Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted July 5 Let's start this thread with all the information, speculation, schedules, predictions to this thread. 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 2 Share Posted July 5 Posted originally by Jon Joseph: Connor O'Gara has Texas in the 2024 Playoff, 'We get to beat up the G5 team," 5 spot. One spot ahead of Oregon. Like Oregon, Texas would have to win 4 games to win the title, starting with an in-Austin beat down of Memphis. Texas would then play the #4 seed in the Fiesta or the Peach Bowl. The SEC champ will play its first game after the 1st-round bye in the Sugar Bowl. The semifinal sites are Miami and Dallas; Texas could play two of its first three games in Texas. Predicting the Playoff: No. 5 seed Texas SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Will Texas make the Playoff in Year 1 in the SEC? Absolutely. All these inbound WR transfers Texas is chortling over, let's see if their portal rankings transfer to the field. And let's see who steps in for two DL studs mow in the NFL; ditto for a top-drawer RB. O'Gara let his 4-seed pick out of the bag. No. 4 for O'Gara is B12 champion Oklahoma State. Thus, Texas would open against the G5 representative in Austin. Texas would play the Cowboys in the Fiesta Bowl in 'Phoenix.' In last season's B12 title game, Texas destroyed OK St. Texas would likely play a semifinal game in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. What a difference No. 6 instead of No. 5 would make. Oregon would play Utah in Eugene. Win this and the Ducks would play the ACC champ in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The Ducks would then be odds on to play Georgia in Miami. Upset the Dawgs in Dixie and it would be back to Atlanta for the champ game. (Delicious? 1 seed UGA to keep the Horns out of Dallas elects to play in the Cotton and not the Orange Bowl?) The game against Utah would be played on December 20, 2024. The Champ game will be played on January 20, 2025. For Oregon to be seeded No. 6, Oregon would have played and lost the B1G champ game to Ohio State in Indianapolis on 12/7/24. Wow! This format puts the B1G's Left Coast teams at a B1G disadvantage and Ohio State and the other B1G eastern teams at a lesser disadvantage. One might think that the Commissioner of the SEC helped design this. 1 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 3 Share Posted July 5 Until the format changes to drop or use fewer bowl sites as game sites, or West Coast and Midwest 'neutral game sites' are added, Southern teams will have a material game-site advantage. This is a hangover from let's get out of the winter weather to play a one off game in a warmer climate. In 2026 I would like to see a 14 or 16 team field with all games but the semi-final and champ games played on the campus of the higher ranked team. The fans of the more successful teams should be rewarded with far less travel than a Ducks fan would experience under O'Gara's proposed field, after staying home for one game and then having to travel to Atlanta, Miami, and Atlanta again. I hope that B1G Commish Tony Petitti is paying attention. Making nice with SEC Commissioner Sankey was good for the B1G Playoff wallet but since the split favoring the Power 2 was agreed to Sankey has been everywhere and Tony has disappeared. I'll be very interested to hear his opening remarks on Big Ten Network at the opening of B1G football media days on July 23rd. (Dan will appear on July 25th.) I am excited to see the Playoff expand but the format for the next two seasons is fouled up including giving byes to teams likely ranked lower than a number of teams playing in the 1st round. And as of today no one knows if the PO Committee will continue to simply value wins without the basketball Committee's concern regaring a team's strength of schedule. Notwithstanding the FSU 2023 mess, I believe the PO Committee's task will be more difficult twelve teams than it was with four. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 4 Share Posted July 5 (edited) Great rundowns! The bowl tie ins and mindset need to all go, pronto. Personally the 12-team format would be more difficult for me (if I was on the committee) if the top-4 weren’t automatic. Determining the top-4 without a conference championship requirement would be incredibly difficult. That being said, I still think 12 teams is easier than 4. We previously had a system with 4 spots and 5 power conferences, guaranteeing at least one P5 champion would be excluded every year. It’s actually amazing to me that there wasn’t a seismic occurrence prior to FSU, a year where every conference champ finished 11-1 for instance. The demise of the PAC makes this far easier. I personally don’t believe it would be that difficult to tell a 9-3 team that finished #12 at the end of the season they didn’t qualify for the 12 spot tourney…tough luck buttercup, lose one less game next time Okie State. Edited July 5 by JabbaNoBargain 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 5 Share Posted July 6 (edited) Athlon predicts the SEC race. No surprise, the Dawgs lead the the