2023 College football thread - That's A Wrap (4 Viewers)

[jhib]

Liberty ahead of SMU is the cherry on top - this committee did a horrible job

They chose the undefeated G5 team because they had less losses than the other team despite playing a weak schedule. Great system!

Well obviously, because winning all your games is the most important...oh wait

Liberty is 12-0 and sits more than ten spots removed from a 12 team playoff. The 10 teams ahead of Liberty all have 3 or 4 losses. It has always been and always will be a mythical national championship.

I think under next year’s rules they would have been in as the 12 seed. I believe you’ve said before you preferred it the old way (pre-BCS era) and while I disagree I get it. The BCS and the CFP are both half measures for sure, but sometimes stuff like that has to happen before we can get to where we really want to be, which for me is the way FCS does it. Do you think the FCS champion is mythical? Put aside whether or not you even think major college athletics should exist (they shouldn’t). That cat is out of the bag for now so while we’re here we might as well come up with the best way to crown a champion, if you ask me. In 25 years, if major college football still exists, I think we’ll look on this BCS/CFP stuff as a necessary transitional era. It doesn’t make it any less frustrating in the here and now though.

I think the FCS playoffs are a great system and have no problem with that. A 12 team football bracket will probably be fun in some ways, but I also think we have to agree the tradition and magic of college football is pretty much gone at that point. Things like conference championships and new years day bowl games are pretty much already a thing of the past and will have even less meaning next year. We could easily get 6 or 7 boring games and then a final like last year where a team lost by almost 60 points. I also think there will always be unintended consequences of changes like this that are hard for us to predict. For example, we've just seen an undefeated FSU left out of the playoff because their quarterback is injured. Imagine this year if Oregon and LSU are trying to make a 12 team tournament but everyone knows Daniels and Nix are not going to play? The issues we see as massive problems today will surely be replaced with similar problems when they go to 12, 32, etc.

Right. I'm the current system, Michigan vs Ohio state is everything. Have to win that game to win the big ten and move on to bigger things.

Now, you lose that game, and it sucks. Until they play again next week in the big ten championship. And then they both make the new playoffs and might meet again in a few more weeks. Cheapens everything about the regular season.

But the new way would have still kept the first game pretty darn important, because it would have allowed Michigan to sit at home the first round while #7 Ohio State had to play #10 Penn State.
And it might lessen some games in the regular season but also make more games more important.

 

[jhib]

I think the 12-team playoff will produce just as much talk about which four teams get the bye as it does which teams deserve the 12th seed vs being left out.

Actually, the 11th seed. The 12th seed will most likely always be the 6th automatic qualifier. (Which, of course, makes it a bit easier for the 5th seed who didn't get a bye, but still.)

 

[gianmarco]

Brutal... And accurate

 

[jm192]

Latest point spreads:

Michigan -1.5
Texas -4.5

Georgia -14 Florida State at Fan Dual

I mean won't every single NFL bound player on both sides sit it out?

Possibly.

I wonder if it being one of the biggest non-championship bowls if guys will want to show up for it. Prime time tv slot, millions of views. One more chance to show the world what you can do

 

[jm192]

I think the 12-team playoff will produce just as much talk about which four teams get the bye as it does which teams deserve the 12th seed vs being left out.

Actually, the 11th seed. The 12th seed will most likely always be the 6th automatic qualifier. (Which, of course, makes it a bit easier for the 5th seed who didn't get a bye, but still.)

Oh absolutely.

 

[NutterButter]

Is the fsu offense noticeably better with their 2nd qb than the 3rd stringer?

 

[jm192]

Is the fsu offense noticeably better with their 2nd qb than the 3rd stringer?

In 1 game with the 2nd stringer vs a 5-7 Florida team, they scored 24 points.
In 1 game with the 3rd stringer vs a top 25 Louisville team, they scored 16 points.

FSU scored 58 vs North Alabama with the 2nd stringer. I'm not sure North Alabama really provides an adequate test for the offense to take anything away from that.

 

[Orange&Blue]

The answer to this debacle is either 8 team playoff or just four major conferences allowed in with only their champions moving on.

 

[Schmeabs]

Not sure which fan base has had a worse week, Oregon or Florida State

 

[Schmeabs]

Rumors of Dillon Gabriel to Oregon? Possibly Dante Moore too.

 

[timschochet]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

 

[encaitar]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

True, but the committee decided that being an undefeated conference champion is more important than who is the better team.......

