No surprises including the fact that they made sure an all-SEC Final is a strong possibility. They really should have put Georgia at #4 and gotten the guaranteed rematch. This way, Michigan might spoil the party.
I think the immediate rematch the one thing they really wanted to avoid. I wouldn’t be surprised if the only reason Georgia was #3 instead of #4 was because Alabama was #1 and not #2. They “say” that this has nothing to do with ranking the top four teams, but “ranking the top four” and “determining the order of the top four if pretty much everybody agrees on who the top four are going to be” are two different things. The committee isn’t “supposed to” take rankings that have preseason rankings, including the Coaches and AP polls, into account, but I have a feeling that’s “more honored in the breach than in the observance.”
Both SEC teams are big favorites, Georgia by 7.5 and Bama by 13.5.
They are arguably the two best teams in the country, but I’m sure that I’m not the only college football fan that does not want to see an all-SEC final.
I’m probably not the only person to think your prediction included Oklahoma State/Baylor. That one didn’t pan out and likely had an impact on final four makeup.
Yeah, the committee lucked out. There weren’t really any real decisions to be made this year.
But had Oklahoma St won, instead, things might have gotten interesting.
I don’t think anything would have changed. Okie State was 5th at the beginning of the day. Even if they had won, they still would have been 5th.
Let me modify this a bit. If Okie State would have won big and Cincy won a close game, then OSU might have jumped them. But even if they converted that late score, it would not have been a particularly impressive win, especially the way Cincy destroyed Houston in the second half.
Prior to this weekend, the computers put Baylor in the top 10 and Houston at 28th. By just about any measure, Baylor is a superior team to Houston. Oklahoma State’s win would have been significantly more impressive and could have easily led to them jumping Cincinnati. We’ll obviously never know what the committee would have done, but the way things played out certainly made their job quite a bit easier.
This post may belong somewhere in the Pit, but I’ll put it here as well.
A GOP state senator from Oklahoma wants to name the last westbound three inches of a remote state highway after Lincoln Riley.
Cornerback Travis Hunter, the No. 2-ranked recruit in the country, spurned Florida State and committed to Jackson State earlier today. He is the first five-star recruit to commit to an FCS school (although one that is currently coached by NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders).
All I can say is, wow. This would have been unthinkable a few years ago but the traditional assumptions in college football just keep tumbling down.
I’m wondering if the new compensation rules played antyfactor. Number 2 recruit is nice but Cornerback doesn’t get the headlines like a QB would. But he definitely got the headlines now for a minute., very curious if dollars follow.
It’s a horrible source, but the NY Post thinks so too.
As an FSU fan and alum, as soon as I heard the news, I was thinking $$$$
I assume the NCAA is going to take a hard look at this (for all that matters). Under the interim NIL rules the college isn’t supposed to be involved in arranging contracts and they can’t be used as an inducement to attend.
My second- and third-favorite teams, Kent State and Old Dominion, respectively, lost their bowl games, but the Golden Flashes made a decent showing of it, at least.
The Monarchs were very fortunate to even be there; they needed to win their last 5 games after a 1-6 start to become bowl-eligible. So, they go into 2022 with a lot to be proud of.
So Texas A&M has bailed out of the Gator Bowl due to COVID. Rutgers is said to be the replacement since they have the best graduation rate amongst the 5-7 options.
In other news, if a team (or teams) can’t play in the Playoff, they forfeit. See below:
Both practical and a little ballsy by the ESPN College Football Playoff Committee.
Georgia has been on fire all game. It’s been tough to watch as a Michigan fan. No love for SEC but go Dawgs and get that Natty (or more correctly stop Bama from getting another).
Fire Harbaugh!
As much as I hate to admit it, today was total dominance by the SEC. I thought the games would be competitive. I was obviously full of shit.
Check check
Maybe the SEC should just get all four slots in the BCS playoffs.