The thing that could have saved this year for me would be if the Committee’s reasoning for Alabama’s exclusion was “Due to injuries, we just didn’t feel like they were the same team they were during the regular season. Plus, you lost to Vandy, suck it up.”
I would very much like to hear their argument as to why a team that loses by 21 points to an unranked opponent (Oklahoma) deserves to be in CFP. Without that loss I could still see a legit Bama argument.
Boise and AZ St. just blow my mind. What alternate universe have I woken up in?
As you probably know, one of the conference champions of the ‘Group of 5’ is guaranteed a spot in the playoffs. This year it’s Boise State, who won the Mountain West, finishing 12-1. Their only loss was by 3 points to Oregon. And they beat the Pac-2 Champion. And AZ State gets in because the Big 12 winner is guaranteed a spot.
I don’t expect either of these teams to win a game, but it could happen.
I’m sure the SEC will demand changes to the playoff structure next year, since it is known that a three-loss SEC team is unquestionably superior to any other conference champion.
This is incorrect. The top 5 ranked conference champions get a guaranteed spot - but the so-called “Power 5” isn’t part of the calculus. If Army was ranked higher than Clemson, they’d have gotten the last spot instead.
You are right. I misread the guaranteed spots for the CFP.
The media has done a garbage job of explaining the setup, and they’ve had a year to do it.
That’s my excuse!
The lines have been set for the first round of the CFP. These are according to DraftKings:
Indiana @ Notre Dame (-7)
SMU @ Penn State (-8.5)
Clemson @ Texas (-11)
Tennessee @ Ohio State (-7.5)
If the games follow these odds, there will be four uninteresting games in two weeks.
Also, the bowl matchups have been announced. I suppose it was inevitable, especially in this, the first year of the expanded mega-conferences, but BYU and Colorado, both of the Big 12, will play each other in the Alamo Bowl. They did not play in the regular season.
That’s nuts. I didn’t realize they pulled that rule (if there ever was one to begin with).
The Alamo Bowl had ties to the Big 12 and Pac-12. With the implosion of the Pac-12, they had to scramble to find another team. Since Colorado was formerly in the Pac-12, I guess it made sense to take them. Sorta.
There is no rule prohibiting two teams from the same conference, or two teams that already played each other in the regular season, from playing each other in a bowl game.
While, for the most part, each bowl’s contracts are with two different conferences, the Pac-12 contracts are still in effect, so the 12 teams from the old Pac-12 are still considered to be “in the Pac-12” in terms of handing out bowl assignments. This is how an “ACC team” like Cal ended up in the Gronk Bowl.
Truth. On January 1, 1979, #4 Oklahoma played #6 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Both teams had finished 6-1 in the Big 8 conference, with Nebraska defeating then #1 and previously undefeated Oklahoma 17-14 in the second-last weekend of the season. Then in the final weekend, #2 Nebraska lost to Missouri, setting up the Orange Bowl rematch. OU exacted its revenge, winning 31-24.
The Alabama AD says he’ll have to re-evaluate their non-conference schedule.
Agreed they must upgrade from this:
Western Kentucky
South Florida
5-7 Wisconsin
Mercer (just a few weeks ago!)
I remember Nebraska fans being totally outraged by the 79 Orange Bowl. The Orange Bowl committee thought OU would be a fun idea after NU had already cliched their spot as Big 8 champs. They had just broken a 6-year streak of Sooner Magic, and now this.
Speaking of Cornhuskers’ streaks, they go to their first bowl game in over 8 years. While the Pinstripe Bowl may not be the most glamorous game, the destination is very exciting. Expect fans to flood NYC and Yankee Stadium.
Or maybe they can just try winning all of their games? 'Bama didn’t miss the playoffs because their non-conference schedule was weak (thought it was). They missed out because they lost a quarter of their games anyway.
To be fair, how many teams in the playoff didn’t play an FCS team? Playing Idaho didn’t seem to hurt Oregon any.
Belichick taking the UNC job:
And he immediately becomes the oldest coach in the FBS, according to an article in The Athletic. He’ll turn 73 in April.