Charles Fischer Administrator No. 1 Share Posted Saturday at 05:28 AM Did you hear the TV analysts suggesting that Indiana did not belong, and thus the B1G is overrated? They continued that line to where they arrived at how, "The Big-12 and ACC are no different than the B1G." This, over ONE game? It is the Pac-12 all over again... 1 Mr. FishDuck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevada Dawg No. 2 Share Posted Saturday at 06:29 AM I will say that I think that, top to bottom, the PAC-12 was a stronger and more competitive league than the current B1G, in football at least. The addition of the West Coast teams strengthened the league IMHO, but it was possible for the three or four really solid teams to go a month at times without facing an opponent that appreciably raised the solid teams' pulse levels. Sorry, that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Marsh No. 3 Share Posted Saturday at 06:51 AM On 12/20/2024 at 10:29 PM, Nevada Dawg said: I will say that I think that, top to bottom, the PAC-12 was a stronger and more competitive league than the current B1G, in football at least. The addition of the West Coast teams strengthened the league IMHO, but it was possible for the three or four really solid teams to go a month at times without facing an opponent that appreciably raised the solid teams' pulse levels. Sorry, that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it. The B1G has always had 1-3 teams that were top tier in college football and a whole lot of nothing else. The Pac-12 was competitive from top to bottom, the bottom team usually found a way to upset someone they shouldn't, but the top end was not as good as the B1G top end usually. This year in the B1G isn't much different. The top three teams are all pretty strong in Oregon, Penn State and Ohio State. Indiana got the invite and I think they deserved it because they played their schedule and their only loss was to Ohio State. Their schedule wasn't a strong schedule and they did precisely what they were supposed to do ... Win. I'm going to throw shade at Bama because they had 3 pretty weak OCC games and Wisconsin, who weren't very good but it was a decent team from a scheduling standpoint. But Bama didn't lose 2/3 of their games to ranked teams. They loss them to 6-6 Vanderbilt and Oklahoma. And I'll be honest... I don't think Indiana would have lost those games. Bama has a higher ceiling certainly... But they also proved this year they had a lower floor. I do believe Indiana needs to up their OCC schedule. However, they went from winning 9 games in three seasons to 11 games this year. They made a massive hire in Cignetti and Indiana has an OCC designed to get them some wins in a season... They weren't expecting to win this much in year one of Cignetti. Indiana deserved to be in this playoff. But what we'll soon find is that at least a third of the teams don't belong in the playoff as competitive teams. 2 3 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 4 Share Posted Saturday at 07:17 AM (edited) Indiana didn’t belong, as it turns out imo…but the only way to find out was to put them in. No 11-1 team from the P2 should be left out. That doesn’t mean Alabama did belong imo. Just means Indiana had an easy schedule with only 2 playoff team matches including tonight. They went 0-2 in those games, and it was a bad 0-2. Edited Saturday at 07:32 AM by JabbaNoBargain 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike West No. 5 Share Posted Saturday at 08:37 AM Indiana is a solid program in need of excellent players on the LOS. If they had that, they're top ten material. Both their OTs suffered from weakness. Their DL was mediocre. Their skill players are very good. They need a break away WR. Even with that they'd be dangerous. Lane Kiffin complained about the Irish victory. Well, Ole Miss looked worse against both Kentucky and Florida, so he's got nothing to complain about. Talk about no offense. I've never seen a unit disappear as fast as Mississippi's. As to Alabama, they looked even worse against Oklahoma. So all this stuff about potential is a bunch of malarkey. You perform, or you don't. This is truly the first year you can say "your record is exactly what it says it is" in the SEC. You were either very good, or pretty average. Beating a top five program and losing shortly after is like, well, Vanderbilt! 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJacksPlaidPants Moderator No. 6 Share Posted Saturday at 01:25 PM Tonight’s OSU/Tenn game will be a good litmus test on the strength of the conference. If OSU wins handily then that changes the narrative. All of the top teams from both conferences have great defenses, but the SEC has pretty erratic QB play. Notre Dame is an excellent football team. They should beat UGA in the Sugar Bowl. Their defense will overwhelm Stockton, but I think the Dawgs defense can do the same against Leonard. It should be a good one. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 7 Share Posted Saturday at 02:03 PM I don't think the B1G was bad mouthed, 3 really good teams at the top, Oregon, osu2 & Penn State, Indiana was a book that was judged by its cover. It's unlikely that the B1G is going to be much deeper next season, though Michigan will have the "$10 Million Dollar Man" at quarterback. The ND-Georgia game is interesting. I can't get a read on ND from a W over Indiana. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 8 Share Posted Saturday at 04:07 PM Yes, I heard the ESPN Gameday crew mentioning it but I take everything that ESPN/ABC says with a grain of salt because they are in bed with the SEC for a tune of $3 Billion. ESPN was also airing the 30-for-30 SEC "Decade of Dominance" last night (I decided to take a hard pass). LOL. Were they really proposing to put in a 3-loss Alabama team (who lost to not one but two .500 teams) in the playoffs over a 11-1 Indiana (or any mid major team)? Give me a break. ESPN Signs $3 Billion Deal for SEC Football as CBS Era Nears End SPORTS.YAHOO.COM Disney’s ESPN has finalized a deal to buy the rights to college football’s most-watched television package for $300 million per season—at least five times the $55 million per year fee that... 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 9 Share Posted Saturday at 04:51 PM On 12/21/2024 at 8:07 AM, OregonDucks said: Were they really proposing to put in a 3-loss Alabama team (who lost to not one but two .500 teams) in the playoffs over a 11-1 Indiana (or any mid major team)? Give me a break. It would have been irresponsible to put Alabama in. Indiana's record put them in, though their expiration was inevitable. 3 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cartm25 No. 10 Share Posted Saturday at 04:52 PM (edited) On 12/21/2024 at 9:07 AM, OregonDucks said: Yes, I heard the ESPN Gameday crew mentioning it but I take everything that ESPN/ABC says with a grain of salt because they are in bed with the SEC for a tune of $3 Billion. ESPN was also airing the 30-for-30 SEC "Decade of Dominance" last night (I decided to take a hard pass). LOL. Were they really proposing to put in a 3-loss Alabama team (who lost to not one but two .500 teams) in the playoffs over a 11-1 Indiana (or any mid major team)? Give me a break. ESPN Signs $3 Billion Deal for SEC Football as CBS Era Nears End SPORTS.YAHOO.COM Disney’s ESPN has finalized a deal to buy the rights to college football’s most-watched television package for $300 million per season—at least five times the $55 million per year fee that... And conversely, Colin Cowherd and Joel Klatt (with Fox and in bed with B1G) were discussing how the SEC had a weak/down year on their show a couple days ago. Edited Saturday at 04:52 PM by cartm25 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryM9 No. 11 Share Posted Saturday at 04:52 PM I would think that since Oklahoma at 6-6 beat Alabama 24-3 , which is worse than Indiana's loss to an 11-1 team, maybe the experts shouldn't get so worked up over 1 game. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 12 Share Posted Saturday at 05:11 PM On 12/21/2024 at 1:29 AM, Nevada Dawg said: I will say that I think that, top to bottom, the PAC-12 was a stronger and more competitive league than the current B1G, in football at least. The addition of the West Coast teams strengthened the league IMHO, but it was possible for the three or four really solid teams to go a month at times without facing an opponent that appreciably raised the solid teams' pulse levels. Sorry, that's my opinion and I'm sticking with it. Another good take, NG. Thanks. Between losses to Georgia, what quality teams did Texas play in 2024? Texas missed Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, South Carolina, and Missouri. Texas is 0-2 vs. the Committee's Top 25. Like Notre Dame, Texas did defeat 8-4 A+M. Which is nice. The SEC is aided by half of the conference being ranked throughout the season. Thus, a win over an average SEC team is a 'Good Win.' And ipso facto the SOS of SEC teams will be better than teams in other conferences playing and defeating average teams. The SEC is deeper than the B1G, no doubt. But any team that went 11-1 in the SEC even against a schedule as weak as Indiana's (like Mizzou?) would be in the PO. I take no offense at the B1G being called out, it