2017 Wisconsin Football Thread

[MadThinker88]

UW's 1 loss resume would be better than Alabama's....won't help though. Gotta win.

 

Agree about needing to win. Disagree about the resume. The weak Alabama resume is much stronger than the UW resume at the moment & UW will not have a top 10 win unless it beats the Buckeyes.

 

As I have said, I want the Big 10 champ in the final 4 (regardless of winner) but I worry about the madness of the final weekend/ rankings..

[paul253]

If Wisconsin loses to Ohio St their best win is Northwestern. That’s similar to Alabama’s best win against LSU. Wisconsin’s second best win is Michigan. That should be similar to Alabama’s second best win over Mississippi St but for some reason MSU is still ranked and Michigan got no respect all year. I think they have remarkably even resumes. The difference should be that Wisconsin won their division and Alabama didn’t. But the difference WILL BE that Alabama is Alabama and Wisconsin is not Alabama.

[Fear The Chorizo]

UW's 1 loss resume would be better than Alabama's....won't help though. Gotta win.

 

Agree about needing to win. Disagree about the resume. The weak Alabama resume is much stronger than the UW resume at the moment & UW will not have a top 10 win unless it beats the Buckeyes.

 

As I have said, I want the Big 10 champ in the final 4 (regardless of winner) but I worry about the madness of the final weekend/ rankings..

 

Just curious, where's alabama's top ten win? They've beaten 5 bowl eligible teams, wisconsin has beaten 6 so far in a conference that actually plays each other 9 times.

 

And please don't call fsu a top ten win.

[paul253]

I really wonder if Ohio St leaps Alabama if they win. Ohio St will have wins over #9 Penn St #16 Michigan St and #4 Wisconsin with a loss to #3 Oklahoma. All of those wins are better than Alabama’s top win, which would be #17 LSU. Ohio St would also be a conference champion. But they have two losses. It’ll be interesting if it happens. Do you leave out a two loss Big Ten champ to include a one loss, second SEC team?

[pacopete4]

OSU or Wisconsin is in with a win. That's just the way I see it. I hope they send a loud message to the SEC to get 9 conference games AND stop scheduling cupcakes in the last weeks of the football season. What a joke it is that those programs basically get a bye week before playing some of their tougher games of the season. Time for the panel to send a clear message to them that their crap that they pull is over with.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Bama's 2018 schedule includes OOC juggernauts Louisville (in orlando, couldn't possibly expect them to play in Louisville!), Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette, and The Citadel...bye week before LSU (again) and Citadel game the week prior to the Iron Bowl...SEC East conference games against Tennessee and Mizzou.

 

Mightaswell have the committee plug the Crimson Tide into the top spot for the early November 2018 CFP rankings - sheesh!

 

I'm curious, for the SEC interconference scheduling, is that on a rotating basis or do they intentionally keep the Alabamas and Georgias of the world from playing each other until a potential conference championship matchup?

[paul253]

Alabama has this amazing ability to schedule non conference games against name programs when said program is having a down year. Florida St. Michigan. Penn St. Virginia Tech. Louisville next year after Jackson is gone. I’m telling you. The SEC has absolutely perfected the art of scheduling

 

2011 by the way is the last time they play a non conference roadgame

[pacopete4]

I stole this from a co-worker of mine that puts this together every year as he hates the current format. Just thought I'd share since it's quality work. He uses the Sagarin Ratings from USA Today to create his rankings.

 

This is probably the most interesting Championship Week in years. We will see if the champions of the SEC, BIG10, ACC, and Big 12 get into the College Football Playoff. Of course there is always Alabama lurking right there also. So, who get in...nobody knows!!! IF we had the Schepanski Playoff System we would have all of that excitement and more!!! We would all be watching...

 

AAC: Memphis v. UCF

ACC: Clemson v. Miami (FL)

Big 12: Oklahoma v. TCU

BIG10: Ohio State v. Wisconsin

Conference USA: North Texas v. Florida Atlantic

MAC: Akron v. Toledo

MWC: Fresno State v. Boise State

PAC-12: Stanford v. USC

SEC: Auburn v. Georgia

Sun Belt: Troy v. Arkansas State

 

Assuming that the higher ranked team wins each of those conference championship games and there are no upsets, a 16-team playoff would look like this...