race in Dixie. SEC order of finish prediction: Athlon releases 2024 projections - On3 WWW.ON3.COM In June, Athlon Sports released its 2024 projections for how teams will fare in the new-look SEC. Here they are. Six or more SEC teams could win 10 games in 2024 because the conference is good and deep and because of crummy OOC scheduling, Ole Miss. Missouri. One tough OOC game, and 3 OOC cupcakes, Alabama, Texas, and some weak intra-conference schedules. Texas has two SEC opponents other than Georgia which won 8 or more games last season and Mizzou has an easier SEC schedule than Texas. Will the B1G and the SEC 'making nice' survive Selection Sunday, 12/8/24? Half of the B1G cannot schedule out of a loss in the 9th conference game. Edited July 6 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 6 Share Posted July 6 Then, there is this to consider. With OBD in the group, this would be fine with me. 2024 Conference Realignment: Could the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 all feature first-year programs winning their new league? - On3 WWW.ON3.COM In the 2024 cycle of conference realignment, the SEC, Big Ten and Big 12 could all feature championship winners from new league members. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 7 Share Posted July 6 (edited) Lose? To the Ohio State University? Since 2021, Puddles is 1-0 against the Buckeyes. Oregon Ducks College Football Playoff Predictions: Semifinal Loss To Ohio State? WWW.SI.COM The Oregon Ducks are entering year three under coach Dan Lanning with championship-sized hopes and expectations. The 2024 college football season is brimming wi Even at 13-0, I'm not certain that Liberty, no game against a Power opponent for the 2nd year in a row would top a 2-loss MW, AAC, or Sun Belt Champ with a better schedule. The 5 seed instead of the 6 seed in this hypothetical would be excellent. A home game vs a G5 team and then a 2nd round game in the West in 'Phoenix.' A bye and a first-round game in the Rose Bowl would be as good as it gets but this scenario would be an excellent fallback position. Under this scenario, Oregon defeats tOSU in Autzen, drops the conference champ game, and plays the rubber match in Miami. How about the Two Os being 'instant' B1G time conference opponents? Edited July 6 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Fischer Author Administrator No. 8 Share Posted July 7 College Football Playoff dates, times & schedule announced for first 12-team playoff FIGHTINGGOBBLER.COM When the 2024 college football season begins, so does the expanded College Football Playoff when it goes from four teams... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 9 Share Posted July 7 I agree with BamaHammer, I think Texas in particular is getting too much preseason love, and Oklahoma's SEC schedule for the next two seasons is brutal. Plus OK plays Michigan OOC in 2025 and 2026. I see UGA winning in Austin and at least one other loss (Oklahoma?) on the Longhorns schedule. The Texas schedule does not appear to be robust enough to make the PO with a 9-3 record although a win in Ann Arbor will help UT's PO cause. SEC Football dominance not automatic for Texas and Oklahoma BAMAHAMMER.COM The addition of Oklahoma and Texas is great for the SEC Football. Their brands are two of the biggest in college football. With 14 teams, the SEC was the toughe Little guy UGA Dawg needs payback against the big bully Bevo. And if Texas is back, where is it back from? 2006 in today's day and age of being wired is a way back; a Longhorn way back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 10 Share Posted July 7 (edited) More from an Alabama blogger, Ronald Evans of Bama Hammer, on three SEC team's relatively easy path to the PO. Missouri, LSU, and Ole Miss. Things may be quiet on the SEC front regarding the 2024 in-conference schedules being duplicated, but for game venues, in 2025 but watch as the season progresses and on Selection Sunday, 12/8/24. BTW Tennessee also has one of the easier SEC schedules. The attachment includes another calculation of SEC schedules not using 2023 results. This calculation also ranks the SEC SOS in the same order as Sports Illustrated. 2024 now or never for three SEC football coaches BAMAHAMMER.COM In the current Playoff-or-bust environment of college football, not making the 12-team field means a failed season for every ambitious program. The SEC is heavi If the SEC puts five teams in the PO playing 8 conference games and Notre Dame takes a spot with an easy 2024 schedule and no title game, there will be agitated folks outside of Dixie and also likely in the SEC. Edited July 7 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 11 Share Posted July 7 Sark, maybe you should have 'thrown in' Washington? Are Texas, Oklahoma ready for thrills, challenges of SEC? - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM A seismic move years in the making is finally here. How will the newest members fit in what has been CFB's best conference? Hubris - Texas will be the Super Bowl game for every SEC team. TX QB Ewers and affirmed by AD Chris Del Conte. Texas, perhaps you should defeat Oklahoma far more often in the Red River Rivalry before calling out the rest of the SEC? