I think you got whooshed, but maybe I just read sarcasm into things…
Seriously dude. The SEC Champ (just like FSU) had their chance to prove it on the field. They lost. Get over it.
Son of a…
I hate it when my hat gets blown off.
I think this actually raises a very interesting point: are ratings supposed to predict the outcome of future games, or reflect the outcomes of the games which have already been played?
The argument for FSU as #1 was simple: they were UNDEFEATED! You can search Zakalwe’s posts in this thread for multiple impassioned defenses of this case. The argument against them, which you have expressed, is equally simple: they were* incredibly lucky *to be undefeated.
Ultimately I think the** Zakalwes** of the world have more of the truth on their side. Imagine if, hypothetically, the playoff committee had produced a final four of Kansas State, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, and Utah, saying that those were really the best four teams, and the fact that other teams lost fewer games than them was just a fluke. You could certainly say that the average fan should have responded to that by saying “Well, these people (mostly) played or coached the game at a high level for many years, and they based their opinion on thousands of collective hours of serious study of game films from all the teams in the country, so who am I to argue?” But we all know that isn’t what would have happened – there would have been a massive hue and cry, with angry mobs burning Condoleeza Rice in effigy and Congress holding outraged hearings.
Although most of us realize that it would be too simplistic to just line up all the teams in the exact order of their winning percentage, we do want W-L record to have a very high correlation with ranking. We want to feel that our teams are being rewarded for winning on the field, not being judged based on arcane criteria like figure-skating poodles. And this is especially true in the case of teams with PERFECT records; to most fans, ranking a 12-1 team ahead of a 13-0 team feels wrong and unfair in a way that ranking a 9-4 team ahead of a 10-3 team doesn’t.
So, although I felt that Oregon was actually a far superior team to FSU, and expected the Rose Bowl to go pretty much exactly how it did, I would still have had FSU ranked #1 going into the game, because they had earned it on the field (even if only in the sense that a lottery winner “earned” his money!).
Fair point as regards Wisconsin, though not relevant to the broader issue.
What if it’s Colorado State or Northern Illinois who is undefeated? Are they given the same consideration or do you then take the competition into account?
No, I wouldn’t rank such a team first, and probably wouldn’t even put them in the playoff, although I do think that they should be entitled to be in a major bowl. I think the gap between the power 5 and the other D1 conferences is clear enough that you can’t really argue that records in those conferences are comparable to records in the major conferences. The ACC was probably the weakest of the power 5 this year, which certainly helped Florida State, but they were far closer to the 4th place conference than they were to the 6th.
Snoop Dogg’s reaction to the Rose Bowl. Warning for those of you who have never heard of Snoop Dogg: contains offensive language, NSFW.
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
I’m collecting one-liners about the Rose Bowl from the comments on various websites. Here are some of the best; everyone feel free to add more:
Shame on Oregon for scheduling an out of conference cupcake this late in the season.
“Hi I’m Rob Lowe”
“And I’m Jameis Winston Rose Bowl Rob Lowe”
“Unfortunately for Jameis Winston, the Tallahassee PD cant make this all go away.”
Good thing Oregon went for 2 after their first TD.
Seminoles haven’t been treated this badly since Andrew Jackson.
Fuck sportsmanship University
It’s like he had crab legs for arms on that play.
Even Adrian Peterson thinks this beating is a tad excessive…
RELEASE THE QUACKEN!!!
I don’t think even George R R Martin could write a massacre this bad and still sleep at night.
Great move by Oregon changing the settings to “Rookie” at the half.
“Whoo! 59! Gonna get some rose buds, gonna get some rose buds, gonna get some rose buds.”
How long before the photos of African kids in FSU Rose Bowl champion shirts surface?
The Tallahassee Police Department just announced that there is insufficient evidence that Oregon won this game.
Let me put it this way. Mariota had the best year for a quarterback since 2013. (or 2011 at the very earliest.) Gordon had the best season for a running back since 1988. What was more special?
You’re just looking at his passing numbers. Mariota also ran for almost 750 yards and scored 15 touchdowns on the ground. That’s a huge part of his production.
Mariota had the sixth-best passer rating of all time this year, and has the second best career rating ever. That stat gives him NO credit for his rushing ability. He led the best offense in the power 5 this year (by yardage, second to Baylor in points). He was first in the power 5 in fewest interceptions. And he did all this despite injuries to some future NFL players on the offensive line.
In the biggest game of his season so far, he threw for 338 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for 62 yards and another touchdown, which is 14 fewer yards and one more TD than Gordon could manage in the biggest game of his season. Absolutely everyone who knows him gushes about his character and leadership.
Not directly relevant to the Heisman discussion for this particular season, but I’m on a roll: He holds the Pac-12 career records for touchdowns and total offensive yards, has NEVER started a game in which he didn’t throw a touchdown pass (40 games, second longest in FBS history), and is on pace to set the FBS record for lowest career interception percentage.
Tell you what, if Oregon doesn’t manage to stay within 59 points of Ohio State, I will reconsider my position.
Also, he’s never driven more than 3 miles over the speed limit.
His room is always clean.
He became 12 years old a full year early.
He’s the only person that can count to infinity faster than Chuck Norris.
etc.
True. And your point?
Not true.
Mariota threw 2 (+1) INTs, they both fumbled the ball 7 times, but Gordon caught twice as many passes-for-a-TD, so overall it looks like Gordon was more of an asset to the team than was Mariota.
Going into the Bowls, the ACC Conference was 10-7 against the Power Five Conference teams + Notre Dame. And 6-5 record against Top 50 teams
The PAC-xx was the only other conference with a winning record against the Power 5 conference teams.
The ACC lost one game to a non-Top 60 team. PAC-xx also lost one of these games.
The B1G was 6-11 against Power5 Teams + ND and 4-9 against Top 50 teams. Lost 4 times to teams outside the top 60.
No way the ACC was the weak sister of the Power 5 conferences.
He talks to the animals.
When the school year ends, he walks home to Hawaii.
Not sure about when he became 12 years old, but he really has already earned enough credits to graduate with a 3.22 GPA after only three and a half years in school!
OK, you make a convincing case, but the important thing is that I am darn sure that none of the “other” conferences did anywhere near as well as the B1G did against power 5 or top 50 teams. Whatever the #5 conference is, there is a huge gap between it and #6.