CFP thread

[Robbieac]

There were several playoff caliber teams. In no particular order: UT/ND/BYU/Vandy/Utah. Arguments could even be made for MICH/ARI/USC.

W/ only 12 teams picked out of 133, there will be some left out.

You didn’t answer my question.

I will ask again. Who did ND beat to suggest that they were playoff caliber?

If a random team like Washington State had ND’s same schedule and won and lost to the same teams…..would they be playoff caliber? Would you hold the same stance for them?

 

[kskboys]

You didn’t answer my question.

I will ask again. Who did ND beat to suggest that they were playoff caliber?

If a random team like Washington State had ND’s same schedule and won and lost to the same teams…..would they be playoff caliber? Would you hold the same stance for them?

Oh, that wasn't me. I'm a very casual UT fan.

W/ the way it's structured, ND didn't deserve to be in.

 

[DFWJC]

Oh, that wasn't me. I'm a very casual UT fan.

W/ the way it's structured, ND didn't deserve to be in.

^this was key.

Aside from that, I think Vandy, UT, ND, BYU would all have arguments vs Bama

I thought Miami belonged, and they have proven that to be true.

 

[gtb1943]

it was fixed to favor the SEC by ESPN and the networks

so I am so happy to see the SEC getting pretty much owned in the bowls this year
and Alabama getting humiliated was the frosting on the cake

 

[gtb1943]

Oh, that wasn't me. I'm a very casual UT fan.

W/ the way it's structured, ND didn't deserve to be in.

but Tulane and JMU did which tells the tale there

 

[kskboys]

but Tulane and JMU did which tells the tale there

According to the parameters set up, they did.

There are blowouts in all sports at all levels in the playoffs, that does not signify that the blown out team didn't deserve to be there.

 

[DFWJC]

Margins of victory so far in the CFP

Indiana>Alabama...35

Ole Miss>Tulane...31

Oregon>Texas Tech...23

Oregon>James Madison... 17

Alabama> Oklahoma...10

Miami>Ohio St...10

Miami>Texas AM...7

Ole Miss>Georgia...5

 

[Sydla]

Oh, that wasn't me. I'm a very casual UT fan.

W/ the way it's structured, ND didn't deserve to be in.

The way it was structured? What does that mean?

The week before the last game of the season, the committee had deemed ND the 9th best team, Bama the 10th. The committee was well aware that Bama had beaten UGA so that quality win was baked in. So the committee still felt that Bama was a spot worse than ND. That weekend, ND beat the crap out of Stanford and Bama squeaked out a win after blowing a lead against a bad Auburn team that had fired it's HC a few weeks earlier. The committee, somehow, thought that win was more quality than ND's and therefore moved Bama ahead of ND before the CCG.

So what "structure" was at work there?

 

[Sydla]

Who did ND beat this year to suggest that they were playoff caliber?

Please respond with facts and not just feelings or personal attacks. Thanks.

They did beat USC and Pitt, while not elite, they were ranked teams. By just about every computer measure they were a Top 6-8 team. So even with their supposed weak schedule, they were considered one of the best teams in the country by just about every impartial computer poll. Vegas had them as one of the favorites. Even the talking heads who agreed with the selection of Miami and Bama admitted that ND probably was one of a handful of teams that could win the whole thing. Saban pushed hard for Bama but admitted that ND was probably one of the few teams that could actually win it.

So the idea that ND wasn't playoff "worthy" is odd. Maybe it's a definition thing. Are you saying ND had no chance to beat any of the teams in the playoffs outside of Tulane or JMU or are you simply arguing their resume wasn't as good as those included so therefore, regardless of how good or bad you think they were, they simply weren't worthy compared to the resumes of other teams.

 

[DFWJC]

They did beat USC and Pitt, while not elite, they were ranked teams. By just about every computer measure they were a Top 6-8 team. So even with their supposed weak schedule, they were considered one of the best teams in the country by just about every impartial computer poll. Vegas had them as one of the favorites. Even the talking heads who agreed with the selection of Miami and Bama admitted that ND probably was one of a handful of teams that could win the whole thing. Saban pushed hard for Bama but admitted that ND was probably one of the few teams that could actually win it.

So the idea that ND wasn't playoff "worthy" is odd. Maybe it's a definition thing. Are you saying ND had no chance to beat any of the teams in the playoffs outside of Tulane or JMU or are you simply arguing their resume wasn't as good as those included so therefore, regardless of how good or bad you think they were, they simply weren't worthy compared to the resumes of other teams.

East Carolina beat Pitt in their Bowl game

Go Pirates!

 

[kskboys]

The way it was structured? What does that mean?

The week before the last game of the season, the committee had deemed ND the 9th best team, Bama the 10th. The committee was well aware that Bama had beaten UGA so that quality win was baked in. So the committee still felt that Bama was a spot worse than ND. That weekend, ND beat the crap out of Stanford and Bama squeaked out a win after blowing a lead against a bad Auburn team that had fired it's HC a few weeks earlier. The committee, somehow, thought that win was more quality than ND's and therefore moved Bama ahead of ND before the CCG.

So what "structure" was at work there?

JM and Tulane making it in.

 

[kskboys]

They did beat USC and Pitt, while not elite, they were ranked teams. By just about every computer measure they were a Top 6-8 team. So even with their supposed weak schedule, they were considered one of the best teams in the country by just about every impartial computer poll. Vegas had them as one of the favorites. Even the talking heads who agreed with the selection of Miami and Bama admitted that ND probably was one of a handful of teams that could win the whole thing. Saban pushed hard for Bama but admitted that ND was probably one of the few teams that could actually win it.