 

[CletiusMaximus]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

This is kind of the crux of it all for me. We want to treat this nebulous mass of 100+ teams as if it were a league that leads to a knockout tournament to determine the champion. But then you have a team in your league who went 12-0 and dominated its conference and no one even remotely considers that team to be competitive.

 

[culdeus]

The answer to this debacle is either 8 team playoff or just four major conferences allowed in with only their champions moving on.

When they did the playoffs it wasn't really thought there would be just 4 left. Now in hindsight makes more sense.

 

[The Dreaded Marco]

Not sure which fan base has had a worse week, Oregon or Florida State

Getting Liberty in their bowl game sucks. But they did lose for the 2nd time this season to Washington, this time on a neutral field as a 10 point favorite.

So I’d go with FSU fan, left out of the CFP despite being an undefeated P5 conference champion.

 

[whoknew]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

You clearly didn't watch Michigan State play this year.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

Oregon is way too strong for Liberty. I hate that matchup for both teams. Liberty deserves a shot at a decent game but against somebody they would have a chance to beat, like Iowa or Oregon State for instance.

I love this matchup for both teams. I hope Oregon wins by 100.

-QG

And they just might. Myself I want to be entertained. Unless you’re an Oregon lover or a Liberty hater (?) that’s not entertainment.

Tulane had no chance last year against USC

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

Have you watched one snap of liberty football this year?

 

[FreeBaGeL]

Hot take. If the committee wanted to go off the rails, the least they could have done was use that power to make Washington #4 so we could finish off the last year of Pac 12 football with a proper Rose Bowl.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Didn't express what I would predict happens in Oregon's game just a desired result
-QG

 

[Phil Elliott]

Per ESPN:

FPI:

• Michigan 1
• Alabama 5
• Texas 7
• FSU 11
• Washington 13

SOS:

• Alabama 5
• Washington 11
• Texas 13
• Michigan 33
• FSU 55

Top 25 FPI record, ordered loosely in order of impressiveness IMO:

• Washington - 5-0 - Oregon (4), Oregon (4), Oregon State (18), Arizona (22), Utah (25)
• Alabama - 5-1 - wins: Georgia (6), LSU (9), Texas A&M (14), Ole Miss (15), Tennessee (17); losses: Texas (7)
• Michigan - 2-0 - wins: Ohio State (2), Penn State (3)
• FSU - 4-0 - wins: LSU (9), Clemson (19), Louisville (23), Miami (24)
• Texas - 2-1 - wins: Alabama (5), Kansas State (12); losses: Oklahoma (8)

Taking everything into consideration, IMO FSU should have been in over Texas. But FSU's schedule obviously opened the door for the QB situation to be used against them. Too bad for FSU that (1) Clemson was down; (2) Florida was down; and (3) they didn't have Notre Dame on the schedule this season.

I definitely think the conversation should be more about FSU over Texas rather than FSU over Bama.

Texas beat Bama head to head, and I think the committee didn't want to have to explain that away. It was just easier to use the FSU QB excuse. Right or not.

Yes, those head to head games always get in the way.

 

[FairWarning]

Georgia has been No 1 for like 3-4 years?
B2B Titles and they have held down the No 1 spot as long as most I can remember and it seems like all season they have been No 1
They lost 27-24 in an SEC Title game to perhaps the biggest baddest football program in college football over the last 10-12 years in Alabama
The 2 schools have like 8 National Championships in the last 10 years
A combined 23-1 record going into yesterday and the game is decided by 3 points and we are talking about NEITHER of these 2 football teams being in the CFP?

You cannot have a CFP with no SEC representative, the week to week in the SEC would destroy most of these other teams trying to get into the CFP
-Ridiculous

What was the big grind in the Georgia schedule? It was no harder than Michigan’s.

 

[Penguin]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

Have you watched one snap of liberty football this year?

Oregon is -15.5 vs. Liberty right now

 

[RCon]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

This is some serious trolling right here. Literally every year teams worse than Liberty play competitive games against lower-echelon (and sometimes upper-echelon) power 5 teams.

Just this year in CUSA alone:
New Mexico St. - Lost to Liberty 33-17 and then again 49-35. New Mexico St. hammered Auburn 31-10 at Auburn. 'Bama needed a Hail Mary to beat that same Auburn team.
Jacksonville St. - Lost to Liberty 31-13 at home. Lost to South Carolina 38-28 on the road.
Middle Tennessee St. - Finished 3-5 in conference. Lost 23-19 on the road to Missouri, who finished top 10 in the country.

We could do this all day...
Baylor, from the vaunted Big 12, lost at home 42-31 to mighty Texas St., who finished a solid 4-4 in the MAC.
Stanford lost at home to Sacramento St., who finished 4-4 in the Big Sky.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Welp I was dead wrong. That sucks.

