Solar No. 1 Share Posted December 5 Calls Mount For CFP Contender To Opt Out Of Conference Championship Game - Athlon Sports Can a team decline playing in the CCG without it being counted as a forfeit by the conference,? The committee themselves have already said teams that don't played can't be moved relative to other teams that did not play. If I were SMU I'd be pretty happy with 7th place and the seeding that gives. Take the bird in the hand. The AD would have to make the call and face the wrath of his conference, but it would force the hand of the Playoff Committee to back down from their threat to knock SMU out of the playoffs if they lose. Playoff Committee really kicked the hornets nest here. Why? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeotechDuck No. 2 Share Posted December 5 The fact that they will likely penalize SMU for losing that game is insane. I know they won’t do it, but they should refuse to play. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJacksPlaidPants Moderator No. 3 Share Posted December 5 SMU should play and win the ACC. There was always going to be four SEC teams in this playoff. Even if it meant putting a slew of 9-3 teams in the 9-12 seeds. The committee’s justification is codified in their protocols that were posted on ESPN yesterday. Just listening to the committee chairman talk with Rece Davis last night reminded me of this gem of a rant. My favorite quote from this rant: “We don’t need to solve this on the field because we’re the ones that know”. All these years later and nothing has changed. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 4 Share Posted December 5 They need to play and win to guarantee a spot. If they were to not play, and forfeit, the committee could and should take that as bad faith and trying to game the system. The system sucks this year for sure. But you don't hear the Oregon or PSU thinking of not playing and just taking the 5 seed. The losers in conference championship games shouldn't be punished for playing an extra game. But the hard truth is that the loser of the big 12 game will be eliminated from the playoff outright as they aren't remotely close to the ranking. Clemson is in the same boat... Lose and out. SMU may still get in with a loss but sadly it would be a loss to a lower ranked team. They need to win as it would be one of their few quality wins this season. They are still probably in if it's a close loss. They might be out if they get the doors blown off them by Clemson. The reality is that conference championship games need to be built into the playoffs and the loser takes a hit but is effectively given double elimination. Or... Just make conference champions the winner of the regular season. Every single conference has needed to use a tie breaker for at least one team to reach the game. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lrod No. 5 Share Posted December 5 The coach was saying some ridiculous narrative. He should have never said it. He should be preparing his team to win the NEXT game like we preach here in Oregon. He worried about the wrong things. Its embarrasing. Prepare your team to WIN whats in front of you and you will be rewarded 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ktmguy2018 No. 6 Share Posted December 5 On 12/5/2024 at 10:04 AM, Lrod said: The coach was saying some ridiculous narrative. He should have never said it. He should be preparing his team to win the NEXT game like we preach here in Oregon. He worried about the wrong things. Its embarrasing. Prepare your team to WIN whats in front of you and you will be rewarded 100%. Dan Lanning would absolutely have his players focused to go out and win the game. Take care of business and you've got nothing to worry about. If you don't have confidence your team can win, this is what happens. You win, you keep playing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 7 Share Posted December 5 It's So Obvious this Format and a PO Run by an Invested Broadcast Company is Screwed up. SMU's case is one of the foibles. The fifth seed is arguably better than the 1st seed because there is no reseeding. SOS used to justify Bama in and Miami out but not otherwise? Public campaign to sway CFP Selection Committee fuels private calls for change - maybe even back to computers? - CBSSports.com WWW.CBSSPORTS.COM Sources tell CBS Sports that the Big Ten and the SEC have concerns over the current makeup of the 13-person committee Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 8 Share Posted December 5 On 12/4/2024 at 10:20 PM, David Marsh said: They need to win as it would be one of their few quality wins this season. They have more quality wins than Indiana has. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 9 Share Posted December 5 On 12/5/2024 at 11:04 AM, 30Duck said: They have more quality wins than Indiana has. And if Indiana was in the position SMU is in I would say they need to play the CCG as well. I think SMU is probably in the playoff regardless. If they get shut out and blasted I think they might not make it... but I think they're in it. The reality is that there are a lot of teams that are in this playoff that wouldn't make a smaller playoff field whether that is four or eight. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJacksPlaidPants Moderator No. 10 Share Posted December 5 On 12/5/2024 at 2:14 PM, David Marsh said: I think SMU is probably in the playoff regardless. If they get shut out and blasted I think they might not make it... but I think they're in it. This quote from Warde Manuel tells us everything we need to know regarding SMU's fate if they lose on Saturday. He just added the word "potentially" to his response to throw everybody off. Warde was also asked directly if SMU could fall below Alabama, and he responded, "Potentially, yes." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar Author No. 11 Share Posted December 5 That is what I was commenting on. Why would you respond to that question, with that answer? Did you think that would make SMU play harder? Dude doesn't understand management 101, that something is not a problem to discuss outside closed doors until you are 100% positive it has become real. That comment combined with the "we won't drop anybody not playing comment makes it very clear that the best move for SMU is not to play the game. Tell the conference to pound sand and keep receipts on the committee 's public statements for Tuesday night. The other option here is for SMU to play their scout team and bench the 2 deep. The committee already set a precedents in the past that they extrapolate performance based on which players played the games. If your 2 deep doesn't play, it doesn't give the CFP anything to work with to knock them down. All that being said, I'm sure SMU will play hard Saturday. If they get beat and dropped out to keep Bama it will be the ugliest of ugly outcomes that will taint and damage the sport for all mid tier programs going forward. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 12 Share Posted December 5 Two ACC teams including a 3L Clemson team that lost to both Georgia and South Carolina? Instead of a 3L Bama, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and perhaps, a 3L UGA? At least one of the SEC 3Ls should, IMO, be in. Probably UGA if it loses to Texas. A 2L SMU has a home loss vs BYU. And a weak SOS compared to the 3L SEC teams. If the quality of the teams you play doesn't matter, see Boise State No. 10, why play a team OOC that you can't destroy, and why play 9 and not 8 conference games? 16 team PO - 4 SEC, 4 B1G, 2 ACC + B12, 1 G5, 3 At Large. If the Domers don't like it, join a conference. Only 3 teams chosen subjectively. Conferences on their own break ties and submit their teams. Seeding? Could be The Rub but this concern could be reduced by reseeding after each round as the NFL does. Team Rankings SOS - 12/5/24 1. Georgia/ 2. Alabama/ 5. South Carolina/ 7. Ole Miss/ 27. Clemson/ 49. SMU. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 13 Share Posted December 5 On 12/5/2024 at 12:41 PM, Jon Joseph said: Seeding? Could be The Rub but this concern could be reduced by reseeding after each round as the NFL does. This would be a great way of doing it. College Football isn't a static sport. Teams get better (or worse) as the season goes on. One or two key injuries could destroy a team completely. reseeding at the end of each round would make the playoff more dynamic and reward good play. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 14 Share Posted December 5 On 12/5/2024 at 1:19 PM, David Marsh said: reseeding at the end of each round would make the playoff more dynamic and reward good play. I guess it wasn't in the Rules for this year. But call an audible and do it anyway. What would it hurt? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDuck No. 15 Share Posted December 5 That CBSsports.com story link above takes a shot at teams like Texas, Oregon, SMU who didn't play "everybody" because of conference expansion. So, it made it "easier" to be near the top of the conference so quickly. Well, in the SEC with 8 games, and how they structure, it has always been that way. Oregon? Since the first year of a conference championship game in 2011, there are the six teams with be best record: Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State. After the game in Indianapolis the Ducks will have played 5 of the 6. Maybe they weren't all great this season, but they are historically the best W-L. Of the 5, Ducks had two at home, two on the road, and 1 three time zones away "neutral." 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 16 Share Posted December 5 On 12/5/2024 at 1:54 PM, HDuck said: That CBSsports.com story link above takes a shot at teams like Texas, Oregon, SMU who didn't play "everybody" The Pac-10 did play everybody, talk about a specious argument. As HDuck points out, and the scheduling did Oregon no favors, they played the best of the B1G. If Indiana had been expected to do as well as they did, Oregon would have played them instead of Purdue. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Duck No. 17 Share Posted December 5 That CBSsports.com story link above takes a shot at teams like Texas, Oregon, SMU who didn't play "everybody" Other than Georgia & OSU, how many teams have 2 wins over current Top-10 programs? And how many of those teams are undefeated. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 18 Share Posted December 5 On 12/5/2024 at 1:26 PM, 30Duck said: I guess it wasn't in the Rules for this year. But call an audible and do it anyway. What would it hurt? The 5 seed's feelings... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuckFan93 No. 19 Share Posted December 5 Maybe there shouldn't be CCG any more in this era of playoffs. You don't see that in NFL. It's really not necessary, except to give the 2nd best conference team a chance, but they already had 12 chances! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