So the idea that ND wasn't playoff "worthy" is odd. Maybe it's a definition thing. Are you saying ND had no chance to beat any of the teams in the playoffs outside of Tulane or JMU or are you simply arguing their resume wasn't as good as those included so therefore, regardless of how good or bad you think they were, they simply weren't worthy compared to the resumes of other teams.

I think you had a cluster of like 8-9 teams after the top 7 w/ very little separation among them. ND was one of those, as was ALA and MIA.

 

[Sydla]

I think you had a cluster of like 8-9 teams after the top 7 w/ very little separation among them. ND was one of those, as was ALA and MIA.

The way they manipulated the rankings at the end is a big reason they need to can the current selection process.

There is no reason the AD of Arkansas should be deciding between Bama and ND when Bama getting in financially benefits Arkansas.

 

[atlantacowboy]

but Tulane and JMU did which tells the tale there

Don't worry. Your boys cut a deal to give them preferential treatment from now on.

 

[atlantacowboy]

The way it was structured? What does that mean?

The week before the last game of the season, the committee had deemed ND the 9th best team, Bama the 10th. The committee was well aware that Bama had beaten UGA so that quality win was baked in. So the committee still felt that Bama was a spot worse than ND. That weekend, ND beat the crap out of Stanford and Bama squeaked out a win after blowing a lead against a bad Auburn team that had fired it's HC a few weeks earlier. The committee, somehow, thought that win was more quality than ND's and therefore moved Bama ahead of ND before the CCG.

So what "structure" was at work there?

Strength of schedule won out. Bama was #3 and ND was 11. You think ND would lose only 2 games against Bama's schedule?

 

[Robbieac]

Strength of schedule won out. Bama was #3 and ND was 11. You think ND would lose only 2 games against Bama's schedule?

Exactly. I dislike the SEC, but Notre Dame would be roadkill in that conference.

They would look more like Arkansas or South Carolina than Alabama with an SEC schedule.

There’s a reason why the Golden Domers are too scared to join a conference. The curtain would be dropped, and they would be shown to be who they really are.

 

[Sydla]

Don't worry. Your boys cut a deal to give them preferential treatment from now on.

The freak outs over the MOU are hilarious. As we saw, the committee can manipulate the rankings and make ND 13th if they want to keep them out.

And the MOU changes anyway with the expansion to 16, which is likely to happen in the very near future.

 

[Sydla]

Strength of schedule won out. Bama was #3 and ND was 11. You think ND would lose only 2 games against Bama's schedule?

SOS won out? Bama had the better SOS the week before the Auburn game and ND was still ranked ahead of Bama. So the committee had ND higher despite Bama having the better SOS and the road win at UGA. The only new "data point" was ND blew out Stanford and Bama needed a late 4th down conversion to beat Auburn, a team with no HC. When Yurachek stumbled through his explanation of why they flipped ND and Bama that last week by saying the committee was impressed with their "first half" and their gutsy 4th down call, it was pretty obvious this was ranking manipulation on full display.

And again, why does Yurackek not have to recuse himself from voting for SEC teams? The more SEC teams in the better it benefits Arkansas. But Ivan Maisel had to recuse himself from ND because he wrote a book on Frank Leahy. Haha.

 

[Sydla]

Exactly. I dislike the SEC, but Notre Dame would be roadkill in that conference.

They would look more like Arkansas or South Carolina than Alabama with an SEC schedule.

There’s a reason why the Golden Domers are too scared to join a conference. The curtain would be dropped, and they would be shown to be who they really are.

Nah, it's greed. That's why they don't join a conference. They have a sweetheart deal with NBC, they get to keep all the playoff money if they make it, etc. Until there is a reason to have to join a conference, they'll stay independent.

And maybe that time is coming if ND finds it tougher to schedule games, etc.

It's also interesting you bring up Arkansas and saying ND would be closer to them than Bama. You guys love the comparative score game, so note, ND destroyed Arkansas in Arkansas, the same Arkansas team that lost to Ole Miss by 6, Tennessee by 3, etc. The notion that this ND team could not compete in the SEC is kind of chuckleworthy but predictable from the hate ND crowd.

 

[atlantacowboy]

One, yeah, I think ND could go 2 losses in the SEC. For starters, the SEC is a bit overrated where people think it's a slogfest every single weekend. ND blew out an Arkansas team at home that gave some of the "blue bloods" in the conference much better games. This is the kind of logic that has people thinking Bama would beat an IU team because IU played a soft schedule and couldn't survive in the SEC.

Second, the whole SOS thing is funnny. Bama had a better SOS in the 2nd to last week of the poll and yet the committee ranked ND ahead of Bama. The only new "data point" in the final poll before the CCGs was ND's blow out of Stanford and Bama's needing a 4th down conversion to beat a mediocre Auburn team without a coach. Watching Yurachek try to explan the jump by saying they were impressed with Bama's 1st half and their gutsy 4th down call was hilarious and even the most diehard homer SEC fans should have rolled their eyes at that.

Disagree. Your opinion is far from fact in regard to the SEC but you can believe whatever you want.

ND lost to Miami and A&M and then reeled off 10 in a row against unranked teams. But that is beside the point. I have more of a problem with Tulane and JMU being included over ND than Bama.