Given the retarded system we have for who gets into the championship game - we shouldn’t make it even more retarded with inconsistent rules like “if you already lost to the #1 team sometime earlier in the season, even if it was really close, then you aren’t allowed to play them again, whereas all the other teams that dodged the bullet of having to play the #1 team are eligible”
Alabama losing to the now #1 team by 3 is better than OkSt losing in overtime to an average team. Given that it’s all based on votes and that’s the only info we have to go on, it would be pretty illogical to give them equal weight.
I don’t want to see a rematch because I like variety, but within the rules we have, I don’t think any other team has a stronger argument to be there than Alabama.
You seem to have missed a couple games on the schedule. An easy mistake to make given the long season.
Alabama
10-2
9-3
7-5
Ok St
10-2
9-3
9-3
7-5
7-5
Having said that, Oklahoma and Baylor are way better than Penn State.
If you thought Alabama only beating a single one of the top 5 teams in their own conference was bad… Penn State beat exactly zero of the top 5 in their conference. They are a classic example of why rankings should not come out until the end of the year, and no teams should have any “lead” to hold onto.
No, they weren’t. They squeaked by Temple, Indiana, and Illinois in mid-plummet. You’ve said this before, but no matter how often you say it, you’re just wrong – so stop saying it.
Why would you give stats for Week 11? Penn State played Alabama in week 2, and they were ranked #23 in the AP at the time (I’d rank that as “decent,” maybe even “above average,” but certainly not "very good.) If you’re going to use your nonsensical time machine to cherry-pick, you might as well give credit to Okie State for beating #1 Oklahoma. I mean, yeah, Oklahoma wasn’t #1 when they played the Cowboys, but neither was Penn State #12 when they played Bama.
And besides, I especially take issue with your characterization of Penn State as a “very good” football team, irrespective of the scandal. A team that only beats Temple by 4, Indiana by 6, and Illinois on their losing tear by 3 isn’t even within sniffing distance of “very good.”
Do you not think there was a different Penn State team.
One before scandal, and one after scandal?
The Pre-Scandal Penn State team was 8-1, undefeated in the Big 10 conference and had the inside track to the Big 10 Championship game. (they controlled their own destiny).
The Post-Scandal Penn state team was 1-2.
IMO, there was much different team emotionally after the scandal. Lost their head coach from 60 something years, found out he had cancer, not to mention the heinous stuff.
Of course, emotion never plays a part in college football. :dubious:
You are correct, I missed Baylor. And if OkSt hadn’t lost late, that extra good win would have put them past Alabama in my opinion.
OkSt biggest problem is losing late to an average team - that is always going to hurt a team and Alabama losing to LSU by 3 is far less of a big deal than OkSt losing to an average team. There just isn’t any argument you can make that removes that giant blemish.
If OkSt had lost early in the season they would have been much better off and that’s always the way the polls have worked.
Alabama
10-2 Ark
9-3 PSU
7-5 Aub
6-6 Fl
6-6 Vandy
6-6 Miss St
5-7 Tenn
Ok St
10-2 KSU
9-3 OK
9-3 Baylor
7-5 Missouri
7-5 Texas
6-6 ATM
5-7 TT
“Way” better with the same won/loss record both in similarly competitive conferences? If you can show me that Ok and Baylor strength of schedule was “way” better than PSU then I would agree.
This is a pretty poor argument. Seriously.
Strength of schedule matters, absolutely - what doesn’t matter is where the teams they DIDN’T play ended up.
You mean OkSt never even played Stanford, Oregon or USC? How can you think they even belong in the top 25? See how ridiculous that sounds.
I agree that the human polls are not logical, especially with respect to holding a ranking. Once they set teams into a particular ranking, the evidence on the field only sways them a little bit. And then posters and sports writers argue “if they didn’t lose they shouldn’t drop”.
This, in my opinion, is pretty dumb. They should drop if the evidence on the field shows other teams are better than them.
Oklahoma’s wins: Kansas State (#8), Missouri, Texas (#24), Florida State
Penn State’s wins: Iowa
There isn’t even a comparison. Penn State beat nobody all year. Not early, not in the middle, and not late.
Granted, Oklahoma State’s better schedule is already reason enough to pick them over Alabama.
But beating the top teams in your conference matters for a couple reasons.
First, because people say things like “similarly competitive conferences.” Conference strength is meaningless if you don’t beat the teams that made your conference strong. Penn State beat 0 of the top 5 in their conference. Alabama beat 1. Oklahoma State beat 4. Yet to most voters, all of them are basking in the glow of conference strength, when only one of them proved they deserve to.
Second, because we have so little information. Most games are played within conferences. The voters are woefully unprepared and incapable of anything approaching legitimate votes. Given the lack of information between conferences, it does make logical sense to give weight to teams who are able to prove themselves to stand at the top of their conferences. That means beating more than zero or 1 of the good teams in your conference.
For those that didn’t watch it after the Heisman show, the ESPN doc about Todd Marinovich was really, really good. I pretty much knew only “the story” and that Marv forced him to be a qb, and Todd didn’t want to be a qb, did drugs, and disappeared off the face of the football planet. But man, what a neat life he’s lived with its ups and downs, his recognition of both, his qb play, art, etc. I wasn’t planning on watching it, but I’m glad I did. There’s a bit of Chris McCandless (“Into the Wild”) in Todd’s spirit, so some may be turned off by it. But I choose to see Todd and Chris with a glass half full rather than empty, they wasted lives, etc. Anyway, catch it if you get a chance.