# 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:** 30
**Author:** ![Nauplius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nauplius/32/51_2.png) [@Nauplius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nauplius)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/582 "2014-11-19T16:30:33Z")
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 lost to Maryland. Maryland lost to Wisconsin. Wisconsin lost to LSU. LSU lost to Mississippi State. Mississippi State lost to Alabama… ---
**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, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/583 "2014-11-19T16:38:21Z")
Thanks for the help in completing my chain. Of course it’s silly, you can construct them to mean about whatever you want. But in truth the season is so short and there are so few out of conference games that there really is never any definitive proof that a team from conference A is better than a team from conference B. I wish CFB would take a page from basketball and open up the tourney to more teams. I don’t care what conference you’re in, be it MAC, Sun Belt, WAC, whatever, if you win the championship you should get in. So I say take every conference champion plus enough independents/runners up to make a 16 team tourney. Let the top 8 teams as ranked by a committee host the bottom 8 in mid-December. New Years Day then 4 major bowls can make the quarter finals, a week later have the semis and then the finals the next week. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/584 "2014-11-19T16:40:11Z")
Really wish the college playoffs would be expanded to 8 teams, not 4. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/585 "2014-11-19T17:55:38Z")
Here’s a list I found on Usenet: Bowling Green beat Indiana Western Kentucky beat Bowling Green Alabama-Birmingham beat Western Kentucky Florida International beat Alabama-Birmingham Bethune-Cookman beat Florida International Hampton beat Bethune-Cookman Morgan State beat Hampton Holy Cross beat Morgan State Brown beat Holy Cross Georgetown beat Brown Dayton beat Georgetown Drake beat Dayton Grandview beat Drake Marian IN beat Grandview Robert Morris beat Marian IN Siena Heights beat Robert Morris St Joseph’s IN beat Siena Heights Missouri S&T beat St Joseph’s IN William Jewell beat Missouri S&T South Dakota Tech beat William Jewell WI River Falls beat South Dakota Tech WI Stout beat WI River Falls Dakota Wesleyan beat WI Stout Northwestern IA beat Dakota Wesleyan Bacone beat Northwestern IA Wayland beat Bacone Sul Ross beat Wayland Trinity TX beat Sul Ross Willamette beat Trinity TX Puget Sound beat Willamette Occidental beat Puget Sound Cal Lutheran beat Occidental Claremont Mudd Scripps beat Cal Lutheran ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/586 "2014-11-19T17:58:56Z")
My prediction: Auburn beats Alabama Mississippi beats Mississippi St. Four teams from the SEC now go to the playoffs: Alabama, Auburn, Ole Miss, Miss. St. or maybe Georgia gets in somehow. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/587 "2014-11-19T18:03:01Z")
I would prefer a top ten playoff scheme. The six top-performing conferences (based on overall OoC records) would send their top team, and there would be four WCs, all seeded by the old-style three-legged BCS ranking. In the first round, mixed in with the early “consolation bowls” in December, it would be #10vs#3 through #7vs#6; in the second round, #1 and #2 would face the lowest-seeded winners, giving the highest-seeded winners of the first round a bye; thence, in late December or early January, the “final four” elimination games, perhaps as major venue bowls, followed by the single championship game, and thus not drawing out the season any longer than it already is. ---
**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, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/588 "2014-11-19T18:11:48Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Here’s a list I found on Usenet: I can top that one! FSU lost to…well…um… Okay, last year FSU lost to…well…darn. Wait, got it! In **2012** FSU lost to Florida. So, something, something, something, SEC Rulez!!!1!!!1 I don’t get a flying fuck what ESPN’s Fuckbag College Football Playoff Committee™ says, we are number one until somebody beats us. If any SEC school had that record, they wouldn’t be talking about fucking Game Control\*, they’d be number one until proven otherwise. - Only Game Control I ever heard about (until the giant SEC cocksucking of 2014) was the scoreboard and it only counts when the clock reads 0. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/589 "2014-11-19T18:18:47Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Hmmm. QB throws 7/11 for 46yds, 1TD. Pretty pathetic. > > One of their RBs carries the ball 25 times for 4TDs and 4:eek:8 yds. > > Uh huh. I guess that explains that. Why bother passing when you can run like that? Some technical football talk about how Melvin Gordon and Wisconsin outplayed the famed Blackshirts of Nebraska: > **[How Wisconsin broke the record](https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2014/11/18/7236543/melvin-gordon-ncaa-record-wisconsin-nebraska-game-2014)** > > The Cornhuskers had a simple approach to keeping Melvin Gordon bottled up. The Badgers' star and his blockers made it look silly. And from [Grantland](http://grantland.com/the-triangle/college-football-2014-week-12-wrap-melvin-gordon-mississippi-state-arizona-state-todd-gurley/): His frozen dreadlocks cutting like Samson’s mighty mane through the icy nimbus of a slate-gray Wisconsin afternoon, Gordon’s magnum opus in his team’s biggest game of the year fully warrants the hyperbole. Sleeveless in the snow, undaunted by the threat of frostbite or fatigue, Gordon careered through the catacombs of the Cornhuskers defense time and again, a phantom appearing to mere mortals as an evanescent swirl of cardinal and white en route to the end zone. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/590 "2014-11-19T18:37:03Z")
In my opinion, the worst possible thing that can happen, as long a shot as it is, is: (a) Somehow, Florida State stays undefeated but ends up #5 in the CFP; (b) The #3 or #4 team, which is ranked behind FSU in both of the polls, ends up winning the CFP championship; © The coaches in the Amway (USA Today) poll think long and hard, and enough of them decide to put FSU #1 in the final poll - note that, unlike the BCS, there does not appear to be any agreement between the American Football Coaches Association and the CFP that requires that the coaches vote the CFP champion as its own national champion as well; (d) The sportswriters in the AP poll also decide that FSU deserves the #1 spot. What’s the problem? I’m getting to that… (e) The CFP champion school tries to give out “College Football National Championship” rings to its players. (f) The NCAA points out that, since the CFP champion is not the national champion chosen by the national coaches’ association in that sport nor by any national wire-service poll, the bylaws prohibit that school awarding separate “national championship” awards of any sort, and any player that receives one risks losing any remaining football eligibility, in addition to any punishment given to the school. Then again, what would probably happen next is: (g) I think the players can receive “CFP Championship Game Participation” rings - the bylaws aren’t clear on this (they are allowed for bowl games, but the NCAA does not consider the championship game a “bowl game”) - and the NCAA does not mind if they carve “CFP National Champions” on those, similar to what Auburn got in 2004, as long as they don’t receive separate rings just for the CFP championship. Alternatively, the rings the players can receive from the school for being in the Rose or Sugar Bowl can be modified accordingly. The NCAA members jumped through a number of hoops to get ready for the CFP, but seemed to have forgotten this one. ---
**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, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/591 "2014-11-19T18:50:10Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > And from [Grantland](http://grantland.com/the-triangle/college-football-2014-week-12-wrap-melvin-gordon-mississippi-state-arizona-state-todd-gurley/): > His frozen dreadlocks cutting like Samson’s mighty mane through the icy nimbus of a slate-gray Wisconsin afternoon, Gordon’s magnum opus in his team’s biggest game of the year fully warrants the hyperbole. Sleeveless in the snow, undaunted by the threat of frostbite or fatigue, Gordon careered through the catacombs of the Cornhuskers defense time and again, a phantom appearing to mere mortals as an evanescent swirl of cardinal and white en route to the end zone. Nominations for the Overwriting Award For 2014 are now closed. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/592 "2014-11-19T18:52:48Z")
I’d be happy for any team but Alabama to win the championship. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/593 "2014-11-19T19:17:09Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > … warrants the hyperbole. Sleeveless in the snow … Yeah, maybe not. We happened to be in Madison Saturday. There was no snow. It was wake-you-up bracing, but “snow” is just right out. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/594 "2014-11-19T20:38:32Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Yeah, maybe not. We happened to be in Madison Saturday. There was no snow. It was wake-you-up bracing, but “snow” is just right out. Sure looks like snow to me: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/32fl6KCMlkc/maxresdefault.jpg "Wisconsin vs Nebraska Postgame Recap") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32fl6KCMlkc) Snowed from the end of the third quarter through the end of the game. There was rain mixed with snow before that. Of course the Grantland thing was overwritten. That’s in the tradition. ---
**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 19, 2014, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/595 "2014-11-19T20:58:17Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Here’s a list I found on Usenet: > > Bowling Green beat Indiana > Western Kentucky beat Bowling Green > Alabama-Birmingham beat Western Kentucky > Florida International beat Alabama-Birmingham > Bethune-Cookman beat Florida International > Hampton beat Bethune-Cookman > Morgan State beat Hampton > Holy Cross beat Morgan State > Brown beat Holy Cross > Georgetown beat Brown > Dayton beat Georgetown > Drake beat Dayton > Grandview beat Drake > Marian IN beat Grandview > Robert Morris beat Marian IN > Siena Heights beat Robert Morris > St Joseph’s IN beat Siena Heights > Missouri S&T beat St Joseph’s IN > William Jewell beat Missouri S&T > South Dakota Tech beat William Jewell > WI River Falls beat South Dakota Tech > WI Stout beat WI River Falls > Dakota Wesleyan beat WI Stout > Northwestern IA beat Dakota Wesleyan > Bacone beat Northwestern IA > Wayland beat Bacone > Sul Ross beat Wayland > Trinity TX beat Sul Ross > Willamette beat Trinity TX > Puget Sound beat Willamette > Occidental beat Puget Sound > Cal Lutheran beat Occidental > Claremont Mudd Scripps beat Cal Lutheran Just put a “g” in the middle of “beat” and it sounds downright Biblical. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2014, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/596 "2014-11-19T22:49:25Z")
If Ole Miss beats Miss St. and UGA/Mizzou beats Bama in the SEC CG, there would be no SEC teams with fewer than 2 losses. Assuming Oregon, FSU, Ohio State, TCU and Baylor all win out, does an SEC team get in the playoffs then? ---