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Hilarius Moderator No. 12 Share Posted July 7 I lived in Austin and worked for UT for several years. They are just as delusional as UW. No wonder they think Sark is actually a good coach. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 13 Share Posted July 7 Connor O'Gara reveals his 3-seed, ACC champ Florida State and calls for Oregon to defeat Utah in a 1st-round game in Autzen Stadium and then defeat FSU in the 2nd round in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Which would mean a semifinal game vs Ohio State or Georgia, most likely in the Orange Bowl in Miami. Predicting the Playoff: No. 3 seed Florida State WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Will the Noles get some redemption after last year's Playoff snub? Definitely. Let's review O'Gara's PO bidding to date and see, based on SOS as calculated using a team's 2024 opponents' results in 2023; the teams with the most difficult to easiest paths to the PO, ranked from 1 most difficult to 134, easiest. 12. Memphis - AAC - G5 - No. 61 11. Utah - At-Large (AL) - B12 - No. 115 10. Iowa - AL - B1G - No. 14 9. Ole Miss - AL - SEC - No. 46 8. Alabama - AL - SEC - No. 9 7. Notre Dame - AL - IND - No. 54 6. OREGON - AL - B1G - No. 5 5. Texas - AL - SEC - No. 49 4. Oklahoma State - B12 Champion - No. 84 - 1st-round bye 3. Florida State - ACC Champion - No. 16 - 1st-round bye. SEC Champion Georgia - No. 20 and B1G Champion Ohio State - 57, will be seeded 1st or 2nd. Both would have a 1st-round bye. NOTES - 4 SEC teams; 3 B1G (with no Michigan and Penn State,) 2 B12 ( with SOS ranked 115 Utah, and 84, Oklahoma State in the field; I do not see two B12 teams being invited,) 1 AAC, 1 ACC, 1 Independent. There is a wide variance in SOS among O'Gara's 12-team field. From No. 5 OREGON to No. 115 Utah. Even if Utah finishes 12-1 with a B12 champ game loss to OK State, there will be many 1-loss and 2-loss teams with better records playing a more difficult SOS. Utah plays at OK State. O'Gara must believe that Utah defeats OK State in Stillwater, before dropping the B12 champ game to the Cowboys. Horse Hockey! Texas, OREGON, Notre Dame, and Alabama would host 1st-round games. No. 5 Texas path to the title game - 1st-round vs Memphis in Austin. 2nd-round vs OK St in the Fiesta Bowl in 'Phoenix,' and 3rd-round vs Georgia or Ohio State in the Orange Bowl in Miami. I see neither Georgia nor Ohio electing to play Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Champ game in Atlanta. No. 6 OREGON's path to the title game - 1st-round vs Utah in Eugene, 2nd-round vs FSU in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. 3rd-round vs. Georgia or Ohio State in the Orange Bowl in Miami, or the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Champ game in Atlanta. If you are not one of the top-4 seeds with a 1st-round bye, the 5th seed is superior to the 6th seed. Does O'Gara have Texas finishing 12-1? This would mean a Texas victory over Georgia in Austin and a Longhorns loss to Georgia in the SEC champ game. In the above case, for OREGON to be the 6th seed, the Ducks would also likely have to finish 12-1 with a regular season victory over Ohio State and a champ game loss. If this were the case, how would the Committee determine which of Texas or OREGON gets the 5-seed nod? Based on the preseason SOS ranking which may differ significantly at the season's end, why would Texas get the nod over the Ducks? Thanks, O'Gara for the effort, but there will be no tip and you will not find perfect consciousness. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 14 Share Posted July 8 6 Tiers of CFB on the way? New Playoff format a Big Two fast track or maybe six new tiers of college football BAMAHAMMER.COM With increasing frequency, the Big Two (and not the Power Four) define the top of the college football world. Even 'Big Two' is imprecise enough to be called sq It's a Big Two world and Puddles is living in it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 15 Share Posted July 8 A Playoff History College Football Playoff History COLLEGEFOOTBALLPLAYOFF.COM College Football Playoff History Oregon is one of the few teams with a PO win. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 16 Share Posted July 8 At least one person at Ole Miss is paying attention to SOS. 11 wins will guarantee playoffs for Ole Miss football OLEHOTTYTODDY.COM The goal for Ole Miss football in 2024 is clear: a place in the 12-team college football playoffs. The Rebels' 10-win mark seems to... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 17 Share Posted July 8 Take the under on Texas. Everyone was/is mesmerized because they won at Alabama early in the season last year. Very impressive yes, but they’re jumping from arguably the #5 to #1 conference. No playoff for you…next! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 18 Share Posted July 8 Here is a prospective PO field using The Sporting News (SN) Composite Top 25 2024 Preseason Ranking. SN used 11 polls to determine their rankings—25 points for a 1st place ranking, 25 for a 2nd place ranking, etc. I like the variety of polls used by SN. Among the preseason polls referenced by SN in addition to the SN poll: are the 247 Sports; The Athletic; CBS Sports; ESPN; Sports Illustrated (SI) and USA Today polls. Using SN's composite ranking, the following would be the PO field and the seeding of the field. ( ) after a team's seeding is a team's 2024 strength of schedule (SOS) as determined by SI. The field: 1. Georgia/ 2. Ohio State/ 3. Texas/ 4. OREGON/ 5. Ole Miss/ 6. Alabama/ 7. Notre Dame/ 8. Missouri/ 9. Michigan/ 11. Florida State/ 12. Utah / NR Boise State. Boise is the top G5 team in Others Receiving Votes. First Out - 10th ranked Penn State. Do you think Penn State fans, often playoff bridesmaids, will be happy about being replaced by lower-ranked ACC and B12 champions? And being seeded No. 5 with a home game against the No. 12 ranked G5 team is better than being seeded 6th. In the below playoff format, Texas would play Boise State in Austin and OREGON would host fellow B1G member Michigan in Autzen. Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss host 1st-round games. It may be inevitable with this format for the next two seasons but a rematch of B1G teams in the 1st round with OREGON or Michigan knocked out especially with Penn State being 'formatted out' and a game between Missouri vs Ole Miss knocking out an SEC team would be unfortunate. I reiterate, that regardless of the playoff expanding to 12 teams, fans of teams knocked out by lower-seeded teams and higher-ranked teams playing a 1st-round game while a lower-seeded team sits, rests, and scouts their 2nd round opponent is not going to go over well with CFB Fanatics. Sugar Bowl - 1. Georgia (20) vs 9. Notre Dame (54) at 8. Alabama (9) Fiesta Bowl - 4. Utah - (115) vs 12 Boise State - NR - (82) at 5 Texas (49.) Rose Bowl - 2. Ohio State vs 10. Missouri (127) at 7. Ole Miss (46) Peach Bowl - 3. FSU (18) vs 11. Michigan (10) at 6. OREGON (5) Georgia does not play Missouri in the regular season. Georgia will face 12 opponents that went a collective 90-63 in 2023. The Mizzou opposition went 66 - 83. Oregon's 2024 opponents went 101-57 last season. Oregon does match up against an Ohio State team whose opponents in 2023 went 83-71. Looking at the records from 2023 and not just the SOS rankings, it becomes apparent that Georgia and OREGON face a much more difficult path to the playoff than Missouri and Ohio State. It's almost comical that an SEC team, Mizzou, plays an easier schedule than many G5 teams. And in-conference in the SEC, it's rinse and repeat the schedule in 2025. In 2024 and 2025 Missouri will not play Georgia, Alabama, LSU, Texas, and Tennessee. The CoMo Tigers play South Carolina, Vandy, and Mississippi State in back-to-back seasons. In 2025, OREGON will not play 2024 opponents Michigan and Ohio State. To date, B1G future scheduling makes far more sense than will be the case in the SEC. In the B1G and SEC mega-conferences with 18 and 16 teams, unless 10 conference games, at least, are played every season, superior teams with more losses due to SOS could well be benched in favor of lesser teams and it will be surprising if conference tiebreakers are not in play for the Power 4 conferences in 2024. Go Ducks! Vandalize the Vandals! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 19 Share Posted July 8 (edited) Connor O'Gara has Georgia as the 2nd seed which means tOSU will be the 1 seed. UGA has a more difficult 2024 schedule than the Buckeyes. Predicting the Playoff: No. 2 seed Georgia WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM The question isn't whether Georgia will make the 12-team Playoff — it's how high the Dawgs will be seeded. Not certain how TX scores the 5 seed with Oregon 6. I think TX is overrated and LSU is underrated. O'Gara has TX going 12-1 and splitting with UGA. I don't see this happening. I think TX finishes with at least 2 losses. Edited July 8 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 20 Share Posted July 9 Strength of Schedule (SOS.) Some OBD readers, understandably, criticize using a team's 2023 record to judge 2024 SOS. Fair criticism; until ball is played any SOS calculation, like Win Totals, is a guess. Some pollsters like The Athletic's Stewart Mandel, acknowledges that his preseason ranking is not intended to match the the Committee's final 2024 ranking on December 8, 2024. Others like Phil Steele, do try to predict the Committee vote in the preseason. Sporting News ranked the Top 25 using its own and eight other rankings, giving a team ranked 1st 25 points on down to giving a team ranked 25th a single point. Nine of the sixteen SEC teams are ranked in Sporting News's Top 25. Five in the Top 10, Eight in the Top 16. Texas A+M is ranked 25th. Five B1G teams are ranked, four in the Top 10, and USC is 23rd. I have ZERO beef over this ranking. The SEC has earned the benefit of all doubts. I do have an issue with five B12 teams being ranked and not Iowa but that is a different matter. Sporting News then used this ranking to rank SOS. If you are scheduled