I don’t know what they put in the water in Ames a month ago, but the Cyclones are playing lights out. Second time in three weeks they knock off an undefeated Top 5 team, this time TCU in Iowa, putting them in first place in the Big 12. If they manage to keep their momentum against 22 West Virginia and take winnable games against Baylor and Kansas State, they’re almost guaranteed a berth in the Big 12 Championship game. Even 11 Oklahoma State looks closer to a tossup than the blowout that would have been predicted at the start of the season. Finishing the season with a single conference loss and a likely rematch with Oklahoma or TCU? Yes please, and can I order one to go? Not bad for a team that couldn’t quite pull it off against the CyHawk rival Hawkeyes. Aside from a 10 point loss to Texas, they’ve been there up to the final buzzer in every game this season. I won’t say they’re worldbeaters, or even likely conference champions, due to the number of times I’ve been burned by ISU, but Saturdays are alright for football right now.
Can you please send some of that water to Berkeley, and quickly, please?
Berkeley already has some - remember Washington State?
The problem is, they don’t need it in Berkeley - they’ll need it in Palo Alto and Westw-er, Pasadena, as Cal has to win at least one of those two games to finish at least 6-6.
Right now, 39 teams are bowl eligible (and only five cannot reach five wins, plus Mississippi with a self-imposed bowl ban this season), and there are a total of 78 openings; Cal is currently 17th in the APR list among teams that can finish 5-6 or 5-7, but that doesn’t take into account the teams with much lower APRs that will finish 6-6 or better. There is also the chance that a team that had a game cancelled because of a hurricane that finishes 5-6 can get a bowl eligibility waiver from the NCAA.
I’m not too sure, but I think The Notre Dame Band just got an Unsportsmanlike Conduct penalty for continuing to play as Wake Forest came to the line of scrimmage, and the team set back 15 yards on the field!
I love it!
Woot! Sparty knocks off PSU! The Land Grant Trophy is ours! Now all we have to do is roll into Columbus next week and the Big Ten East is back in our hands!
Because I am a bad person, I would’ve loved to have been a sports reporter at Urban Meyer’s post-game press conference, and asked him if he thought Ohio State still had a chance of making the playoffs.
Just to see if his reaction rivaled Jim Mora’s.
My Gamecocks put up a good fight (and covered the spread) but came up short in the end. Now we can look forward to ruining Clemson’s chances to backdoor into the CFP.
I think the best we can hope for this year is 8-4. Clemson is potentially vulnerable, but the 'Cocks don’t have the offense to take advantage.
Yet.
Ok State and Oklahoma both gave up any pretense of defenses today.
The announcers said this game gave Baker Mayfield the front runner position for the Heisman Trophy. Though he doesn’t seem to be very fleet of foot.
Well last week’s small spark of hope got extinguished about as quickly as I expected. There’s still an outside chance that ISU can play in the Big 12 championship if they win out and either TCU or Oklahoma drop another game, but Oklahoma State still looms next week, and I can’t see a scenario where either TCU or OU lose again.
On the plus side, Ohio State lost, though it wouldn’t surprise me if they somehow made the playoffs anyway. As a negative, it was the fuckinHawkeyes that blew them out. They couldn’t throw away a game against someone other than a shit team with a shit coach at a shit school?
They play each other next weekend…
MSU beating OSU now seems possible. If that happens, the only chance a B10 team makes the playoffs is if an undefeated Wisconsin wins the B10 Championship. Even then it’s unlikely, even considering either Georgia or Alabama will lose in the SEC Championship. Wisconsin is hurt by the fact that they would have no significant wins this year, other than the B10 Championship, and maybe Michigan (if they win both). That’s not enough, with an undefeated Alabama or Georgia, a 1-loss Alabama or Georgia, a 1-loss Notre Dame (if they beat Miami), and a 1-loss Clemson (if they also beat Miami). Miami would make it over Wisconsin if they win at least one game vs. Notre Dame or Clemson, especially Clemson in the ACC Championship. If Miami loses both, both ND and Clemson would make it over Wisconsin, I think, based on SoS. Like as not, and I hate OSU, OSU is the only chance for a B10 team to make the playoffs, if they beat Wisconsin 59-0 again. If MSU wins out, including the B10 Championship, they probably won’t be selected for the playoffs. Had they beat Northwestern, then they’d be in great shape, control your own destiny type stuff.
In conclusion, Georgia and Alabama win out (except against each other) and both make the playoffs. Either ND, Clemson or Miami claim the final two spots even if Wisconsin’s undefeated.
You’re leaving out the BIG 12 which still has two 1-loss teams (Oklahoma and TCU) who happen to play each other next week!
You are correct, it is possible for one of the two teams to be selected if one wins both games (next week and B12 Championship, which returns this year, yay!). But that only reinforces my point that it is unlikely that any B10 team will participate in this year’s playoffs. It’s tough for the B12, paradoxically, because the teams ahead of them will play each other (some will lose), because I think voters will consider an Alabama, Georgia, ND, Clemson, or Miami loss less of an impact because they will be beating each other, and they are all ranked higher than TCU and OK, except Miami, which I think is just pretending. Possible that a B12 team makes the playoff, of course. Likely, I’m not so sure.
What I think is likely:
An undefeated or 1-loss Alabama, an undefeated or 1-loss Georgia, a 1-loss ND, a 1-loss Clemson. They all make the playoff. The Big-12 has to rely on Miami, how horrible.
Um, don’t forget Clemson still has to play USC too! Rivalry game in Columbia, Clemson looking ahead to the ACC champ game. We played them close (lost 37-32) the last time the game was in Columbia in 2015 when SC finished the season 3-9 and Clemson went to the CFP.
Same applies to UGA. They lose to GaTech way more than they should.
Hell of a game in Los Angeles last night. I’ll bet damn few folks east of the Rockies saw it. 3rd quarter seemed to take all night!
Here’s my hot take, for what it’s worth (present value, approximately nothing): Conference championship games should be a de facto play-in for the playoff. You lose the conference championship game, you don’t get to be in the playoff.
Let’s face it, the SEC has been coasting on reputation for a few years now. Bama is always great, sure, and UGA is playing great this year, but … that’s supposed to mean an SEC runnerup is better than all but two other teams in all the land? A conference that includes such stalwart 2017 competition as Kentucky, Mizzou, Vanderbilt (they did okay this year, but come on) and Florida? This are the murderer’s row that Bama or UGA has to survive to get to the SEC championship and prove they’re one of the 4 best in all the land? Even though they just lost to a team that’s in the playoff?
We don’t need conference rematches in our national championship games. I thought we learned that with Bama-LSU a few years back. But, oh, we’ve seen the CFP committee fall all over themselves to go after “name” programs (Ohio State over TCU was a travesty - I don’t care that OSU won the championship, two playoff wins doesn’t prove you’re the best, only that you played the best in those two games, but they never should have been there in the first place).
It makes sense to me. All those people crying and hollering to expand the playoff field - just consider conference championship games the first round, and bingo - instant expansion. But if you lose that game, no way should you get an invite to the top four. You had your chance, you lost.
What do you have against my Hawkeyes? I thought everyone loved the Hawks.
Rule 9-2-1-b-5: “Persons subject to the rules, including bands, shall not create any noise that prohibits a team from hearing its signals.”