**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 19, 2014, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/597 "2014-11-19T23:21:20Z")
Sadly, I think that based on strength of schedule, a good case could be made that the two-loss SEC champion (Ole Miss, I think, could also theoretically win the title with two losses) would still have a better resume than OSU or Baylor (I assume that, even though TCU is currently ranked higher, the committee couldn’t overlook both the conference championship, which Baylor would have if it wins out, and the head-to-head win). The exception might possibly be if Missouri wins the SEC, since there seems to be a consensus that they are not on the same level as the other SEC teams with comparable records. Now, if Georgia loses to Georgia Tech (or Charleston Southern! Can’t overlook Charleston Southern!) and then wins the SEC title with THREE losses, especially over a two-loss Ole Miss team, it could get interesting. I have been looking over[a](http://www.teamrankings.com/college-football/ranking/strength-of-schedule-by-team) [few](http://sagarin.com/sports/cfsend.htm) [sites](http://www.bcftoys.com/2014-sos) which crunch numbers to rank strength of schedule, and this has confirmed my belief that, like Bob said above, this is far from an exact science. For example, I was wondering specifically if my impression that Baylor’s schedule is stronger than Ohio State’s is correct; all three of these sites agree that it is, but only one sees a significant difference, and one site sees Baylor as #11, while the others have them down in the 50s or 60s. There does seem to be pretty good general agreement that the SEC West schools have the toughest schedules, though. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2014, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/598 "2014-11-20T01:13:56Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > In my opinion, the worst possible thing that can happen, as long a shot as it is, is: By the end of the season, typically there are few enough 0 and 1 loss teams that it sorts itself out. Rarely have I seen a team ranked 5 that I thought should have a shot. I think 4 top teams, as long as record is a substantial component and humans only do some fine tuning, I think it should be ok. ---
**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 20, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/599 "2014-11-20T20:31:17Z")
So, in response to, um, no particular demand, here is my top 10: **1. Florida State** Weakest schedule of the contenders, but you have to respect the 0. Although they have no real good wins, I also want to give them credit for being the only contender that restricted itself to one cupcake on the nonconference schedule. **2. Oregon** Toughest schedule of the one-loss teams **3. TCU 4. Alabama 5. Miss. St** There’s a real conundrum at this 3-5 zone, which of course is exactly where you don’t want a conundrum: Miss St has a tougher schedule than TCU, which has a better loss than Alabama, which beat Miss St. I’ll keep TCU in the playoff zone for now, but that could change, since both SEC schools still have the opportunity for quality wins, and TCU doesn’t. **6. Baylor** Baylor’s loss is sufficiently embarrassing that I’m keeping them below TCU despite the head-to-head win, but a win over KSU and a Big 12 title should get them into the top 4. **7. Ohio State** Lame schedule and a really laughable loss means they need help to crack the top 4. I think the Spartans are better, but will respect the head-to-head result. **8. UCLA** Toughest schedule of the two-loss teams **9. Michigan State** see above **10. Arizona** Best win of the year and no bad losses ---
**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 21, 2014, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/600 "2014-11-21T01:25:13Z")
Bit of a hijack, but it does put things in perspective. We Are FSU. ---
**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 21, 2014, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/601 "2014-11-21T01:53:09Z")
It occurred to me that not everybody would know what I was talking about. For those of you who haven’t heard, FSU had a campus shooting last night at the University library building. 3 people were injured (and we’re lucky it wasn’t more) and the shooter was killed by FSU PD. While most people responded appropriately, there were, as there always are, others who did not. Those who tried to tie this to the football program. To Jameis Winston. To a culture of athletic worship. These people include a writer for the NY Times and an ESPN “intern”. To those people, I say: We Are FSU. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=31)