College Football Discussion - Franklin to Virginia Tech

[Profound23]

So there are rumblings that Texas and Sarkisian part ways. If that happens should the Badgers fire Fickell and go after him? Would that be a good fit?

[Kerb Hohl]

So there are rumblings that Texas and Sarkisian part ways. If that happens should the Badgers fire Fickell and go after him? Would that be a good fit?

Not really. I mean I'd probably take him as a big time offensive coach but he's also probably better suited for a talent factory somewhere else. If we had unlimited money, sure, why not...?

At this point for me it's just ride Fickell out and hope that the horrible luck flips and he is suddenly a cheap coach and finds the old success

OR

Hire a cheap coordinator sort of guy

This is not a program that should be spending massive money to bring in a coach and is not one that should be going after guys that succeed by utilizing 5-star talent.

[MickeyDavis]

Would you believe that Alabama, Oregon and Notre Dame have combined for five wins against other ranked teams?

It's true.

Alabama has beaten No. 4 Georgia, No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 20 Tennessee and No. 22 Missouri.

Notre Dame has beaten ... well, only No. 15 USC.

And Oregon has a big win against ... sorry, it just says "Error 404: Page Not Found."

And yet, the Tide check in at No. 10 this week, barely on the fringe of the playoff, behind both the Ducks and the Irish.

Why? Because Alabama had the temerity to lose a game last week by two points -- a game in which it missed a field goal attempt on a controversial tipped ball, nearly doubled Oklahoma's yardage, and, based on net success rates, was clearly the unluckiest team in the country.

Now, way back when we first introduced the idea of the selection committee in 2014, one of the big differentiations from more traditional rankings, like the AP poll, was that this new group would view each week with fresh eyes. Unlike those lazy AP voters or whichever intern drew the short straw and had to submit a coach's ballot for the Coaches Poll, the committee wouldn't simply take last week's rankings and adjust based on who won or lost their most recent games. The underlying data changed each week, so the committee was obliged to reevaluate, too. Teams lost games when they played well and won games when they played poorly. What once seemed like a big win (Penn State?) now looks less impressive, and what once felt like a bad loss (SMU?) is an excusable gap on the résumé. The committee, in its infinite wisdom, would account for all that by viewing each set of rankings as a wholly new endeavor.

Twelve years later, this committee seems to have decided that's way too much effort and seems to have adopted the old AP poll process.

Alabama lost. It must be punished, and dropping six spots in the rankings is the rough equivalent of the pilot at ATL explaining it'll just be another 20 minutes or so before a gate opens up. Everyone knows it's not true, but the hope is the number seems reasonable enough to avoid anyone getting too upset.

Well, that kind of treatment might be OK for the likes of Miami or Virginia, but this is Alabama we're talking about. Put some respect on the Tide's name. Their five wins vs. SP+ top-40 opponents is more than anyone except Texas A&M. Their four wins vs. ranked foes is more than Ole Miss, Oregon and Notre Dame combined. They've beaten the No. 4 team in the country head-to-head -- arguably the best win for any team this season.

And yet, here we are, treating Alabama as if it has been playing an ACC schedule this whole time. (Never mind that the Tide lost to an ACC team. The committee has given Week 1 the "Eternal Sunshine" treatment. Sorry, Miami.)

The whole point of the committee -- the reason we're not using computers or the AP poll or letting that manatee at Sea World who always picks the winner of the Holiday Bowl decide on the playoff teams -- is so there's some nuance to this process.

Alabama at No. 10 shows there's no context being applied. Take last week's rankings. Cut and paste and drop anyone who lost six spots. Now no one on the committee has to worry about missing a dinner reservation on a Tuesday night.

[trwi7]

Would you believe that Alabama, Oregon and Notre Dame have combined for five wins against other ranked teams?

It's true.

Alabama has beaten No. 4 Georgia, No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 20 Tennessee and No. 22 Missouri.

Notre Dame has beaten ... well, only No. 15 USC.

And Oregon has a big win against ... sorry, it just says "Error 404: Page Not Found."

And yet, the Tide check in at No. 10 this week, barely on the fringe of the playoff, behind both the Ducks and the Irish.

Why? Because Alabama had the temerity to lose a game last week by two points -- a game in which it missed a field goal attempt on a controversial tipped ball, nearly doubled Oklahoma's yardage, and, based on net success rates, was clearly the unluckiest team in the country.

Now, way back when we first introduced the idea of the selection committee in 2014, one of the big differentiations from more traditional rankings, like the AP poll, was that this new group would view each week with fresh eyes. Unlike those lazy AP voters or whichever intern drew the short straw and had to submit a coach's ballot for the Coaches Poll, the committee wouldn't simply take last week's rankings and adjust based on who won or lost their most recent games. The underlying data changed each week, so the committee was obliged to reevaluate, too. Teams lost games when they played well and won games when they played poorly. What once seemed like a big win (Penn State?) now looks less impressive, and what once felt like a bad loss (SMU?) is an excusable gap on the résumé. The committee, in its infinite wisdom, would account for all that by viewing each set of rankings as a wholly new endeavor.

Twelve years later, this committee seems to have decided that's way too much effort and seems to have adopted the old AP poll process.

Alabama lost. It must be punished, and dropping six spots in the rankings is the rough equivalent of the pilot at ATL explaining it'll just be another 20 minutes or so before a gate opens up. Everyone knows it's not true, but the hope is the number seems reasonable enough to avoid anyone getting too upset.

Well, that kind of treatment might be OK for the likes of Miami or Virginia, but this is Alabama we're talking about. Put some respect on the Tide's name. Their five wins vs. SP+ top-40 opponents is more than anyone except Texas A&M. Their four wins vs. ranked foes is more than Ole Miss, Oregon and Notre Dame combined. They've beaten the No. 4 team in the country head-to-head -- arguably the best win for any team this season.