 

1 Alabama (1) - At Large

16 Troy (74) - Sun Belt

 

8 Georgia (8) - At Large

9 Washington (9) - At Large

 

4 Penn State (4) - At Large

13 Boise State (36) - MWC

 

5 Wisconsin (5) - BIG10

12 UCF (16) - AAC

 

2 Clemson (2) - ACC

15 Florida Atlantic (59) - Conference USA

 

7 Oklahoma (7) - Big 12

10 TCU (10) - At Large

 

3 Auburn (3) - SEC

14 Toledo (51) - MAC

 

6 Ohio State (6) - At Large

11 Stanford (13) - PAC - 12

 

Miami (FL) needs to play their way into the Field of 16. If Miami wins does Clemson still remain an at large team? Where would they end up? What seed would MIami (FL) earn?

 

Oklahoma is playing TCU for the Big 12 Championship game, so the winner is in. Is the loser still an at large team?

 

Does Ohio State hold on to its at large status if they lose to Wisconsin. Where does Ohio State go if they defeat Wisconsin. What happens to Wisconsin if they lose to Ohio State? Are they still in as an at large?

 

If North Texas pulls the upset over Florida Atlantic, they would be the lowest ranked team in the Field of 16, which would move everyone up a spot. What does that do to the entire field?!?!?!

 

Ditto with Akron...

 

USC and Stanford with a play in game to the BIG DANCE, does not look like either team will be an at large with a loss.

 

If Georgia pulls off the upset over Auburn, where do they move to? Does Auburn still make the field as an at large with 3 losses?

 

So much excitement!!! So much discussion!!! Or we can just focus on Wisconsin/Ohio State and Alabama.

[owbc]

If anything that illustrates why a 16-team playoff will never work. Football is not basketball.

 

Miami (FL) needs to play their way into the Field of 16. If Miami wins does Clemson still remain an at large team? Where would they end up? What seed would MIami (FL) earn?

Clemson would be a lock either way. We already know Miami is severely flawed, how many games will it take to prove it?

 

Oklahoma is playing TCU for the Big 12 Championship game, so the winner is in. Is the loser still an at large team?

If Oklahoma wins, they get the opportunity to play TCU for a third time in the round of 16! At least the third time will finally mean something.

 

Does Ohio State hold on to its at large status if they lose to Wisconsin. Where does Ohio State go if they defeat Wisconsin. What happens to Wisconsin if they lose to Ohio State? Are they still in as an at large?

Can a 3-loss team still be eligible for a national championship? How about a 4-loss team?

 

If North Texas pulls the upset over Florida Atlantic, they would be the lowest ranked team in the Field of 16, which would move everyone up a spot. What does that do to the entire field?!?!?!

 

Ditto with Akron...

Can't wait to see the TV ratings for Alabama vs. North Texas...almost as good as having Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl.

 

USC and Stanford with a play in game to the BIG DANCE, does not look like either team will be an at large with a loss.

Which middling Pac-12 team will get rewarded with an undeserved bid?

 

If Georgia pulls off the upset over Auburn, where do they move to? Does Auburn still make the field as an at large with 3 losses?

Finally a matchup with 2 good teams playing each other...and the only thing on the line is seeding. Yawn.

 

So much excitement!!! So much discussion!!! Or we can just focus on Wisconsin/Ohio State and Alabama.

I hope this is sarcasm. Having two good teams face each other is what generates good discussion. As well as controversy. Nobody is talking about Clemson/Miami because it's a boring, predictable matchup. A bigger playoff only generates more of these at the expense of the interesting games.

[pacopete4]

So a team in college basketball can have 15-20 losses and play for a national championship but in football, it's just too insane to think a 3-loss team should be able to?

 

How about an 8-8 football team in the NFL that makes the playoffs?

 

I mean, why is college football any different than any of the sports that are other there. And I should restate, DIVISION ONE football because the rest of the divisions settle the disputes on the field.

[owbc]

So a team in college basketball can have 15-20 losses and play for a national championship but in football, it's just too insane to think a 3-loss team should be able to?

 

How about an 8-8 football team in the NFL that makes the playoffs?

 

I mean, why is college football any different than any of the sports that are other there. And I should restate, DIVISION ONE football because the rest of the divisions settle the disputes on the field.

 

Football is way more physically demanding than other sports and the chance for an upset is lower. D1 has the added issue of travel schedules, as mentioned previously in this thread. Recent D2 playoff brackets confirm this. The opening round is merely a formality for the top seeds.

 

The NFL wild card games have seen declining TV ratings for the same reasons. Too many blowouts, uninspiring storylines. Once in a while it helps a team that lost games due to injuries, but the CFP is already doing that (Clemson's loss to Syracuse isn't hurting them in the rankings).

 

The way to generate excitement and generate a true champion is to place good teams against other good teams. A big playoff does the opposite--punishes the top teams by forcing them to play additional games against inferior opponents. College football has the best and most interesting regular season of any sport because of the magnitude of importance of regular season games. Wisconsin played 12 elimination games this year. The last thing college football should do is try to become like other less-interesting sports.

[pacopete4]

The last thing college football should do is try to become like other less-interesting sports.

 

 

Agree to completely disagree. Part of the reason college football hardly catches my attention (and many others... you list the NFL as losing ratings but fail to mention that their ratings kill college football) is due to the fact that in reality there are about 5 teams that enter the year with a legitimate opportunity to win it all. The rest are just there, with no real point of being there. Why is that interesting? Honestly, I cannot wrap my head around 100+ programs just playing games, to play them. In hopes of getting that 6th win and into one more meaningless game. Might as well be a scrimmage. College football is about as pointless as they come in the present setup.

[madbad2000]

A 16 team playoff is a terrible idea in college football. This would add 2 extra games to the current system for each finalist and semi finalist compared to the current CFP. First off, these are student athletes that have to take into account exams and going to school with workouts and travel. The vast majority of these players are not professional athletes or will make it to the next level. The bowl system works because it's a great one-time event. When Wisconsin goes to the Rose Bowl, the stadium is flush with red because fans make it a holiday and an event. College students can head to the game and make a memory. Adding 3 extra trips in one year is very excessive and I doubt you would get the numbers that these events would like. Especially if the championship game is when the next semester starts. Second, you now extend the playoffs into the third week of January, which is direct competition against the NFL playoffs. Football overload doesn't help either party in the ratings. Third, you are really watering down the playoffs at that level. The college football regular season is great because the games matter. I love the superconference idea because you build your tournament into the regular season with winning your division, conference and then 4 team playoff. It doesn't add any extra games than what we have now.

 

"Honestly, I cannot wrap my head around 100+ programs just playing games, to play them. In hopes of getting that 6th win and into one more meaningless game."

 

And that's your problem. Most schools understand they aren't competing for national titles because of a multitude of factors to include recruiting, facilities, coaching talent (salaries), alumni support, etc. And you know what matters to these schools? Rivalry games. Conference Championships. Bowl Games. Everything you think is pointless is exactly what matters.

[olliegjw]

Div 1 college football is the only sport, in the history of all sports, where a team can win every single game in their season and not have a chance to win the championship. Even better, you can fail to win your division of your conference, and still have a chance at the championship while the conference champion does not have a chance at the championship. Something needs to change.

[MrTPlush]

I mean I would venture to guess a majority of those games would turn out to be a massive joke...I don't think that is helping matters. You aren't competing for a national championship if you win your pathetic conference. A top team will run you over like a semi to make the end of your season incredibly depressing. The talent is not as spread out in NCAAF as it is in NCAAB etc.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Part of the reason college football hardly catches my attention (and many others... you list the NFL as losing ratings but fail to mention that their ratings kill college football) is due to the fact that in reality there are about 5 teams that enter the year with a legitimate opportunity to win it all.

 

How is that any different than the NBA, NFL, or MLB? Sometimes the actual teams slightly differ due to injuries, but by and large everyone knows what teams are going to be vying for a championship before each season starts. The past few seasons the NBA wastes 2 months-worth of playoff games just to get to the final two teams everyone knew were going to compete for the title anyway. Hockey seems to be the outlier when it comes to championship contention prognosticating. MLB playoffs are pretty random by nature, but the regular season marathon tends to weed out undeserving teams. With hockey, you could squeak in as an 8 seed, watch your goalie stand on his head for 2 months, and win the Cup.

 

College basketball is another example of watered down quality - the tourney is exciting for its format, but they can get away with the setup because they can play so many more games over a few weeks than football. And nobody wants to watch a 1 seed play a 16-seed for longer than 30 seconds.

 

I also think perspective is important in why the 4-team CFP was implemented...the whole goal of it was to ensure that the best team in the country would get included in the group of 4 and at least have its fate decided on the field in a playoff format. There were several years where the BCS system likely didn't have the best team included in the final 2. Expanding the field to 4 makes it very difficult to leave out the best team in the CFP...when the argument strays towards who the 4th team in should be instead of who should be the top 2, that system is probably operating as intended. Even with a year like this, with no truly dominant team that's head and shoulders above the rest, I don't think there will be any debate as to who the 1st three teams will be plugged into the CFP following results of this weekend's games.

[owbc]

Agree to completely disagree. Part of the reason college football hardly catches my attention (and many others... you list the NFL as losing ratings but fail to mention that their ratings kill college football) is due to the fact that in reality there are about 5 teams that enter the year with a legitimate opportunity to win it all. The rest are just there, with no real point of being there. Why is that interesting? Honestly, I cannot wrap my head around 100+ programs just playing games, to play them. In hopes of getting that 6th win and into one more meaningless game. Might as well be a scrimmage. College football is about as pointless as they come in the present setup.

 

Fair enough. I would argue that college football is the most popular "minor league" in the country.

 

The bowl system actually works well for the most part in its main purpose--generating TV ratings. This is the case because the teams tend to be evenly-matched and they don't have much competition during those weeknight prime time slots. They serve a better purpose than a 1 vs 16 game.

[pacopete4]

Agree to completely disagree. Part of the reason college football hardly catches my attention (and many others... you list the NFL as losing ratings but fail to mention that their ratings kill college football) is due to the fact that in reality there are about 5 teams that enter the year with a legitimate opportunity to win it all. The rest are just there, with no real point of being there. Why is that interesting? Honestly, I cannot wrap my head around 100+ programs just playing games, to play them. In hopes of getting that 6th win and into one more meaningless game. Might as well be a scrimmage. College football is about as pointless as they come in the present setup.

 

Fair enough. I would argue that college football is the most popular "minor league" in the country.

 

The bowl system actually works well for the most part in its main purpose--generating TV ratings. This is the case because the teams tend to be evenly-matched and they don't have much competition during those weeknight prime time slots. They serve a better purpose than a 1 vs 16 game.

 

How much are those tv ratings driven by putting them on over holidays when people all sit around and watch tv and nothing else is on?

[paul253]

I think the ideal is an 8 team playoff and going back to 11 regular season games. The winner of the five power conferences and the highest rank group of 5 are all automatic qualifiers and then two at large teams. So this year as it stands now we’ll say:

 

1) Clemson vs 8) UCF

2) Auburn vs 7) USC

3) Oklahoma vs 6) Ohio St

4) UW vs 5) Alabama

[OnaBadger58]

JT Barrett had arthroscopic knee surgery done on Sunday, but is expected to play on Saturday. I would have to imagine this will affect his ability to run.

[PeaveyFury]

JT Barrett had arthroscopic knee surgery done on Sunday, but is expected to play on Saturday. I would have to imagine this will affect his ability to run.

 

..... which is why I would expect him not to play all that much. His ability to make plays and be elusive with his legs is the main benefit he brings to the table. 6 Days after surgery, it's safe to expect that to hinder his game.

[nate82]

JT Barrett had arthroscopic knee surgery done on Sunday, but is expected to play on Saturday. I would have to imagine this will affect his ability to run.

 

..... which is why I would expect him not to play all that much. His ability to make plays and be elusive with his legs is the main benefit he brings to the table. 6 Days after surgery, it's safe to expect that to hinder his game.

 

Yeah if Barrett is not able to run and is the starting QB I really like the Badgers chances of winning. A gimped Barrett against this Badgers defense is going to be brutal for him.

 

I don't believe Barrett can beat the Badgers with his arm.

[Fear The Chorizo]

I think OSU's other issue is they have a banged up/gimpy O-line, too. I don't think Barrett finishes this game - they'll see how he responds and wind up going to their freshman QB, who would be a much better running option than Barrett and has similar arm talent...although with Wisconsin's blitz scheme, I'm sure Meyer would rather have Barrett making reads in the passing game if he's healthy enough to do so.

 

Great...so if Wisconsin does win we'll get to spend 4 weeks hearing all about how the only way they won was because OSU had a gimpy/inexperienced qb

[pacopete4]

Getting excited about the game. Can't wait to be done with school tomorrow and drive over to Indy!

[homer]

Getting excited about the game. Can't wait to be done with school tomorrow and drive over to Indy!

 

I like UW's chances. Different feel to this game than the one in 2014.