comes with the territory. Interesting that in 2023-24 when UW defeated Texas, back-to-back, and Michigan defeated Alabama, no one, except FSU fans, beefed about the Tide and the Horns being in the Final 4. Hats off to Notre Dame. A team with a Blue Chip Roster won the LOS against a visiting team. It won a game it was favored to win. Perhaps this is the Year of the Irish. ND defeated Georgia Tech playing without its starting QB in Mrcedes Benz Stadium and will now play a Georgia team in New Orleans without Carson Beck. BTW, did Notre Dame play a daunting schedule? Hardly. I watched Georgia overwhelmed and embarrassed in Oxford. I understood that Georgia had a new O-line playing against an excellent D-line. Post-game, I still believed Georgia would play for the SEC title. I wasn't writing Georgia off as the result of one game. On the other hand, I watched Bama embarrassed in Norman, and with a third loss, I did not believe Bama should be in the PO. Losses have to count in the SEC too. No group of fans is as conference-centric as SEC fans which is fine. Had Indiana won last night legions of SEC fans would not be touting the B1G as the greatest CFB conference of all time. One favorite won last night. Let's see how Penn State, Texas, and Ohio State do today. There'll be some noise if Tennessee and Texas lose. If PSU and tOSU lose the noise will be deafening. GO DAWGS! Dash the Domers. And GO DUCKS! Make Heupel Your Huckleberry and Ryan Your Rasberry! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 13 Share Posted Saturday at 05:20 PM On 12/21/2024 at 2:17 AM, JabbaNoBargain said: Indiana didn’t belong, as it turns out imo…but the only way to find out was to put them in. No 11-1 team from the P2 should be left out. That doesn’t mean Alabama did belong imo. Just means Indiana had an easy schedule with only 2 playoff team matches including tonight. They went 0-2 in those games, and it was a bad 0-2. I find it a bit harsh to say a team that lost on the road to the No. 5 team in the nation didn't belong. How many teams would have defeated ND in South Bend last night? Oklahoma, Vandy, Mizzou, BYU, Miami, Bama on the road? Indiana deserved to be there and lost as an underdog on the road to a better team. If the loss had been closer would that equate to Indiana deserving to be there? An OT loss would still have had the 'B1G Stinks' honks out honking. 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevada Dawg No. 14 Share Posted Saturday at 07:26 PM I almost get the impression that some here think I was specifically calling out Indiana. I wasn't. I expected though to see what happened against ND. I was calling out the overall strength of the B1G and have acknowledged many times that the top 2 and sometimes 3 in the league were indeed legit. Indiana played its schedule, played it very well, and it would indeed have been irresponsible not to include them in the playoff. As for the fixation on Alabama, I have said more than once here after they lost to Oklahoma that Bama had no legitimate claim to a playoff spot this year. True, there are teams left out that would likely beat half the field. But that's true any year just about. Jon is right to call out the Texas schedule. For an SEC slate, it was extremely soft, and even the toughest game it would face, Georgia, was slated to be played at home. I called it the "Welcome to the SEC" slate showing them more darn southern hospitability than they deserved. Their two losses came to the only playoff participant they faced (twice to Georgia). I do not think they will lose at home to Clemson however. We'll see later this afternoon. So I was calling out the strength of the B1G top to bottom and still will. Quite frankly, I would much rather play a typical 9-game B1G schedule than a typical 8-game SEC slate. Disagree? Fine. Have your team play an SEC schedule and let's see what happens. I proposed this a while back and not one person over here rose to the challenge. I made the same proposal on the Talk'n Dawgs site last night late and people down their were enthusiastic. Quite frankly, I think Oregon, OSU, and Penn State would be regular challengers in the SEC. They have built their teams from inside out and have dominated the league this year at the lines of scrimmage. Indiana was not as dominant there and that's why I expected them t get clobbered in South Bend. When we talk about great teams, most fans gush over a team's skill players, but most games are actually won in the trenches. 