to play a Top 25 team at home, you are awarded points based on the ranking, play No. 1 Georgia in your place and you receive 25 points. Play a Top 25 team on the road and four points are added. Viz. playing UGA in Athens is worth 29 points. SEC examples: 1. Florida - 117/ 7. Georgia - 85/ 10. Texas A+M - 75/ 16. Missouri - 26. B1G examples: 1. Michigan - 74/ 7. Ohio State - 58/ tied 12. OREGON - 42/18. Rutgers - 9. Ergo, Michigan with the B1G's most difficult schedule would be ranked 11th in the SEC. This, with Michigan playing one more P4 conference game than SEC teams and playing No. 3 ranked Texas out-of-conference. And this is the only SOS rankings I have seen that has OREGON with an easier schedule than Ohio State. Use preseason polls to rank schedule strength and you will arrive with an SOS self-fulfilling prophecy. Then again, you could place your faith in Mari(o). Right? https://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-most-improved-teams-for-2024#gid=ci02dd8324300026ce&pid=virginia-tech Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 21 Share Posted July 10 (edited) As forecast, here's tOSU. Predicting the Playoff: No. 1 seed Ohio State SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Will the Buckeyes' eventful offseason lead to the top seed in the first 12-team College Football Playoff? It should. And why tOSU might not come through. Hammerin’ the B1G: 3 scenarios where Ohio State could fail to live up to title expectations SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Ohio State is heading into 2024 with the highest of expectations. However, some scenarios could trip up the Buckeyes in their pursuit of a title. Beware of the other O. Will Oregon one day be: That Team Out West? Edited July 10 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 22 Share Posted July 10 How About this - Anesthetize the Echoes! 3 Fighting Irish on Thin Ice Heading Into 2024 Season DAWINDYCITY.COM The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are trying to build off last season’s success heading into a pivotal 2024 season. The Irish finished the 2023 season with a 10-3 r I'm hoping the ice melts early on in College Station, Texas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 23 Share Posted July 10 No surprise. The 2 Os are Michigan's toughest opponents in 2024. Ranking the games on Michigan’s 2024 football schedule by difficulty WWW.MAIZENBREW.COM Which teams will give the Wolverines the most trouble on the field this year? Puddles, fly home with a B1G win in the Big House. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 24 Share Posted July 10 (edited) NCAAF futures: Should you back one of these CFB teams to upset Georgia? WWW.YARDBARKER.COM Suffice it to say, the Georgia Bulldogs have earned the right to be betting favorites ahead of the college football season. Whether you should go ahead and bet on them, however, isn't so set in stone. No surprise, Oregon made the list. Yes, Quinn Ewers was a PO QB in '23, but Dillon Gabriel was the 1st team All B12 QB in '23 and took down UT and Ewers. Edited July 10 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 25 Share Posted July 11 (edited) Spot On For Oregon! Boise? Texas? These 2 choices vex us. Predicting all automatic bids for the College Football Playoff WWW.YARDBARKER.COM The 2024-2025 college football season is approaching fast, and fans are anticipating the opening kickoff. Ewers looks like his jock strap has gone awry. To wit: NFL Draft scouts reportedly not sold on Texas QB Quinn Ewers WWW.YARDBARKER.COM As things stand right now, many scouts believe Ewers isn’t even a Round 1 talent, according to ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid. Edited July 11 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 26 Share Posted July 11 The B1Gger they come ... Ohio State football has most top-100 players in EA Sports College Football 25 SCARLETANDGAME.COM No one has more top-100 players than the Ohio State football team in EA Sports College Football 25. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 27 Share Posted July 12 (edited) NCAA Tournament to include two new metrics beginning in 2025; committee delays decision on expansion - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Additionally: In 2026, Indianapolis will become the first city to host the D-I, D-II, D-III and men's NIT tournaments in the same year We can criticize the NCAA but the NCAA Basketball Committee unfolds the kimono and reveals exactly the data it uses to select 32 at-large teams and to seed the Tournament field. The College Football Committee acts behind a mirror darkly. If it does not disclose the data used to determine seven at-large teams and PO seeding and leaves us with "trust us," there will be many unhappy CFB fans; especially teams knocked out by lower-ranked teams, a lower-ranked G5 team, and possibly a Notre Dame team that will not have to prove its merit in a conference championship game. Although the nomenclature is different, the CBB and CFB Committees share the same top two criteria: wins and the quality of wins. CBB requires its Committee to use agreed-upon