# 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:** 64
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1262 "2015-01-13T05:47:55Z")
All over but the beauty pageant for the other rankings. It will be interesting to see how the AP voters respond to tonight. Bama has an interesting case for #2 in the minds of some voters after playing OSU close. I can see Florida State’s rout look worse to some voters since it wasn’t to the eventual champion. It will be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1263 "2015-01-13T06:24:43Z")
> [@Ennui](#): > > Under the old system there was no way the Buckeyes would have been the national champions. But they are today. Is there any argument to be made that the old system was better than a playoff? I’d like to see it expanded to eight teams but tonight, in my Buckeye heart, I’m beyond happy. Great game tOSU (normally I wouldn’t use the “t” but they earned it), great D and pretty impressive offense. I really enjoyed this new system and it just shows that it’s tough to predict who would win a game (based on rankings and beauty pageant criteria). ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1264 "2015-01-13T06:51:14Z")
> [@DinoR](#): > > All over but the beauty pageant for the other rankings. It will be interesting to see how the AP voters respond to tonight. Bama has an interesting case for #2 in the minds of some voters after playing OSU close. I can see Florida State’s rout look worse to some voters since it wasn’t to the eventual champion. > > It will be interesting. I think anything beyond OSU 1 and Oregon 2 is wrong. Alabama didn’t make it to the title game, the Ducks did, and did it with a big win on the field. You make it tot the title game, you should be top 2, even if it’s a blowout. I’m just so pumped for the OSU win. I need to sleep, but can’t. My prediction on the final 5 is OSU, Oregon, Alabama, TCU, Michigan State. FSU drops to 6. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1265 "2015-01-13T10:17:09Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > I would not been so much of a blowout if marijuana was legal. I agree. IIRC there were two Oregon drives in a row stopped by perfect passes that were simply dropped. Their lack of production in the red zone is also significant, considering Carrington caught two TDs against FSU. That said, Oregon simply couldn’t stop the run, so they deserved to lose. I really don’t know why OSU bothered passing at all. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1266 "2015-01-13T11:24:18Z")
Pass the duchie from the left hand side ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1267 "2015-01-13T11:43:06Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > I think anything beyond OSU 1 and Oregon 2 is wrong. Alabama didn’t make it to the title game, the Ducks did, and did it with a big win on the field. You make it tot the title game, you should be top 2, even if it’s a blowout. I disagree with that. TCU had an extremely good case to make the playoffs ahead of OSU. No reason they couldn’t be ranked second after that blowout. Or for Alabama for having a close game. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1268 "2015-01-13T12:14:16Z")
> [@Jman](#): > > I think anything beyond OSU 1 and Oregon 2 is wrong. I’ll go even further and say that anything that does not have FSU and Alabama in the top four is wrong. All four were selected as the top four teams in the country. Losing to the best or second-best team does not drop you down past TCU or Michigan State or Yankton Community College. It just makes you the third or fourth best team in the country. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1269 "2015-01-13T12:47:59Z")
1. Ohio State (59 first place votes) 2. Oregon 3. TCU 4. Alabama 5. Florida State 6. Michigan State > **[Ohio State No. 1 and TCU No. 3 in final AP poll of 2014 season](https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/ohio-state-no--1-and-tcu-no--3-in-final-ap-poll-of-2014-season-081035803.html)** > > The Horned Frogs were No. 6 in the pre-bowl poll and beat Ole Miss 42-3 in the Peach Bowl. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1270 "2015-01-13T12:48:19Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > I’ll go even further and say that anything that does not have FSU and Alabama in the top four is wrong. All four were selected as the top four teams in the country. Losing to the best or second-best team does not drop you down past TCU or Michigan State or Yankton Community College. It just makes you the third or fourth best team in the country. I think Michigan State has a better claim to the top 4 than Alabama. MSU lost to both of the finalists (one of which was on the road in 95 degree heat), Alabama lost to Ohio State and a nobody SEC team. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1271 "2015-01-13T13:29:55Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > 1. Ohio State (59 first place votes) > 2. Oregon > 3. TCU > 4. Alabama > 5. Florida State > 6. Michigan State > > [Ohio State No. 1 and TCU No. 3 in final AP poll of 2014 season - Yahoo Sports](http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/ohio-state-no--1-and-tcu-no--3-in-final-ap-poll-of-2014-season-081035803.html) Yeah, that’s pretty close to what I expected (I actually wrote TCU 3 and Alabama 4 at one point, then flopped them, too, but a case could be made for any of those). I don’t think the case can be made for TCU at #2. They weren’t even their conference champion if you look at Big XII tiebreakers, and while they blew out Ole Miss, Ole Miss was a shell of the team that started hot early in the year. Not that the final rankings matter much. I’ve been a proponent for an 8 team playoff for years, and I think overall it’s probably the best way to go, but I have to admit, the four team playoff was simply awesome this year. I’ve been a Buckeye fan for a while, but definitely a more casual one early on. I live in Columbus now, and my wife went to OSU (and I grew up in Ohio). Was never a huge college football fan growing up, preferring the pros (Steelers…family is from the Burgh)…mainly because I couldn’t stand the arbitrary poll champion. When the BCS was introduced, it was imperfect for sure, but at least the final game was decided on the field, and I really started to pay attention. Living in Columbus and watching the Buckeyes over the past 8 years has made me much more of a big fan, and this year (even before OSU went on this crazy run), I was really into it, because the playoff was exciting…finally, there’s a shot for the best teams to prove it on the field, and it was truly an awesome end to the year. The playoff games + the big new year’s bowls were simply incredible this year, and I had more fun and more nerves watching this run than I did for the NFL playoffs this year. What an awesome college football season all around. Can’t wait for next year! ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1272 "2015-01-13T14:14:51Z")