1 2 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 15 Share Posted Saturday at 07:32 PM (edited) On 12/21/2024 at 9:20 AM, Jon Joseph said: I find it a bit harsh to say a team that lost on the road to the No. 5 team in the nation didn't belong. How many teams would have defeated ND in South Bend last night? Oklahoma, Vandy, Mizzou, BYU, Miami, Bama on the road? Indiana deserved to be there and lost as an underdog on the road to a better team. If the loss had been closer would that equate to Indiana deserving to be there? An OT loss would still have had the 'B1G Stinks' honks out honking. I actually stated they deserved to be there since they went 11-1 in a P2 conference. But I also said it turns out they didn’t belong (talent wise) as evidenced by going 0-2 this season (and badly) versus teams in the playoff. IMO of course. Edited Saturday at 07:38 PM by JabbaNoBargain 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 16 Share Posted Saturday at 07:50 PM (edited) On 12/21/2024 at 11:26 AM, Nevada Dawg said: I almost get the impression that some here think I was specifically calling out Indiana. I wasn't. I expected though to see what happened against ND. I was calling out the overall strength of the B1G and have acknowledged many times that the top 2 and sometimes 3 in the league were indeed legit. Indiana played its schedule, played it very well, and it would indeed have been irresponsible not to include them in the playoff. As for the fixation on Alabama, I have said more than once here after they lost to Oklahoma that Bama had no legitimate claim to a playoff spot this year. True, there are teams left out that would likely beat half the field. But that's true any year just about. Jon is right to call out the Texas schedule. For an SEC slate, it was extremely soft, and even the toughest game it would face, Georgia, was slated to be played at home. I called it the "Welcome to the SEC" slate showing them more darn southern hospitability than they deserved. Their two losses came to the only playoff participant they faced (twice to Georgia). I do not think they will lose at home to Clemson however. We'll see later this afternoon. So I was calling out the strength of the B1G top to bottom and still will. Quite frankly, I would much rather play a typical 9-game B1G schedule than a typical 8-game SEC slate. Disagree? Fine. Have your team play an SEC schedule and let's see what happens. I proposed this a while back and not one person over here rose to the challenge. I made the same proposal on the Talk'n Dawgs site last night late and people down their were enthusiastic. Quite frankly, I think Oregon, OSU, and Penn State would be regular challengers in the SEC. They have built their teams from inside out and have dominated the league this year at the lines of scrimmage. Indiana was not as dominant there and that's why I expected them t get clobbered in South Bend. When we talk about great teams, most fans gush over a team's skill players, but most games are actually won in the trenches. Totally agree. OBD just went 13-0 in our first year of the B1G, something rarely done by anyone recently in the real PAC. Two of our closest games were out of conference against teams from the state of Idaho. Given the on-field results, OBD did not really find this to be a step up in competition…but the money and exposure sure is nice Edited Saturday at 07:52 PM by JabbaNoBargain 1 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 17 Share Posted Saturday at 07:53 PM On 12/21/2024 at 11:32 AM, JabbaNoBargain said: I actually stated they deserved to be there since they went 11-1 in a P2 conference. But I also said it turns out they didn’t belong (talent wise) as evidenced by going 0-2 this season (and badly) versus teams in the playoff. Ah, that's the problem, Alabama didn't deserve the Playoffs, and, using SOS and SOR, as well as seeing what osu2 did to them, Indiana wasn't one of the 12 best teams either. They didn't get to the CCG. they didn't have any quality wins. Their record is what says they deserved to be included, but that's face value only. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 18 Share Posted Saturday at 07:56 PM (edited) On 12/21/2024 at 11:53 AM, 30Duck said: Ah, that's the problem, Alabama didn't deserve the Playoffs, and, using SOS and SOR, as well as seeing what osu2 did to them, Indiana wasn't one of the 12 best teams either. They didn't get to the CCG. they didn't have any quality wins. Their record is what says they deserved to be included, but that's face value only. I really can’t see leaving out an 11-1 team from P2 for a 3 loss team, no matter what data points are there…someone has to make it in. Edited Saturday at 07:57 PM by JabbaNoBargain 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Ducky No. 19 Share Posted Saturday at 08:02 PM (edited) Any