And yet, here we are, treating Alabama as if it has been playing an ACC schedule this whole time. (Never mind that the Tide lost to an ACC team. The committee has given Week 1 the "Eternal Sunshine" treatment. Sorry, Miami.)

The whole point of the committee -- the reason we're not using computers or the AP poll or letting that manatee at Sea World who always picks the winner of the Holiday Bowl decide on the playoff teams -- is so there's some nuance to this process.

Alabama at No. 10 shows there's no context being applied. Take last week's rankings. Cut and paste and drop anyone who lost six spots. Now no one on the committee has to worry about missing a dinner reservation on a Tuesday night.

Don't lose by two touchdowns to a .500 Florida State team and you're not in the situation of being ranked 10th.

[MVP2110]

I actually hate the idea of the "eye test", its unfair and often benefits helmet schools. I like having a set criteria of "accomplish this" and you get in. Whether that's conference champion, runner up, etc. That's why my preferred method is an 8 team playoff with 2 teams from each power conference and the quarterfinals are the Conference Championship games. If we need to have 12 or more I kind of like the Big Ten's 4-4-2-2-1 proposal because there is less subjectivity and more of a set criteria on how to get in to the playoffs.

[ReasonablySober]

I hate guaranteed conference bids. I don't even like guaranteeing a spot for conference champs. The conferences are too big at this point and there's no guarantee the best team will even make it to the title game.

[MickeyDavis]

I guess I don't care either way. With the 4 team playoff the debates about the 5,6,7 were often legit. Now the debate about the the order of the bottom 8 isn't a big deal. And who gets left out altogether doesn't matter.

[Kerb Hohl]

It's such a **** **** with the huge conferences.

Realistically, Alabama or Oregon could lose another game but SP+ would tell you they're clearly better than Illinois who may be 9-3 with one mildly good win...but now you're forced to compare them.

In theory (obviously this didn't happen) - Wisconsin winning 7 games against the schedule we played would've meant the Badgers are likely a top 12 team but it would be impossible to have justified it, instead, some garbage ACC team that played 1 such tough game would've gotten in. Of course, that's fine if you have 4 or 5 losses, but it's what the unbalanced schedules end up causing.

[MVP2110]

Unbalanced conferences are definitely an issue. I think in an ideal world we go back to the conference arrangement of the mid 2000s with 6 power conferences, then force Notre Dame to join one of them and have an 8 team playoff with each of the power conference champions a spot for a G5 team and maybe one wildcard or something. If the Big Ten & SEC want to become this massive conferences they shouldn't get more teams just because pundits think their conferences are better. There should be a clear concise way for teams to earn their way to the CFP and if they dont get in they have nobody to blame but themselves

[ReasonablySober]

Divisions are really the only answer at this point. Nobody wants the current version.

[Kerb Hohl]

Divisions are really the only answer at this point. Nobody wants the current version.

IMO bring back the Big Ten West.

[trwi7]

Legends and Leaders imo. Still don't know which one the Badgers were in.

[MickeyDavis]

Legends and Leaders imo. Still don't know which one the Badgers were in.

I can't believe that actually came into being.

[trwi7]

Legends and Leaders imo. Still don't know which one the Badgers were in.

I can't believe that actually came into being.

It was like Marquette Gold, except for a whole conference and they went with it for a couple years instead of changing it right away.

[ReasonablySober]

Finally putting AI to good use:

BIG TEN (18 teams → 9 / 9)

Big Ten East
Illinois
Indiana
Maryland
Michigan
Michigan State
Ohio State
Penn State
Purdue
Rutgers

Big Ten West
Iowa
Minnesota
Nebraska
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Oregon
Washington
UCLA
USC

Logic: East is basically the Great Lakes + Mid-Atlantic corridor; West is Upper Midwest plus the four former Pac-12 schools on the West Coast.

SEC (16 teams → 8 / 8)

SEC East
Florida
Georgia
South Carolina
Kentucky
Tennessee
Vanderbilt
Alabama
Auburn

SEC West
LSU
Mississippi State
Ole Miss
Arkansas
Missouri
Texas
Texas A&M
Oklahoma

Logic: East is essentially the traditional Deep South / Eastern footprint; West scoops up the Mississippi River westward (Arkansas, Missouri, Texas schools, OU) plus LSU.

BIG 12 (16 teams → 8 / 8)

Big 12 West
Arizona
Arizona State
BYU
Utah
Colorado
Texas Tech
Baylor
TCU

Big 12 East
Houston
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Kansas State
Iowa State
Cincinnati
West Virginia
UCF

Logic: All the Mountain / desert schools plus the more western Texas schools (Tech, TCU, Baylor) go West; everyone east of there (including Houston, the plains, and the eastern outliers WVU/Cincy/UCF) go East.

ACC (17 teams → 9 / 8)

ACC East (9 teams)
Boston College
Syracuse
Pittsburgh
Virginia
Virginia Tech
North Carolina
NC State
Duke
Wake Forest

ACC West (8 teams)

Clemson
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Florida State
Miami
SMU
California (Cal)
Stanford

Logic: East is basically the old “I-95 + Appalachians” ACC core; West is the southern tier (Clemson, GT, FSU, Miami, Louisville) plus the ACC’s western outliers (SMU, Cal, Stanford).

[MVP2110]

The Lane Kiffin situation absolutely sucks for Ole Miss and is a massive problem for College Football. Coaches leaving their teams who are in position to compete in the CFP is absolutely not something that should happen

[MickeyDavis]

Haha Goofs lose

[MVP2110]

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[Matches Malone]

Emmanuel Pregnon is a road grader for Oregon. Would love to add him to the Packers.