For all the haters out there who think that Washington shouldn't be in the playoffs, bite me. As a proud Washington alum, it has taken a decade and half for us to get back to the top. I've watched every single game this season and know that we can bang with the best of them.. Yes, Bama included. Our running game can bang with anyone in the country and our defense is solid. Our QB Jake Browning is a Heisman candidate as well. Granted we played in a especially weak conference this year where traditional powerhouses such as Oregon and Stanford were all suffering from a down year. However that doesn't take away from the fact that we blew out almost every team that we played. It's football. It's one game where anything can happen. I think we have a decent shot at taking down Goliath (Alabama).
Well...there was clear rationale for OSU getting in over them, though. Conference championship vs. TCU/Baylor splitting it. Same record. Impressive H2H wins. I agree there is no "right" answer in that scenario, as you could make a case for either, but I can't say that it was "ridiculous". There was at least an argument to be made. Penn State having more losses and less impressive strength of schedule makes Ohio State getting in over them at least reasonable.
There was definitely an argument to be made, especially after Ohio State beat Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten title game. There wasn't another team in college football that Could have come close to that.
I'm pissed about the Rose Bowl. I realize USC beat us in a close game head to head, but we were punished for winning the conference and playing the championship game. All of our losses were to team in the top 10, 2 of which were very close
Bob Bowlsby really, really needs to STFU for a bit. He's Red McCombs North of the Red River but with actual influence.
Hadn't seen this posted, but link to all upcoming bowl games. Figured this best place as any for it rather than start a new thread. http://www.ncaa.com/sports/football/bowls Here are the Schools from Texas and their bowl games: Las Vegas Bowl, Dec. 17, 3:30 p.m., Las Vegas, Nev., Houston vs. San Diego St. Heart of Dallas Bowl, Dec. 27, Noon Dallas, Texas, Army vs. North Texas Cactus Bowl, Dec. 27,10:15 p.m., Phoenix, Ariz., Baylor vs. Boise State Texas Bowl, Dec. 28, 9 p.m.,Houston, Texas, Kansas St. vs. Texas A&M Liberty Bowl, Dec. 30, Noon, Memphis, Tenn., Georgia vs. TCU
Major Edit: not Bob Bowlsby (the castrated head of the BigXII) but I was talking about David Boren, the HMFIC at Oklahoma.
Crazy how things change in a couple of years.....out of conference strength of schedule doesn't seem to mean squat....nor does winning (or losing) your leagues championship game....
I think both of those things still matter a lot, it was just a weird year. The eyeball test still matters. Nobody thinks Penn State or OU is worthy and Washington got the conference title bonus to push it ahead of Michigan. Makes sense to me.
Completely agree. I feel like the big 10 championship for Ohio St 3 years ago is what pushed them past TCU/Baylor 3 years ago. It's better not to be tied to any firm system just for the sake of it unless it's a lot safer like an 8 team playoff and 5 auto quals for the big 5 conference champions. It's very likely to work out like that naturally. That would look like: #1 (SEC) Alabama vs (Wildcard) Wisconsin #2 (ACC) Clemson vs (Big12) Oklahoma #3 (Wildcard) Ohio St vs (Michigan) #4 (Pac 12) Washington vs (BigTen) Penn St The only other factor is if you save 1 spot for the top ranked team from a non-power 5 conference which would be undefeated #15 Western Michigan instead of Big 10 Championship loser Wisconsin who ended up with 3 losses.
If it's 8 teams, at least let the top seeds pick their opponents, because that would be too much fun. Or make it 6 teams with a top 2 bye.
NCAA President Mark Emmert says he would prefer an 8-team CFB Playoff so all Power 5 conference champions are guaranteed a bid