metrics to determine a team's strength of schedule (SOS) and uses common metrics to determine the quality of a win. The CFB leaves this up to each Committee member to determine. The chairman of the CFB Committee, in 2024 Michigan AD Warde Manuel, most often does their best to obfuscate the process. Many 2024 preseason polls have nine SEC teams in the top 25. Use a ranking like this to determine SOS and ipso facto a conference that plays eighth and not nine conference games will have the most difficult, by definition, schedules. CFB Selection Sunday will be very interesting, but grotesque for many. Edited July 12 by Jon Joseph 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 28 Share Posted July 12 I have two questions, will a 3-loss B12 champ be seeded in the PO top 4 and and receive an unearned bye? And, is Commish Yormark a reincarnation of PT Barnum? Big 12 parity amid expansion may prove league's biggest strength in expanded College Football Playoff era - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM The Big 12 debuted as a 16-team conference this week during its annual media days event in Las Vegas 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 29 Share Posted July 12 Ducks? Contenders! Nittany Lions? Not so fast . Contender or Pretender: Is Penn State finally ready for the last step? SATURDAYTRADITION.COM Penn State has been great in games it was supposed to win and failed in the biggest moments. Has enough changed in 2024? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 30 Share Posted July 12 Deboer, the toughest head coaching job in America? https://collegefootballnews.com/college-football/alabama-football-2024-preview-kalen-deboer-will-keep-tide-rolling-sort-of Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 31 Share Posted July 13 (edited) Amen. A lot of 'manageable' (barf) schedules in the SEC in 2024 that will rinse and repeat in 2025. I hate the euphemism 'weak.' And it is more difficult than some but I believe for Coach Smart and UGA in 2024, the schedule will not be 'unmanageable.' What was Texas promised to come aboard the good ship SEC? https://athlonsports.com/college-football/former-college-coach-says-texas-longhorns-received-weakest-schedule-in-sec Edited July 13 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 32 Share Posted July 13 DUH! I guess Pete took a look at the CoMo Tigers schedule which is weaker than man G5 schedules. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/peter-burns-names-missouri-dark-horse-college-football-playoff-contender Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 33 Share Posted July 13 Some good thoughts on OREGON's 2024 schedule. And I hope the author is right. https://athlonsports.com/college/oregon-ducks/ducks-digest/football/the-traps-land-mines-and-pitfalls-of-the-2024-oregon-schedule-and-why-they-dont-matter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 34 Share Posted July 14 (edited) Some good questions on how 1st-round home seeds, seeds No. 5 through No. 8 will be determined by the PO Committee (Ct,). IMO the PO Ct. will be under more stress than under the 4-team playoff. One fan base and one conference, FSU and the ACC were upset in 2023-24. There will be more pain for more teams and conferences in 2024-25 including a likely debate as to why the Ct. placed an SEC or a B1G team in the 5-spot with a home game vs the G5 representative. I will be very surprised if the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds are ranked higher than the team seeded No. 5. Some less known Alabama Football Playoff considerations BAMAHAMMER.COM Anyone thinking the new CFB Playoff format is just about adding eight more teams is mistaken. There are many new wrinkles in the Playoff selection process and n Edited July 14 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 35 Share Posted July 14 (edited) Not so fast Ducks Wire and Sporting News (SN). As the 4th ranked team, OREGON would be the PO No. 6 seed and not the No. 7 seed. OREGON would host LSU in the 1st-round, not Ole Miss. If OREGON defeated the Bayou Bengals the Ducks would play FSU in Atlanta, not Ohio State in the Rose Bowl SN Rankings - 1 UGA/ 2, OH St/ 3. Texas/ 4. OREGON/ 5. Notre Dame/ 6. Ole Miss/ 7. FSU/ 8 Michigan/ 9. Bama/ 10. LSU/ 15 Utah/ G5 NR. PO Seeding - 1. UGA/ 2 OH ST/ 3 FSU/ 4 Utah/ 5 Texas/ 6 OREGON/ 7 Notre Dame/ 8 Ole Miss/ 9 Michigan/ 10 Bama/ 11 LSU/ 12 G5 - 1st Out Missouri. 