Sorry amigo, wasn't trying to forecast that yesterday when we didn't know wha the committee was doing
I just thought that certain teams were a given, didn't know they could keep FSU out undefeated because of the Travis injury, I didn't know the NCAA would make that decision for FSU
They played their 3rd string QB forced into duty and they still won by 10 points

Whatever, it's all a sham and we've known it for a long long time

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Its probably been covered already, but does the #1 seed get to chose the location (bowl) they are playing in? Could Michigan have played in the Sugar Bowl vs Alabama if they wanted to or was that chosen for them?

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Its probably been covered already, but does the #1 seed get to chose the location (bowl) they are playing in? Could Michigan have played in the Sugar Bowl vs Alabama if they wanted to or was that chosen for them?

That's a good question, to my knowledge the schools are told where to go, don't think I've ever heard of the school telling the committee where they prefer to play

 

[gump]

Latest point spreads:

Michigan -1.5
Texas -4.5

Georgia -14 Florida State at Fan Dual

I mean won't every single NFL bound player on both sides sit it out?

That trend seems to be reversing to some degree…the #1 overall pick played in his bowl game last year, along with some other draftees.

 

[gump]

Its probably been covered already, but does the #1 seed get to chose the location (bowl) they are playing in? Could Michigan have played in the Sugar Bowl vs Alabama if they wanted to or was that chosen for them?

Yes, the #1 seed chooses it’s preferred Semi location.

 

[WDIK2]

Its probably been covered already, but does the #1 seed get to chose the location (bowl) they are playing in? Could Michigan have played in the Sugar Bowl vs Alabama if they wanted to or was that chosen for them?

The #1 seed chooses where they want to play their first round game.

 

[WDIK2]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

You clearly didn't watch Michigan State play this year.

Or Nebraska.

 

[culdeus]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

You clearly didn't watch Michigan State play this year.

Or Nebraska.

Iowa?

 

[bcat01]

Kyle McCord just entered the transfer portal.

 

[AAABatteries]

https://twitter.com/SaturdayCadence/status/1731421585414762624

 

[3C's]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

Have you watched one snap of liberty football this year?

Oregon is -15.5 vs. Liberty right now

Oregon <> Vanderbilt, UVA, ASU, Indiana, etc, etc. Sure they would lose to the top of the Power 5 schools but not only would they not lose to every single team in those conferences by 4 TDs they would most certainly beat some of those teams and possibly by 4 TDs.

 

[WDIK2]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

You clearly didn't watch Michigan State play this year.

Or Nebraska.

Iowa?

Thought about them, but their defense and special teams might score a few times.

 

[The Commish]

Kyle McCord just entered the transfer portal.

OSU fanbase strikes again...yikes.

 

[Todem]

FSU got hosed imo

I think there’s a distinction between feeling bad for them and them getting hosed. I don’t think they got hosed based on the process but I do think they cosmically got hosed because their QB got hurt and Georgia lost to Bama.

The process?

They are a power 5 conference champion who is 13-0 in this day and age of the transfer portal and parity across the country. They have arguably the top defense in the country as well. They carried them to two wins to finish the season.

They earned the right to play for the prize. Period.

Bama.....lost to Texas who is in the dance.

It's fraudulent.

 

[Todem]

So if Bama gets back by injuries this week in practice they will natural be asked to step aside by the CFP right?

Naaah let's face it if the situation was reversed an undefeated 'bama team could have their starting 11 on offense disappear into the bermuda triangle and they'd still get in.

a travesty.

-QG

All the talking heads would be like “Well you just know the great Nick Sabin is going to find a way to coach them up and be ready for the playoffs”

It’s really simple – just follow the money, keeping the SEC out of the playoffs is bad for business.

Winner winner chicken dinner.

 

[tri-man 47]

Brutal... And accurate

Wow …very intriguing arguments. The implication is: Washington - Michigan - FSU - Texas?

 

[Capella]

FSU got hosed imo

I think there’s a distinction between feeling bad for them and them getting hosed. I don’t think they got hosed based on the process but I do think they cosmically got hosed because their QB got hurt and Georgia lost to Bama.

The process?

They are a power 5 conference champion who is 13-0 in this day and age of the transfer portal and parity across the country. They have arguably the top defense in the country as well. They carried them to two wins to finish the season.

They earned the right to play for the prize. Period.

Bama.....lost to Texas who is in the dance.

It's fraudulent.

It is. That damn defense could have won those two playoff games 20-10 style with that running game if Rodemaker played turnover free ball. Plenty of teams have won with defense. Yesterday I kinda just shrugged it off bc it’s all a sham but today I feel angry for the players. Totally ridiculous.

 

[AAABatteries]

FSU got hosed imo

I think there’s a distinction between feeling bad for them and them getting hosed. I don’t think they got hosed based on the process but I do think they cosmically got hosed because their QB got hurt and Georgia lost to Bama.

The process?

They are a power 5 conference champion who is 13-0 in this day and age of the transfer portal and parity across the country. They have arguably the top defense in the country as well. They carried them to two wins to finish the season.

They earned the right to play for the prize. Period.

Bama.....lost to Texas who is in the dance.

It's fraudulent.

Look, I understand folks are upset and I don't blame them for feeling that way. I'm sure if FSU was in and Alabama was out there'd be a large group of people who would be as upset and calling it fraudulent, etc. But the fact is, there is a process and it's the process they've used for a while now. It's always had a beauty pageant component to it. It's not an exact science and they very intentionally left it ambiguous for situations just like this. It feels wrong but there's nothing in their process that they did "wrong" - basically folks don't like the decision that group of people came to. And I understand that but if I had been one of those people I would have had Bama in. You would have had FSU in. There were more people who think like me in the room than who think like you.

For anybody who cares, here's the process from their website.

CFP Selection Committee Voting Process

CFP Selection Committee Voting Process

collegefootballplayoff.com

 

[Capella]

But the fact is, there is a process and it's the process they've used for a while now

There is the process laid out, but it is absolutely false that they have used it for a while. This is the first time they’ve done this. They literally took the worse looking team with less losses just last year.

 

[AAABatteries]

But the fact is, there is a process and it's the process they've used for a while now

There is the process laid out, but it is absolutely false that they have used it for a while. This is the first time they’ve done this. They literally took the worse looking team with less losses just last year.

Their process is whoever they want to choose - so yes, they've used it. It's just a horrible process that doesn't really have a better one. Especially when the group of people picking it aren't infallible and won't always make the correct selections. Look, I feel really bad for you and other FSU fans and really bad for their team but you even said you don't think FSU is one of the four best teams. Now imagine someone who is maybe a little or a lot biased against the ACC or for the SEC and they think the same. It's an obvious decision that person might come to. I'm personally biased for the ACC and I would have left FSU out.

 

[Capella]

but you even said you don't think FSU is one of the four best teams.

We are just going in circles here but that’s different from who earned it on the field. Why don’t we just let the rivals or 247 recruiting rankings determine the playoff? This is just a bananas argument.

 

[Jayrok]

So if Penix Jr tears an ACL or another similar injury in practice next week, does the committee replace Washington with Georgia or Oregon? That seemed to be their only rationale for FSU.

Sucks for the Noles players, coaches, families and fans.

 

[timschochet]

There is not a single team in the SEC, PAC 12, Big 10, ACC, or Big 8 that wouldn’t beat Liberty by at least 4 touchdowns.

Have you watched one snap of liberty football this year?

Nope. Am I being unfair? Possibly, And it’s a single game so theoretically anything could happen. Oregon could fumble several times and play terrible and who the hell knows?

But at least on paper it’s easily the worst matchup in recent bowl history. Liberty is not Tulane; they should be crushed by Tulane. Or San Jose State.

 

[whoknew]

https://twitter.com/SaturdayCadence/status/1731421585414762624

That was funny.

 

[AAABatteries]

but you even said you don't think FSU is one of the four best teams.

We are just going in circles here but that’s different from who earned it on the field. Why don’t we just let the rivals or 247 recruiting rankings determine the playoff? This is just a bananas argument.

Yeah, we are going in circles. It's fine - I'm not even sure my position is "right" and yours is "wrong" or vice versa. I think based on reading this thread and watching and reading media it's obvious that it's not obvious who they should have selected. It just so happens more people in the room thought like me vs. thought like you and Todem and others. Hey, if by some huge miracle it was GT in the position FSU was I'm sure I'd be ready to burn **** down too. Totally sucks.

 

[Jayrok]

I understand the impact Travis' injury had on the team, but their accomplishment should not be diminished because a group of people (who have no impact on the actual fields) are able to dictate who they want to qualify for the national title.

The 3rd string QB isn't starting in the Orange bowl and Rodemaker is going to have a month of reps with the first team to prepare for the game. With that elite defense and skill players, why would anyone not think they could compete in the playoff? Whether they win or lose, they still deserved to be there as they have earned the chance to compete for the title.