# 2014 College Football General Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 30, 2014, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937 "2014-08-30T03:58:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 29
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/562 "2014-11-17T01:41:21Z")
Game Day goes North to HAH-Vahd YAHD this Saturday! For some reason, this intrigues me. I would like to Tour the campus someday. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/563 "2014-11-17T03:10:51Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I’m pleased Miss State only fell to #4. Still on track for the playoffs, and a possible rematch for the Championship. Also pleased to see Bama jump to #2. Would love to see an all SEC final…🙂 Not clear to me why MSU is ranked that high. Their reputation this season was based on beating three highly ranked unbeaten teams in a row — LSU, A&M, and Auburn. But now Auburn is the only one of the three still ranked, and it has three losses. So it turns out that MSU has yet to beat a top ten team, and they sure didn’t look like a top four team yesterday. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/564 "2014-11-17T03:27:29Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > I’m pleased Miss State only fell to #4. Still on track for the playoffs, and a possible rematch for the Championship. Also pleased to see Bama jump to #2. Would love to see an all SEC final…🙂 Assuming you’re serious… 🙂 If your goal is to demonstrate the superiority of the SEC, you’ll need to beat an opponent from another conference. Merely extending the SEC regular season by 3 games in January wouldn’t prove much of anything. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/565 "2014-11-17T04:21:22Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Assuming you’re serious… 🙂 If your goal is to demonstrate the superiority of the SEC, you’ll need to beat an opponent from another conference. Merely extending the SEC regular season by 3 games in January wouldn’t prove much of anything. That’s the beauty of having teams ranked #2 and #4. As I understand it, #1 will play #4, and #2 will play #3. The only way to have an all-SEC final is for Bama and Miss State to win the semifinal against non-SEC opponents. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/566 "2014-11-17T14:30:33Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > That’s the beauty of having teams ranked #2 and #4. As I understand it, #1 will play #4, and #2 will play #3. The only way to have an all-SEC final is for Bama and Miss State to win the semifinal against non-SEC opponents. Aha, I misread your original statement – I thought you were hoping for an all-SEC playoff (all 4 teams)…which would be a bit of a reach. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/567 "2014-11-17T14:57:05Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Not clear to me why MSU is ranked that high. Their reputation this season was based on beating three highly ranked unbeaten teams in a row — LSU, A&M, and Auburn. But now Auburn is the only one of the three still ranked, and it has three losses. So it turns out that MSU has yet to beat a top ten team, and they sure didn’t look like a top four team yesterday. Perhaps some of the voters thought they were voting for Michigan State. More seriously, more SEC bias. Hoping that Mississippi beats Mississippi State, Auburn beats Alabama, and the SEC East champ wins the title game. That might hopefully limit Satan’s Evil Conference to one team. Good on Game Day for coming to Harvard. About time ESPN stopped pimping for their subsidiary SEC Network. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/568 "2014-11-17T17:02:26Z")