I remember when I was living just off campus in '74 and OSU beat UM. I thought High St. was complete madness. The police just gave up and blocked it to vehicular traffic from 11th Ave to around 18th Ave (I lived on 10th and don’t have any idea what happened North of 15th, I never ventured further North). I hate to think what it was like last night. And before I forget: **We’re Number 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:** [January 13, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1273 "2015-01-13T14:45:14Z")
I think it’s quite likely that under the BCS, we would have had Florida State and Alabama in the title game. FSU by virtue of barely beating a parade of mediocre teams and Alabama by virtue of being in the SEC. Thank goodness that kind of thinking has been thoroughly destroyed by the playoff. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1274 "2015-01-13T14:48:50Z")
I was rooting for Oregon, but I’m OK with this. Good game, Buckeyes. I’m mostly disappointed that it wasn’t a better game – this was definitely one of those “not as close as the score makes it look” games. Given the failure of the Oregon offense (!!) in the red zone, and no answer for tOSU’s run game, this one was never in doubt. I would definitely put TCU ahead of Bama, and Michigan State ahead of FSU. But those are just beauty contest arguments, and second-guessing the committee is now aided by 20/20 hindsight. They did as good a job as could possibly be done. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1275 "2015-01-13T15:08:18Z")
The Urban Meyer legend just continues to grow. That was a REALLY impressive run of 3 games (vs. Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon) by the Buckeyes with their 3rd string QB. Just insane. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1276 "2015-01-13T15:54:28Z")
Regarding the final AP poll: Does it matter anymore? I don’t really care how they rank the teams, I watched the games on the field, I know who won and who lost, any kind of post-final ranking is really just mildly interesting at best. ---
**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:** [January 13, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1277 "2015-01-13T16:20:08Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Regarding the final AP poll: > Does it matter anymore? > > I don’t really care how they rank the teams, I watched the games on the field, I know who won and who lost, any kind of post-final ranking is really just mildly interesting at best. I think only in terms of next year’s starting point. Teams like TCU, Baylor, and MSU can now be pretty confident that they’ll be highly ranked to start the season. You can still find your way in the playoff without being ranked to start the year, but it sure doesn’t hurt to start off in the top 10. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1278 "2015-01-13T16:27:06Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I think only in terms of next year’s starting point. Teams like TCU, Baylor, and MSU can now be pretty confident that they’ll be highly ranked to start the season. You can still find your way in the playoff without being ranked to start the year, but it sure doesn’t hurt to start off in the top 10. Very true (and still a flaw in the whole CFB system): pre-season pre-conceptions still matter. What’s scary, is that Urban Meyer has said that he thought he had a team that could make a run in 2015: so apparently, everyone’s coming back, which would make them undoubtedly the pre-season #1. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1279 "2015-01-13T17:03:36Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > Very true (and still a flaw in the whole CFB system): pre-season pre-conceptions still matter. Auburn reached the BCS game last year. And they started the season unranked. They didn’t receive one single vote in the USAToday Coaches Poll. > **[2013 AP Poll College Football Rankings, Final Rankings - ESPN](https://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings/_/year/2013/week/1)** > > Find the complete NCAAF Final Rankings rankings on ESPN. Includes the full votes and trend for the top 25 NCAAF teams. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1280 "2015-01-13T18:11:55Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I think it’s quite likely that under the BCS, we would have had Florida State and Alabama in the title game. FSU by virtue of barely beating a parade of mediocre teams and Alabama by virtue of being in the SEC. Thank goodness that kind of thinking has been thoroughly destroyed by the playoff. I agree. The only thing I would hope for to come in the foreseeable future would be to expand the playoff by at least one more round. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937/1281 "2015-01-13T18:36:36Z")
> [@TonySinclair](#): > > I agree. IIRC there were two Oregon drives in a row stopped by perfect passes that were simply dropped. Their lack of production in the red zone is also significant, considering Carrington caught two TDs against FSU. > > That said, Oregon simply couldn’t stop the run, so they deserved to lose. I really don’t know why OSU bothered passing at all. Mariota looked sluggish to me. He was also sweating profusely. Hangover or too much celebrating? Don’t know, but he was definitely off his scramble. Oregon resorting to holding and and other penalties was just stupid. Ohio played a brilliant ground game. The front line just kept opening those giant holes, while Oregon defensive players kept trying to shoulder tackle a guy built like a fire plug. Bad play all around. I called it for Ohio at half time, but had to watch the whole train wreck. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=63) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2014-college-football-general-thread/696937.md?page=65)