I don’t see why that scenario is nightmarish. In that scenario Michigan and Oklahoma State would both have 2 losses as well and Ohio State would argue they have better 2 losses than Michigan (Oregon & Michigan vs. Michigan State & Iowa). I’d likely put Notre Dame and Ohio State in along with Georgia and Cincy.
The part that you’re missing is that Alabama would also still be in consideration in that scenario, even with a second loss.
It seemed the poster thought Ohio State getting in would be the nightmare. If Georgia beats the tar out of Alabama then the committee probably isn’t going to want a rematch. If it’s close, then that’d be interesting. I’d rather see Ohio State over Alabama though.
That could well be. My interpretation was more the nightmare scenario for Cincinnati even if they win their conference championship. One of the writers for ESPN, for example, is already arguing that Ohio State is more deserving than Cincinnati, even assuming Cincinnati wins their conference.
Ah… I actually don’t think Ohio State will jump Cincinnati regardless.
Yeah, I think the continued inclusion of Cincy is somewhat influenced by the hoopla around Central Florida back in 2017-18. The committee is trying their darnedest to be more inclusive, for now at least. We’ll see if they regress to the mean in the final ranking (the usual suspects).
Good news for all of the 6-6 teams: the NCAA has authorized a 42nd FBS bowl game, which means that there will not be one 6-6 team left out of the bowls. In addition, since there are 84 bowl berths and only 83 bowl eligible teams, the definition of “eligible team” is automatically expanded to include 6-7 teams, which means Hawaii is in - and, in fact, has already accepted a bid to, wait for it, the Hawaii Bowl.
Oh, good, because I was (legitimately, not sarcastically) concerned that Old Dominion, though bowl-eligible, wouldn’t be getting in because C-USA has one more eligible team than it does guaranteed bowl berths.
Well Alabama is spanking Georgia, who look nothing like National Champion contenders.
So another 2 SEC team playoff. Honestly, at this point (as weird as it sounds), Kirby Smart should be on the hot seat at Georgia unless they’re content being 'Bama’s also-ran little brother forever. Either that or Smart just needs to put the hit out on his old boss.
OkState losing and the win should leave Cincy in. At this point, if they jump an idle Notre Dame over an undefeated Gof5 team, the Gof5 should immediately file an anti-trust/collusion lawsuit and break up the Playoff.
Assuming Michigan wins, your Top 4 will be 'Bama, Mich, UGA, and Cincy. If Michigan loses 'Bama, UGA, Cincy, and…? - probably Notre Dame, but maybe Michigan hangs on. I don’t think they can justify OSU as much as they probably want to.
My Kent State Golden Flashes got freakin’ annihilated by Northern Illinois; arrrrrgh.
At least we’re still going to a bowl. Still, would have been nice to win the MAC for the first time since 1972.
I do wish they’d make a rule for no more than one team per conference. Georgia is a good team, but they couldn’t cut the cake today.
I thought for sure OSU was going to sneak past BU today. Jeez, it’s hard to recall a closer stop at the goal line than what ended the game.
Finally, no matter how much they try to push Dr. Pepper down our throats, it still tastes like lizard snot. It’s about as irritating as Yum! used to be on Derby Day.
Agreed. And I think they should leave it up to the conference! The system should be that by 7a tomorrow, each of the 10 conferences involved should submit their one (and only one) nominee for the Playoff. The Committee then picks and seeds the 4 (or 8 eventually) actual Playoff teams. Let the SEC/BIG$6 figure out who’s the best out of their pond. The fan fights alone would be worth it.
At least the commercials are generally amusing and occasionally really funny. I thoroughly enjoyed both the “transfer portal” and the “somebody stole the goalposts” editions. And the ones with the lacrosse playing son - especially the first one - are comedy gold (for commercials).
Progressive’s “homeowners turning into their parents” are in the same boat for me.
With the imminent expansion of the SEC, this will not happen anytime soon.
Oklahoma State certainly didn’t deserve to win. They had a first and goal inside the 1, and couldn’t score in three tries before they kicked a FG. Then they had a first and goal at the 2, and couldn’t score in four tries. Their top running back was hurt, but you’ve got to find a way to score in those situations.
Assuming that Michigan wins, we might see a Bama-Georgia semi-final.
It should be expanded to 8 teams, with the champions of each of the “Power 5” conferences getting an automatic berth along with 3 wild card teams being added as well. That would be a good start to making it more equitable. If Michigan doesn’t win tonight, the Playoff for this year will, in all likelihood, feature precisely ONE Power 5 champion (Alabama).
Agreed, if they tried to limit any national championship playoff to just one team per conference, the SEC would secede and declare its own winner as the national champion. ESPN would agree.
Eight straight wins for the Big Ten East. Big surprise, the best Great Lakes football is played in Ohio, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
Everybody absolutely hated Legends and Leaders, but it was more competitive than the current fiasco.
The Old Dominion Monarchs, who won only one game in 2019, didn’t play in 2020 due to the pandemic, and started 2021 with a record of 1-6, won their last five games of the regular season and have been invited to play in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on December 20.
The Monarchs have only had a football team (in this second incarnation) since 2009, starting at the FCS level. They did surprisingly well for themselves very early, finishing 26-7 in their first three years of competition. They joined the FBS in 2014, won the Bahamas Bowl in 2016, and shocked everyone, especially the legions of VT fans here in Hampton Roads, by upsetting the 13th-ranked Hokies in 2018 for their first win over both a Power 5 and a ranked opponent.
Meaning Michigan and Cincy.
Check check.
Check check.