Updated Best Win - Worst Loss Rankings! Best Win (all 0, 1 or 2 loss teams, using current AP rankings) 1. Ole Miss (#2 Alabama) 2. Arizona (#3 Oregon) 3. Alabama (#4 Miss State) 4. Baylor (#5 TCU) 5t. Oregon (#10 Michigan State) 5t. Ohio State (#10 Michigan State) 5. Wisconsin (#11 Nebraska) 6. TCU (#12 K State) 7. UCLA (#13 Arizona State) 10t. Miss St (#16 Auburn) 10t. Georgia (#16 Auburn) 8. Duke (#17 Georgia Tech) 9. Arizona State (#20 Utah) 10. Michigan State (#21 Nebraska) 11. Kansas State (#23 Oklahoma) 12. FSU (UR Notre Dame) 13. Missouri (UR A&M) 14. Nebraska (None) Worst loss: 1. FSU (none) 2. Miss St (#2 Alabama) 3. TCU (#6 Baylor) 4. Michigan State (#7 Ohio State) 5. Alabama (#8 Ole Miss) 6. Nebraska (#14 Wisconsin) 7. Oregon (#15 Arizona) 8. K-State (# 16 Auburn) 9. UCLA (#20 Utah) 10. Arizona (#24 USC) 11t Georgia (UR Florida) 11t. Ole Miss (UR LSU) 11t. Baylor (UR West Virginia) 14t. Missouri (UR Indiana) 14t. Duke (UR Miami) 14t. Wisconsin (UR Northwestern) 14t. Arizona State (UR Oregon State) 14t Ohio State (UR Virginia Tech) Average ranking, eliminating the 2-loss teams 1. Alabama (4) 2. TCU (5.5) 3t. Oregon (6) 3t. Miss St (6) 3. Baylor (7.5) 4. FSU (8.5) 5. Ohio State (9.5) ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2014, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/569 "2014-11-17T17:35:45Z")
> [@USCDiver](#): > > I predict Muschamp will head to South Carolina to take over the soon to be vacated defensive coordinator position. This isn’t the first time I’ve read that prediction. It wouldn’t surprise me, but I’d think twice before heading to a school that may not have its head coach for very much longer. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/570 "2014-11-18T00:49:34Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Okay, I get how the final score is the final score, but really … Auburn lost that game to Ole Miss. Or they would have, had that poor guy not broken his leg and dropped the ball at the one. > > I know it goes down as a win for Auburn, but anybody watching that game knows they were beaten until that leg cracked. > > I just think it’s a shame that Ole Miss gets knocked down for losing that one while Auburn gets the benefit of the win. Should have kinda-sorta been a wash, in my mind. At least Auburn dribbled the next game down their legs, so … Yeah, I didn’t see the game. In general, I think that unless you are closely watching many games from around the country each weekend (like the CFP committee hopefully is), it’s best not to take these things into account, because it introduces a bias in favor of the teams you follow closely. So, in rating Oregon, I don’t give them extra credit based on their one loss being due to a horrible call. In retrospect, I can’t remember what the hell I was thinking saying that Auburn should have been in the playoff with two losses in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/571 "2014-11-18T00:52:07Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Go Northwestern! “WE WON THE FUCKING GAME!!!”- Dr. Morton Shapiro, President, Northwestern University. Well spoken, sir. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/572 "2014-11-18T01:08:22Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Updated Best Win - Worst Loss Rankings! > > Best Win (all 0, 1 or 2 loss teams, using current AP rankings) > > 1. Ole Miss (#2 Alabama) > 2. Arizona (#3 Oregon) > 3. Alabama (#4 Miss State) > 4. Baylor (#5 TCU) > 5t. Oregon (#10 Michigan State) > 5t. Ohio State (#10 Michigan State) > 5. Wisconsin (#11 Nebraska) > 6. TCU (#12 K State) > 7. UCLA (#13 Arizona State) > 10t. Miss St (#16 Auburn) > 10t. Georgia (#16 Auburn) > 8. Duke (#17 Georgia Tech) > 9. Arizona State (#20 Utah) > 10. Michigan State (#21 Nebraska) > 11. Kansas State (#23 Oklahoma) > 12. FSU (UR Notre Dame) > 13. Missouri (UR A&M) > 14. Nebraska (None) > > Worst loss: > > 1. FSU (none) > 2. Miss St (#2 Alabama) > 3. TCU (#6 Baylor) > 4. Michigan State (#7 Ohio State) > 5. Alabama (#8 Ole Miss) > 6. Nebraska (#14 Wisconsin) > 7. Oregon (#15 Arizona) > 8. K-State (# 16 Auburn) > 9. UCLA (#20 Utah) > 10. Arizona (#24 USC) > 11t Georgia (UR Florida) > 11t. Ole Miss (UR LSU) > 11t. Baylor (UR West Virginia) > 14t. Missouri (UR Indiana) > 14t. Duke (UR Mia-mi) > 14t. Wisconsin (UR Northwestern) > 14t. Arizona State (UR Oregon State) > 14t Ohio State (UR Virginia Tech) > > Average ranking, eliminating the 2-loss teams > > 1. Alabama (4) > 2. TCU (5.5) > 3t. Oregon (6) > 3t. Miss St (6) > 3. Baylor (7.5) > 4. FSU (8.5) > 5. Ohio State (9.5) Where’s Ga Tech? ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/573 "2014-11-18T01:09:03Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > Not clear to me why MSU is ranked that high. Their reputation this season was based on beating three highly ranked unbeaten teams in a row — LSU, A&M, and Auburn. But now Auburn is the only one of the three still ranked, and it has three losses. So it turns out that MSU has yet to beat a top ten team, and they sure didn’t look like a top four team yesterday. Yeah, THIS. It appears their best performance of the season might have been losing to Alabama by only 5 on the road. And remember that Ole Miss lost to both LSU and Auburn, so Alabama’s win over Ole Miss now looks less impressive than it once did. It is now plausibly possible that the SEC could end up with a three-loss champion and no teams with fewer than two losses…would it then be represented in the playoff at all?? Barring a series of total collapses by highly ranked teams, I don’t see any reason why any conference should get two teams in the playoff, since it seems likely that all five major conferences will produce respectable champions, either with one loss or two losses and a very tough schedule. I would say that in that case the Big Ten should be left out in the cold, since OSU lost to Virginia Tech, Nebraska’s win in the title game would be its first good one, Minnesota already has three losses, and Wisconsin lost to Northwestern. I would say that overall Michigan State has had the best season in the conference, but barring extreme weirdness they won’t win the title. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/574 "2014-11-18T01:59:41Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > Where’s Ga Tech? They’re reflected in the Best Win category, as Duke’s best win. But all 2-loss teams were eliminated from the final ranking. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/575 "2014-11-18T04:07:23Z")
Overall I think the current AP poll is reasonable. I would move TCU into the top four over Miss St, but that’s a close call. As already noted, Auburn and Ole Miss are highly overrated. Two other major curiosities: #14 Wisconsin, #21 Nebraska. Wisconsin’s best win by far(admittedly a dominant one) is over Nebraska, and their worst loss is _Northwestern._ I don’t see how you can possibly say that record deserves the #14 ranking, unless you also say that Nebraska should be much higher than #21. I’d put them both in the lower teens. #13 Arizona State, #15 Arizona. Both have identical records. ASU’s best win is over Utah, and its worst loss is to (gag) Oregon State. Arizona’s best win is over Oregon, and its worst loss to USC. How does that work?! I think ASU’s rating is about right, Zona should be where UCLA is, UCLA should be where Ole Miss is, and Ole Miss should be where Arizona is. It will be interesting to see what the “official” rankings say tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/576 "2014-11-18T08:46:01Z")
> [@Thing\_Fish](#): > > so Alabama’s win over Ole Miss now looks less impressive than it once did. Ole Miss beat Bama. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/577 "2014-11-18T20:17:54Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > Ole Miss beat Bama. Of course. I meant to say that Alabama’s loss to Ole Miss now looks worse than it did when Ole Miss was undefeated. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/578 "2014-11-19T02:35:36Z")
Let’s see… Alabama beat Mississippi State and Arkansas but wasn’t as good as Mississippi. Mississippi beat Alabama but wasn’t as good as Texas A&M. Texas A&M wasn’t as good as Missouri. Missouri wasn’t as good as Indiana. Everybody in the Big Ten East has beaten Indiana (assuming OSU does this week). The inescapable conclusion: The entire Big Ten East is better than the entire SEC West. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/579 "2014-11-19T03:24:57Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Mississippi beat Alabama but wasn’t as good as Texas A&M. Ole Miss beat TAM. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/580 "2014-11-19T03:32:41Z")
Whew, that was close. Bob’s logic was otherwise irrefutable. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/581 "2014-11-19T15:51:50Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Whew, that was close. Bob’s logic was otherwise irrefutable. 🙂 Insert Auburn and you’ve got it: Alabama lost to Mississippi. Mississippi lost to Auburn. Auburn lost to Texas A&M. Texas A&M lost to Missouri. Missouri lost to Indiana. Indiana has lost to pretty much everybody else… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=28) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=30)