2nd out - Penn State. Sugar Bowl - 1. Georgia vs 9 Michigan at 8 Ole Miss Fiesta Bowl - 4. Utah vs 12 G5 at 5 Texas Rose Bowl - 2. Ohio State vs. 10 Alabama at 7 Notre Dame Peach Bowl - 3. Florida State vs 11 LSU at 6 OREGON Ducks Wire, Sporting News, or both screwed up the PO seeding and had OREGON as the 7th seed when OREGON would be the 6th seed. The Sporting News has Ducks in a rematch with Ohio State in Pasadena DUCKSWIRE.USATODAY.COM According to a scenario The Sporting News laid out, Oregon and Ohio State would meet in the CFP quarterfinals at the Rose Bowl. Oregon and Ohio State would NOT match up in the Rose Bowl. I am not surprised by this up screw. The PO format makes as much sense as three blind men trying to describe an elephant. MIzzou fans, if you are ticked off, look no further than at your commissioner, Greg Sankey who came up with this structure. The structure was partly remedied, once the Pac-2 reluctantly agreed (SIGH), to have seven at-large and not six at-large teams. When the Pac-12 imploded the entire structure should have been reworked. Hopefully, by 2026-27, the top-ranked teams will be seeded in the order of their respective ranking. No. 15 Utah as the 4-seed and No. 4 OREGON as the 6th seed makes sense in what universe? Edited July 14 by Jon Joseph 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 36 Share Posted July 15 Check out No. 4. Eight SEC teams in PO contention? O’Gara: 10 storylines that I actually care about at SEC Media Days in Dallas WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Here's what's worth looking forward to in Dallas. Keeping an eye on 'the enemy.' SEC Media Days begin today and run through Thursday on the SEC Network. Welcoming the two newbies, the SEC moved the event from the southeast to Dallas. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 37 Share Posted July 15 College Football News (CFN) has released an updated strength of schedule (SOS) ranking of the 134 teams in theory contending for an invitation to the 2024-25 CFB Playoff. CFN's methodology, like the NCAA Basketball Committee, weighs games in part, by Home, Neutral Site, and Away game difficulty. Los Angeles, USC No. 1, and UCLA No. 3 should be sending out a real S-O-S. B1G Top 25 - 1 USC/ 3 UCLA/ 4 Purdue/ 5 Michigan/ 11 OREGON/ 12 Minnesota/ 14 Penn State/ 18 Wisconsin/ 19 Northwestern/ 22 Iowa/ 24 Michigan State - 11 of 18 teams. Ohio State - 57. SEC Top 25 - 2 Florida/ 10 Vanderbilt/ 16 Alabama/ 17 LSU/ 21 Georgia - 5 of 16 teams. Other SEC contenders - 29 Oklahoma/ 39 Texas/ 41 Texas A+M/ 45 Ole Miss/ 61 Tennessee. Missouri - 66. USC playing 17 LSU and 43 Notre Dame and a ninth conference game move the Trojans ahead of the Gators. The Gators play a brutal out-of-conference schedule; with three P4 opponents: Miami; UCF; and Florida State. Mizzou plays its lone P4 opponent Boston College, in Columbia. With 9 conference games, B1G teams miss 8 conference members every season. With 8 conference games, SEC teams 7 conference members every season. OREGON plays Michigan and Ohio State in 2024 and misses both in the 2025 season. The SEC duplicates its 2024 schedule but for a change in game venues, in 2025. In general, with 16-team and 18-team mega-conferences in conference SOS will vary significantly from season to season. In 2024 for example, Rutgers misses Michigan, Ohio State, OREGON, Penn State, and Iowa and plays UCLA, Wisconsin, and Washington in Jersey. Did the Sopranos make an offer B1G HQ couldn't refuse? https://collegefootballnews.com/rankings/college-football-schedule-rankings-easiest-to-hardest-1-to-134-2024 A few other notable rankings - Oregon State - 70, Washington State - 79, Boise State - 81 and coming in at 134 and in last place (maybe 1st place?) Liberty. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 38 Share Posted July 16 I wonder if DeBoer appreciated Saint Nick's SEC title game prediction. Georgia vs Texas. Nick Saban makes SEC championship prediction SPORTS.YAHOO.COM Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban predicts who will make the 2024 SEC championship game Saban was denied entry to SEC media days and had to return to his hotel and pick up his entry badge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 39 Share Posted July 16 (edited) Mizzou has the 16th, out of 16 teams easiest schedule in the SEC. Then the CoMo Tigers do it again in 2025 with only a change in SEC game venues. Mizzou's toughest 2024 OOC opponent, BC at home, is replaced in 2025 by Kansas at home. 3 OOC donut holes in 2024 and 2025. A 10-2 Missouri should not receive a playoff invitation over many 9-3 B1G and SEC teams. Missouri football with easiest strength of schedule in SEC TRUMANSTALES.COM With football season quickly approaching, news and storylines are becoming to feel more impactful in the world of college football. Recently, Cam Mellor, a foot Hopefully, the Committee will take SOS into consideration. 2024 College Football Strength of Schedule for All 134 Teams COLLEGEFOOTBALLNETWORK.COM The college football season will be here before we know it, and we've updated our college football strength of schedule for the 2024 season. Beware! SEC GIGO at work. Play 8 conference games and you get this many top 25 difficult schedules? HORSE HOCKEY! Edited July 16 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 40 Share Posted July 17 How many SEC teams will be in the Delightful Dozen? Four at least. The expanded Playoff effect: Suddenly, more SEC teams are more interesting WWW.NYTIMES.COM At a minimum, half of the SEC can be counted as legitimate Playoff contenders. And that will keep more fan bases engaged for longer. Play nine - 9 - conference games! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 41 Share Posted July 18 I'm Horns Down on all of the preseason love for Texas. Caveat: I had the same preseason view of FSU in 2023. Whoops! Texas is the talk of the town at its SEC Media Days debut, but can the Longhorns shine in the spotlight? - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Maybe it's all the home-state media members in Dallas, but it sure feels like everyone wants a piece of Texas at SEC Media Days Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 42 Share Posted July 18 (edited) ACC - 17 and a half teams and 8 conference games. B1G - 18 and 9. B12 16 and 9. SEC 16-8. In-conference schedules will vary widely from season to season in the degree of difficulty. CFB should see more suspects and not just the usual subjects in contention for conference titles and a spot in the Playoff. Tie breakers will come into play; especially, with conferences having to sort out the two teams playing in their conference champ games. Hayes: Playoff poll not part of SEC Championship tiebreaker, sources say WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM The SEC hasn't finalized its SEC Championship tiebreaker scenarios, but sources tell Matt Hayes two critical details that will be part of the process. I do not know whether this procedure, used when the B1G had divisions will continue to be the format for the B1G without Divisions and an expanded Playoff field. Big Ten football tiebreaker: Who wins if Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State tie division? WWW.DISPATCH.COM Here's a look at the Big Ten East tiebreaker scenarios for Ohio State, Michigan and Penn State. Once the former Pac-12 bowl contracts expire if the P4 still plays bowl games after the Playoff expands to 14 to 16 teams, tiebreakers will have to be used to determine which B1G teams that are not in the Playoff receive the better bowl bids such as the Gator Bowl. Will lesser bowl games be played opposite 'playoff bowl games?' Will players, and their agents be interested in playing non-playoff bowl games in the post-season without an NIL incentive? How many bowls other than the six used in the playoff (in 2025 and 2026) will be able to afford payment to the players? There is still a lot to sort out. Edited July 18 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 43 Share Posted July 18 Pawwwwal dumps on Dabo + Clemson's PO hopes. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/paul-finebaum-dumps-cold-water-clemson-playoff-hopes-fiery-dabo-swinney-jab Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 44 Share Posted July 18 Paul predicts 4 SEC playoff teams. I think 3 is a lock and 5 is in play. https://athlonsports.com/college-football/paul-finebaum-reveals-four-sec-teams-will-make-college-football-playoff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 45 Share Posted July 19 One of many questions to be answered with a 12-team playoff. If you are in contention, do you want to play in a conference champ game? The high-risk, high-reward situation of championship games in expanded Playoff WWW.NYTIMES.COM Will playing in the SEC Championship Game have a negative impact on teams that lose it? That’s a big unknown heading into a 12-team Playoff. Will conference champ games cause a conference, particularly the B1G and SEC, a PO Bid? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 46 Share Posted July 19 (edited) Top 25 - What position group has the most preseason questions? Injuries, transfers, roster depth and more: Where each post-spring Top 25 team can improve - ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM Where can teams improve? Our experts break down weaknesses from each Way-Too-Early Top 25 squad. For Oregon, per ESPN, it's at Safety. Edited July 19 by Jon Joseph Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 47 Share Posted July 19 The SEC Media, often wrong but never in doubt, predicts the SEC 2024 order of finish. Oklahoma picked to finish eighth in 2024 Preseason SEC Media Poll SPORTS.YAHOO.COM Oklahoma picked 8th in preseason media poll. Oklahoma No. 8 reflects the tough in-conference schedule the Sooners have to play. Texas at No. 2? The Longhorns have one of the SEC's easiest schedules but I think 'the experts' are overrating the transfer talent coming in to replace 11 players drafted in the 2024 draft. WR Bond who transferred in from Alabama had 688 receiving yards in 2023. Silas Bolden? This WR transfer from Oregon State did not light up the Pac-12 in 2023. These 2 guys are automatic to replace 2 Horns WRs who were drafted in the 1st and 2nd rounds? UT also lost its top 2 RBs and 2 DTs drafted in the 1st and 2nd rounds. Will all of those close wins in the B12 last season be wins in the SEC? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 48 Share Posted July 20 A Corny B1G champ? A dark-horse contender for each college football Power Four conference WWW.YARDBARKER.COM Winds of change once again blew through college football this offseason. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 49 Share Posted July 20 Know thy enemy. O’Gara: 5 thoughts on the SEC’s predicted order of finish for 2024 WWW.SATURDAYDOWNSOUTH.COM Let's break down how the media picked the SEC to look in 2024. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
