:

The last three weeks of games and the championships will make a lot of the decisions for the committee. My real interest is in what they do to rank the final four on the last week. When you are talking about a place or two, it is hard to argue right or wrong. That means the committee is going to be able to seed the tournament any way they please. For example, if Alabama and MSU both end up in the top 4, do they get seeded at 2 and 3 to ensure there aren't two sec teams in the championship game? Or do the seed OU against a team that has struggled agains the HUNH offense?

You are correct, the seeding is important, very important, and the committee has nearly full discretion to determine it.  (what team is going to complain as long as they get in?)    ecred for that observation.   :clap:

Another factor with seeding is where the team will play.  For example, the committee moved Oregon up to number 2 this week.  If Bama wins on Saturday, Oregon probably moves to No. 1, which means they play as the home team in the Rose Bowl, instead of playing in the Sugar Bowl.  That also makes a difference....

I was thinking that SOS played a role with the selection committee and if Bama wins out I would find it pretty hard to find a team that has had a tougher schedule than them.

Pretty much everyone agrees that if Bama wins out, it's in, and if it doesn't, it's out.

By everyone, I hope you mean the committee. They are lord and master of this whole dog and pony show.

:tinfoil: :tinfoil: :tinfoil: :tinfoil: :tinfoil: :tinfoil: :tinfoil: :tinfoil:

So, we should hope FSU and Oregon keep winning.  #1 goes to the Rose Bowl, and one of them would be ranked highest (maybe).

Then, if we win out, we'd be #2 or #3 and go to the Sugar Bowl.

With our luck the COMMITTEE will suddenly decide we are indeed #1.   :facepalm:

There was a great deal of criticism on all the sports shows yesterday about TCU being at #4. Not as much because they were ranked ahead of Bama, but more so because they were ranked ahead of Baylor, who beat them head to head, and both are one loss teams.

Here we go again. Nobody is happy. The only way we make the college football world happy is take the Bowl games and make every one a play off game. So everybody gets mentioned. How about that for ideas. rofl, RTR!

Maybe a 64-team playoff, Preacher?

 :tinfoil:

Remember the Rose Bowl, we'll win then.  HTH.

I like it.  Play 8 conference games to establish seeding, then up to 6 playoff games.  Once you are knocked out of the playoffs, have some more games in the loser's bracket so that each team is guaranteed to play at least 12 games every year.

 :lol:, Wow you mean I actually had one good idea?  :lol: :lol:Then we wouldn't need any big time poles to be biased toward one team or another. Let the winners fall where they may and the poll means doodley except to give the espn bunch something to bicker about. RTR!

Baylor says ,  Da' committee is kinda chitty ?  :dunno: