2021 Miscellaneous College Football Thread

[Fear The Chorizo]

Cincinnati probably should join a better conference if they want to be in the playoff. LOL. The committee will probably put 2-loss teams ahead of them if they have to.

 

The initial ranking of putting a 1-loss Alabama team at #2 essentially guarantees two SEC teams in the CFP, regardless of who wins between Georgia and Bama in the SEC title game. It's pathetic

 

That's despite Bama only having one win against a team currently in the AP top 25 (#15 Ole Miss, who just lost to Auburn) and who likely only has one more game left on their regular slate against a top 25 program (Auburn)....but sure, rank them #2 ahead of 3 other power 5 conference unbeatens, an undefeated non-power 5 team ranked 2nd in the AP, and 6 other 1-loss power 5 schools that all have played tougher competition to date.

 

What.A.Joke...

 

My thought as well. Are they probably one of the 4 best teams? Yea, but do they deserve to be top 4 currently? Probably not.

 

Alabama was clearly the best team in college football last season. Then they lost 10 players in this year's NFL draft, including 8 of the top 40 picks. These studs included their starting quarterback, two best wide receivers (including the Heisman winner), starting running back, best corner, left tackle and center. I don't care how deep and talented your program is - if you lose all those positions to the draft, you're going to have some growing pains the next season and it shouldn't be a foregone conclusion that the guys taking their place aren't going to miss a beat.

 

I'm certain the replacements to these positions are all great recruits that are likely to have the NFL in their own sights someday given how Alabama can essentially roll out of bed with the top 1 or 2 recruiting classes every single year....but that shouldn't be reason enough to just prop them back up at the top of the rankings automatically. To me their #2 CFP ranking is based more on what they've done the last few seasons and not on this season's team - that just shouldn't happen at the college level.

 

Had Bama won out this season and then knocked off an undefeated Georgia in the SEC title game a month or so from now, then I'd strongly consider them to be one of the best 4 teams in the country and put both of those squads in the playoff if other conferences/teams didn't have multiple undefeated squads. But to just stick a 1-loss Bama team at #2 ahead of everyone else right now and basically set things up for a 2-loss Bama team still making the CFP is just flat out wrong.

[nodakfan17]

I’m fine with 1-loss Power 5 teams leap frogging undefeated teams outside of the Power 5, but I don’t want to see any 2-loss teams in the CFP.

[brewcrewdue80]

I’m fine with 1-loss Power 5 teams leap frogging undefeated teams outside of the Power 5, but I don’t want to see any 2-loss teams in the CFP.

 

Pretty much Agreed. I suppose the only way it may be worthy is losing twice to teams that are top 5 in playoff rankings prior to winning a rematch in conference championship game that removes that other team from playoffs. Think if WI lost to ND and Ohio State (obviously made up for this scenario) but then beat Ohio State in conference final. I just don't think both teams should make the playoffs, which I think has happened.

[SomewhereInTime]

Cincinnati probably should join a better conference if they want to be in the playoff. LOL. The committee will probably put 2-loss teams ahead of them if they have to.

 

The initial ranking of putting a 1-loss Alabama team at #2 essentially guarantees two SEC teams in the CFP, regardless of who wins between Georgia and Bama in the SEC title game. It's pathetic

 

That's despite Bama only having one win against a team currently in the AP top 25 (#15 Ole Miss, who just lost to Auburn) and who likely only has one more game left on their regular slate against a top 25 program (Auburn)....but sure, rank them #2 ahead of 3 other power 5 conference unbeatens, an undefeated non-power 5 team ranked 2nd in the AP, and 6 other 1-loss power 5 schools that all have played tougher competition to date.

 

What.A.Joke...

 

Yes, that's why it's an invitational and not an actual championship run by the NCAA. There is no fair way to break a field of 130 down to 4 when only 12-13 games are played by each team. One day I'd like to think there would be a similar system used like in every other level of the sport above pee-wee.

[PinaMadness]

Looks like Fleck's boat has sprung a leak. Row faster, P.J. There has to be land somewhere.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Looks like Fleck's boat has sprung a leak. Row faster, P.J. There has to be land somewhere.

 

Gotta love the fact they just extended his contract into 2028, I believe....aside from 1 season where everything broke their way and they had an unbelievably soft schedule, he has done nothing to make their program markedly better than a big ten also ran. Badgers pansted and exposed them that year in MN, too.

[homer]

[PinaMadness]

Minnesota's boat looking more like the Titanic for seven more years. If I was a high school football standout being recruited by Fleck and he came to me with "Row The Boat", I'd immediately kick him out of my house and commit to Wisconsin, even as a walk on, just on principle.

[Joseph Zarr]

Every time I lament the Graham Mertz experience, I remind myself the Tanner Morgan experience isn't all that great either. LOL. Gotta take the small victories!

[PeaveyFury]

Looks like Fleck's boat has sprung a leak. Row faster, P.J. There has to be land somewhere.

 

Gotta love the fact they just extended his contract into 2028, I believe....aside from 1 season where everything broke their way and they had an unbelievably soft schedule, he has done nothing to make their program markedly better than a big ten also ran.

 

This is really accurate. He’s basically got them as the same perpetually 7-5 or 8-4 team that doesn’t win big games and is headed to the Music City Bowl each year. No different than they were under Jerry Kill or Glenn Mason. I guess he’s an upgrade over the Tim Brewster types they’ve had there, but they treat him like he’s Urban Meyer….

[SomewhereInTime]

Looks like Fleck's boat has sprung a leak. Row faster, P.J. There has to be land somewhere.

 

Gotta love the fact they just extended his contract into 2028, I believe....aside from 1 season where everything broke their way and they had an unbelievably soft schedule, he has done nothing to make their program markedly better than a big ten also ran.

 

This is really accurate. He’s basically got them as the same perpetually 7-5 or 8-4 team that doesn’t win big games and is headed to the Music City Bowl each year. No different than they were under Jerry Kill or Glenn Mason. I guess he’s an upgrade over the Tim Brewster types they’ve had there, but they treat him like he’s Urban Meyer….

 

I mean it is Minnesota. If a season ends in a bowl game it's a successful season.

[brewcrewdue80]

7 teams ranked ahead of WI lost yesterday in CFP rankings. Imagine this takes WI up to 16. No lower than 17. One has to think the Defense is gaining respect to jump them in to these ranking in the 1st place. Add the Braelon Allen additional usage has helped in the now 5 straight wins to garner more. Started the season #12, looking like we are heading back towards that ranking.

[stoutdude04]

It does look like this is the team e everyone expected. A solid but unspectacular team. Pribably should have beaten Penn State, but what can ya do?

[Fear The Chorizo]

Alabama jumps Cincy to #2 in the AP poll with its win against essentially a quality high school program this past Saturday, so its cemented spot as the #2 team in the CFP "rankings" looks more legitimate and deserved.

 

They will likely wind up with just one regular season win against a team that is ranked in the top 25 when the calendar rolls into December (Ole Miss), and they have Mercer, Southern Miss, and New Mexico State on their schedule. Their SEC East interconference opponents this year? 5-5 Gator and Tennessee squads.

 

On top of that, Georgia gets to fatten up its resume against an awful SEC East division and its Week 1 win over currently unranked Clemson doesn't look nearly as impressive.

 

But sure, let's keep them #1 and #2 to essentially guarantee both of them wind up in the CFP no matter what happens to the rest of college football and regardless of who wins the SEC title game between those two squads.

 

It's going to be a shame when Cincy gets left out in a year that an undefeated non-power conference champ that is considered to be a solid program absolutely deserves a spot in the CFP.

[OldHeidelberg]

Alabama jumps Cincy to #2 in the AP poll with its win against essentially a quality high school program this past Saturday, so its cemented spot as the #2 team in the CFP "rankings" looks more legitimate and deserved.

 

They will likely wind up with just one regular season win against a team that is ranked in the top 25 when the calendar rolls into December (Ole Miss), and they have Mercer, Southern Miss, and New Mexico State on their schedule. Their SEC East interconference opponents this year? 5-5 Gator and Tennessee squads.

 

On top of that, Georgia gets to fatten up its resume against an awful SEC East division and its Week 1 win over currently unranked Clemson doesn't look nearly as impressive.

 

But sure, let's keep them #1 and #2 to essentially guarantee both of them wind up in the CFP no matter what happens to the rest of college football and regardless of who wins the SEC title game between those two squads.

 

It's going to be a shame when Cincy gets left out in a year that an undefeated non-power conference champ that is considered to be a solid program absolutely deserves a spot in the CFP.

 

It's a joke, like you say Cinci isn't a poor program, they are always one of the first teams mentioned anytime power 5 expansion is brought up. Hopefully they are going to 8 teams soon.

[nodakfan17]

It's a joke, like you say Cinci isn't a poor program, they are always one of the first teams mentioned anytime power 5 expansion is brought up. Hopefully they are going to 8 teams soon.

I hope they stay at 4 teams. Every game is a playoff now. It makes college football exciting. For every undefeated non-Power 5 team they let in, they’ll add three more 2-loss SEC teams. No thanks.

[MrTPlush]

It's a joke, like you say Cinci isn't a poor program, they are always one of the first teams mentioned anytime power 5 expansion is brought up. Hopefully they are going to 8 teams soon.

I hope they stay at 4 teams. Every game is a playoff now. It makes college football exciting. For every undefeated non-Power 5 team they let in, they’ll add three more 2-loss SEC teams. No thanks.

 

This really doesn't make sense to me. If that were the case every game would be exciting until you lose...then it would not be exciting and actually be more like meaningless. I am not sure how adding more teams takes away from the importance of every game. Maybe if you are Alabama and you pretty much will be an auto bid forever...but for any other college team it makes every game more meaningful because there is a sliver of error that can happen without your playoff dreams crushed.

 

I am not sure how many fans enjoy the reality of one loss (many years and for most teams not perennial elites) ending any chance at the playoff.

 

The only argument I really see for not expanding is if ones belief is the reality that the talent gap is so big its a waste of time as those teams will always lose. However, I think occasionally one of those teams could run the table to shock the sport AND March Madness shows those teams don't necessarily need to win it all or even win more than one game to be a success. Imagine Cincy beating Clemson or Georgia in a playoff game. Imagine UCF from a few years back beating an elite school in the playoffs. That would be historical even if they got blown out in their next game.

[nodakfan17]

This really doesn't make sense to me. If that were the case every game would be exciting until you lose...then it would not be exciting and actually be more like meaningless. I am not sure how adding more teams takes away from the importance of every game. Maybe if you are Alabama and you pretty much will be an auto bid forever...but for any other college team it makes every game more meaningful because there is a sliver of error that can happen without your playoff dreams crushed.

Maybe if you’re a fan of a certain team, the CFP is brutal. 2 losses and you’re for sure done (unless you’re Ohio State or Alabama). I don’t have any strong rooting interests so it’s exciting for me to tune in and see Baylor beating Oklahoma. Bye Bye - they’re now on the edge extinction every game. That’s fun. I like watching the big dogs fall. It wouldn’t be nearly as exciting if you knew several 2-3 loss teams would make the CFP.

[madbad2000]

I don't want to see the playoff expanded for the same reasons that nodak mentioned, all it's really going to do is justify putting more SEC teams into the mix. I can't tell you how many times I hear stuff like a 2 loss SEC school is more deserving than an undefeated or 1-loss non-SEC team. Just look at biases in rankings amongst SEC schools and it's not a reach to assume over half of an 8 team playoff will be SEC schools. Whenever you rely on subjectivity and rankings, it's likely to occur. I'm still on board with 4 super conferences and eliminate all subjectivity.

[homer]

To me, the point of the playoff is to see who the best teams in the country are. If that means a 2 or 3 loss SEC team so be it. 8 teams, auto bids for winners of B1G, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac 12 (yes, this might mean a crappy team gets in), seed based on ranking/algorithm, at-large for the other 3 based on same. Frankly, I think it probably should be 10 teams but then you'd need a bye in there or something.

[adambr2]

To me, the point of the playoff is to see who the best teams in the country are. If that means a 2 or 3 loss SEC team so be it. 8 teams, auto bids for winners of B1G, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac 12 (yes, this might mean a crappy team gets in), seed based on ranking/algorithm, at-large for the other 3 based on same. Frankly, I think it probably should be 10 teams but then you'd need a bye in there or something.

 

I mean if you're going to just pair off the best teams in the country, to me, you might as well just rank them by talent/recruiting class. At some point I think you have to mix in a performance reward too. I can see a 3 loss team maybe being "better" than a 0 loss team but I wouldn't give the playoff spot to the 3 loss team in this scenario.

[nodakfan17]

Aren’t the conference championship games effectively a playoff? I don’t like it when a team who didn’t have to play a conference championship game (because they didn’t win their division) sneaks into the CFP.

[Fear The Chorizo]

To me, the point of the playoff is to see who the best teams in the country are. If that means a 2 or 3 loss SEC team so be it. 8 teams, auto bids for winners of B1G, SEC, ACC, Big 12, Pac 12 (yes, this might mean a crappy team gets in), seed based on ranking/algorithm, at-large for the other 3 based on same. Frankly, I think it probably should be 10 teams but then you'd need a bye in there or something.

 

In the current 4 team format, when power conferences like the SEC set up their schedules to insulate themselves from playing significant out of conference matchups I don't see how one can make the determination who the best teams are across the entire college football landscape each season with how much bias is baked into the current ranking system. Is Alabama once again a top 10 program in the country? Absolutely. Are they the second best team in all of college football this season based on their 2021 body of work? Absolutely not in my opinion. Expansion to 6 (5 power conference auto bids + 1 at large) or 8 teams in the CFP (similar setup to your format) in my mind is the best chance for even most of the other power conferences to try and tilt the playing field back closer to even, because that would at least force SEC teams to have to continue proving their perceived dominance by actually playing games against quality non-conference opponents on neutral fields to win national championships.

 

Aren’t the conference championship games effectively a playoff?

 

Not in a 4-team CFP format with how heavy the Alabama bias has gotten. Assuming neither Bama or UGA loses before that title game, both of those teams are making the CFP no matter what happens in that title game. IMO a team that doesn't win its own conference title shouldn't be allowed in to play for a national title - particularly if they had the head to head opportunity to win their conference in its title game.

[homer]

Computer rankings can eliminate bias.

[Fear The Chorizo]

Computer rankings can eliminate bias.

 

Not entirely, but they're better than an AP/Coaches poll issued in August that essentially drives the entire ranking and CFP system for the regular season that's still largely influenced by a popularity contest. No rankings should be issued at all until early November, IMO.