Don’t forget Big 12 champ Arizona State!
… and Alabama. 
Thanks for the explanation. Geez, that’s freaking depressing. I agree that fines aren’t going to solve anything, but there aren’t any other options? I still think that individual athletic departments should take disciplinary action, and I’m absolutely certain this would happen at UH Manoa. “Aloha” isn’t just a catchphrase.
One heckuva ACC Championship game between Clemson and SMU. SMU trailed at one time by 17, but fought back and tied the game at 31 with 16 seconds left. But Clemson took the kickoff back to their own 45, then threw a 17 yard pass and called timeout with 3 seconds left. Their kicker drilled a 56-yard FG on the last play for the 34-31 victory.
And Oregon, who at one point had an18-point lead over Penn State, got a late interception and then converted a first down to hold on for a 45-37 win in a wild Big 10 championship game.
Two very exciting games, I was switching back and forth. I had reasons to support both the teams that eventually won, but man did they make it complicated when it shouldn’t have been!
Heh. As did I, as I picked both of them to cover the spread in my weekly pool. Both games got way too close at the end.
My reasons were more visceral and less financial.
Yow! I’d love a Ducks-Sun Devils Championship Final. Glory to the Pac-10!
Not gonna watch the video, but sounds like it could have been a Sasquatch joke. Yawn.
Well, as I said earlier in this thread (please nobody check), the Ducks are obviously rolling to glory.
Seriously, though, I would like to ask my new B1G comrades (or, as I prefer to think of it, the Pac-18): is there a point at which you can watch Penn State play, and watch their fans cheer for them, and not think about children being raped? Because personally, I’m not close to being there yet.
As someone else pointed out, that wasn’t an Oregon flag. Admittedly, it didn’t look quite right for an Oregon logo, but the other flag-like things were for Michigan and Ohio State, so I figured the rest were for other schools, too.
This is the “visceral” reason I had for supporting Oregon. The current students there, I mostly give a pass, but the older people, many of whom did not even attend Penn State, who just want people to forget and move on? Unfortunately, I know too many of these.
The ‘upset’ by Clemson over SMU, in a close game, may have a big effect on the CFP. The playoff bracket is set to be released in about 90 minutes.
Both ESPN and The Athletic released their predictions, and they are almost exactly the same:
- Oregon
- Georgia
- Boise State
- Arizona State
- Penn State - ESPN, Texas - The Athletic
- Texas - ESPN, Penn State - The Athletic
- Notre Dame
- Ohio State
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- SMU
- Clemson
The notable absence, of course, is Alabama. IMO, had Clemson kept their big lead and blown out SMU, then 'Bama would still be in the Top 12.
I, for one, am hoping that these are indeed the 12 participants. Sorry, Tide, you can roll on into a bowl game somewhere.
And The Athletic got it right: Texas is #5, and Penn State is #6.
Next weekend:
Texas hosts Clemson, winner plays Arizona State
Ohio State hosts Tennessee, winner plays Oregon
Penn State hosts SMU, winner plays Boise State
Notre Dame hosts Indiana, winner plays Georgia
I’m headed to Alabama tomorrow for a couple of days of meetings with my clients, most of whom are Crimson Tide fans. I have no doubt I’ll be hearing complaints about the Tide’s exclusion.
Absolutely, they need to make a rule that Alabama gets into the playoffs no matter what because they’re entitled to it.
The qtr finals are not next weekend, but on the 20th and 21st.
Indeed they are. Thanks for the correction.
I took great joy both in Alabama’s exclusion and by Nick Saban’s obvious displeasure.
Alabama fans are the Yankee fans of college football. The fee entitled to the playoffs if not playing in the championship game every year.