CFB Playoff Rankings

Also, those rankings don't mean much. Different conferences play different styles, so comparing teams' schedules is not comparing apples to apples.

How do you watch 60+ hours of college football each week BTW?? Haha!

 

I'm not saying that other conferences are great and only the Big12 is crap. I'm just saying round robin is not inherently better than divisions. The argument for round robin is that you have to play everyone in your conference. The only reason Big12 is playing a round robin format is due to their low number of teams, not because it's better. And the same goes for other conferences having divisions...it's just a structural reason. So playing every good team in the Big12 means jack if there are tons of crap teams...it's not better. Not saying it's so much worse...it's just not better. A conference championship game is always good bc it pits two good teams against each other.

I totally hammered the TCU line on last year's bowl game vs Ole Miss. I also got in on OU vs Bama in like Trevor Knight's only good game. There are plenty of examples of cross conference games where that prove nothing in isolation. All I'm talking about is this year, the Big12 has 2 great teams in my opinion, and that's only if Baylor has a healthy QB1 or QB2. Johnson can make the basic combo read where Baylor sends a post and a fly and you just decide based on where the safety goes. But that's all Johnson can do. The fact that he threw 2 TDs vs OK St after Stidham got hurt is just a testament to how terrible Okie St is on defense.

So anyhow, I'm not really trying just to say the Big12 is poop. It's definitely poopy in parts (as most conferences area). I'm just saying round robin in itself is not better than divisions. Context matters. It all depends on the quality and depth of the schedule. A weak division can improve it's strength of schedule with the championship game. A round robin schedule can only improve its strength with out-of-conference games.

Oh, and I have 5 TVs in my man cave. So yeah, I watch a lot of college football.

 

A round robin prevents you from getting "lucky". For example, Iowa this year manages to play in the Big10 title game despite not having played a single ranked team all year. The SEC East is regularly the same way. The B12 North was that way some years while it existed.

A round robin ensures that the champion played ALL the good teams in the conference in order to be crowned. Iowa has a chance to beat an injured Connor Cook and win the conference despite no one really thinking they are anywhere close to the best team.

It wasn't as bad with 12 team conferences, but as they get to 14 and 16, it's sort of becoming silly - you barely play anyone in the other division, so it's almost like 2 mini-conferences and the champ from each one should be judged separately. OSU, MSU, and UM all had to play each other while Iowa played no one. I agree that a championship game does force a good game at the end of the year - that's the best element of it and the B12 got lucky this year in that respect with OU/OSU becoming a defacto title game. But it's much easier to sneak into a title and thus an undeserving playoff berth with all these mega-conferences and unbalanced schedules.

I'm not sure how having divisions and a title game gives you a tough non-conference game, though. That's entirely a choice of the teams involved.

 

That's a fair point, and that's why I think the committee would take it into account. A weak division conference champ with one loss would not make the final four. But the "getting lucky with an injured Conner Cook" is just circumstantial and equivalent to Ohio St. getting that same luck. I hope Cook plays though, as I think MSU is better.

That said, Iowa has quality wins over division opponents Wisconsin (9-3 losses to Bama, NW, and Iowa) and Northwestern (10-2 losses to Michigan and Iowa and wins against Stanford, Duke, PSU, and Wis). Iowa also played Pittsburgh and Iowa St. out of conference. They're division is weaker but not complete poop. And they played 2 power 5 schools out of conference. And of course, they would have to play a championship game vs. Ohio St. or Michigan or Michigan St. (obviously it's MSU). Considering it all, that is comparable to a round robin Big12.

In the Big12, there are 4 obvious top teams (though I consider Okie St. completely fraudulant and my online account thanks them for it), so being one of those teams means you have 3 good wins. That's equal to what Iowa will have in conference if they beat Michigan St. And props to OU for playing Tennessee and props to TCU for playing Minnesota. But Baylor's OOC opponents were SMU, Lamar (FCS), and Rice. And Okie St's OOC was Central Arkansas (FCS), Texas San Antonio, and CMU. That's just crap. And there's no way playing a round robin in the Big12 is enough justification for playing that crap. TCU and OU didn't resort that that trash scheduling. And neither did Iowa. And that's why a champion from a tougher division + strong OOC will get way much more leeway than all other scenarios.

And that's also why Iowa's undefeated would be just as strong if OU or TCU was undefeated and better than Baylor or Okie St. An undefeated strong team from a tough division with strong OOC would be most respected of them all. For example, Michigan which played Ohio St, MSU, NW (opp division), Utah and BYU (OOC), and then would have played Iowa...they'd be in if they only had 1 loss, and maybe even 2.

 

If the Coogs win, UH's potential Fiesta Bowl opponents are then Michigan St, Iowa, Ohio St, Notre Dame, Florida St, and North Carolina?

 

I believe they would go to the Peach Bowl, where they would play Florida State, unless Florida beats Alabama, in which case, Alabama would go to the Peach Bowl, Florida to the Sugar Bowl.

 

They really need to make this playoff 8 teams.

 

Based on the rankings, the 3 most likely opponents are Ohio State, Notre Dame or Florida State.

I believe we'll go to the Fiesta if it's Ohio State and the Peach if it's Florida State.

Notre Dame would be a tossup.

My dream scenario is Notre Dame in Glendale.

 

Just wait a few years. It's coming.

8 teams is the final resting place.

 

I think so too.

5 auto-bids, 3 at-large.

Of the 6 New Years Day Bowls, 4 act as quarter-finals locations, 2 act as semi-finals, and 1 each year is given the championship game.

 

It makes too much sense. Take the 5 major conference champions, 2 at-large teams, and the best team from the lower 5 conferences. That way no one can gripe or complain, unless it's with getting an at-large bud, but you can easily say "just win your conference".

You could have:

Clemson (ACC)
Alabama (SEC)
Oklahoma (Big 12)
Iowa (Big 10)
Stanford (Pac-12)
Michigan State (at-large)
Ohio State (at-large)
Houston (Lower 5 champ)

 

Man, if there was ever a year they absolutely did not need 8 slots it's this one. If they just let Bama & Clemson play for it I'd be fine. No other teams have shown me much this year. I'd take last year's TCU team over Iowa & OU.

 

19th ranked team in an 8-team playoff? No thanks.

 

I think OU is better than Clemson. Clemson doesn't impress me.

 

I honestly think last year's TCU squad kicks the hell out of any and all of the 4 playoff teams. They were that good.

 

I think Clemson goes down to UNC this weekend.

 

That will suck. When have there ever been more than 4 teams with a legitimate claim to compete for the National Championship after the season's end? But you all are right - ppl want the NFL format. The 9-7 Giants win the championship. They lose 2 games to the Cowboys in the regular season, but those games don't matter - just the one in the playoffs. The whole season doesn't matter - just how you finish. F that.

 

Last year? Who's to say TCU wasn't the best team last year?

 

And yet the NFL has the most popular regular season sports product in America. So, clearly those games matter to someone.