team that schedule teams like Mercer at the close to the season and doesn’t play in the conference championship doesn’t belong in the playoffs. Period. I didn’t see very much of the Indiana game but I did see enough that told me their secondary was slow and no way would they hang with the big dogs in the playoffs. Edited Saturday at 08:08 PM by Just Ducky 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 20 Share Posted Saturday at 08:04 PM (edited) On 12/21/2024 at 2:26 PM, Nevada Dawg said: So I was calling out the strength of the B1G top to bottom and still will. Quite frankly, I would much rather play a typical 9-game B1G schedule than a typical 8-game SEC slate. Disagree? Fine. Have your team play an SEC schedule and let's see what happens. I proposed this a while back and not one person over here rose to the challenge. Well, Oregon did play and beat 3 playoff teams this year (Ohio State, Penn State and Boise State). SEC schools have a history of canceling home-and-home series with West Coast schools, including Oregon (e.g., Texas A&M). Oregon swept home-and-home series against Tennessee and Miss State (credit those programs for traveling to Eugene!). Their fans, by all accounts, were first class. Most SEC schools would never schedule an away game against Oregon (we had to play LSU and Auburn in Dallas and Georgia in Atlanta for “neutral site” games). No thanks to any more of those “neutral site” regular season games in SEC county. (I can’t believe that Oregon might have to play Texas in Dallas and Georgia in Atlanta as the #1 seed in the playoffs!). Texas A&M Aggies drop USC Trojans, Oregon Ducks - ESPN - Pac-12 Blog- ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM When Texas A&M was a member of the Big 12, it scheduled home-and-home series with USC and... Edited Saturday at 08:09 PM by OregonDucks 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PittDuck No. 21 Share Posted Saturday at 08:12 PM Not hearing anything about SMU not qualified to play PSU, even though they are currently down 38-3. Is it a TNT / ABC thing? 1 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JabbaNoBargain No. 22 Share Posted Saturday at 08:16 PM (edited) On 12/21/2024 at 12:12 PM, PittDuck said: Not hearing anything about SMU not qualified to play PSU, even though they are currently down 38-3. Is it a TNT / ABC thing? Far more legit question. 2 loss runner up from ACC versus 3 loss SEC outfit. They clearly don’t have the same level of roster imo. Edited Saturday at 08:22 PM by JabbaNoBargain 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJacksPlaidPants Moderator No. 23 Share Posted Saturday at 09:16 PM On 12/21/2024 at 3:04 PM, OregonDucks said: Well, Oregon did play and beat 3 playoff teams this year (Ohio State, Penn State and Boise State). SEC schools have a history of canceling home-and-home series with West Coast schools, including Oregon (e.g., Texas A&M). Oregon swept home-and-home series against Tennessee and Miss State (credit those programs for traveling to Eugene!). Their fans, by all accounts, were first class. Most SEC schools would never schedule an away game against Oregon (we had to play LSU and Auburn in Dallas and Georgia in Atlanta for “neutral site” games). No thanks to any more of those “neutral site” regular season games in SEC county. (I can’t believe that Oregon might have to play Texas in Dallas and Georgia in Atlanta as the #1 seed in the playoffs!). Texas A&M Aggies drop USC Trojans, Oregon Ducks - ESPN - Pac-12 Blog- ESPN WWW.ESPN.COM When Texas A&M was a member of the Big 12, it scheduled home-and-home series with USC and... UGA also canceled a home and home with Oregon for the 2015-2016 seasons due to length of travel. Don’t believe the “mutually agreed upon” BS. UGA’s AD is quoted as saying the travel was too much and Oregon doesn’t have a history of avoiding big games. The joke is on them, though. They would’ve killed us in 2016. Georgia, Oregon cancel 2015-16 football series SICEMDAWGS.COM The Georgia Bulldogs and the Oregon Ducks have canceled their 2015 and 2016 home-and-home football series. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solar No. 24 Share Posted yesterday at 06:03 AM How's everyone liking those B1G apples today? If only Oregon could play Texas next week so it could be 3 out of 4 in the Semis from the B1G 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike West No. 25 Share Posted yesterday at 01:25 PM On 12/21/2024 at 12:16 PM, JabbaNoBargain said: Far more legit question. 2 loss runner up from ACC versus 3 loss SEC outfit. They clearly don’t have the same level of roster imo. 10-3 SEC far more qualified. Especially in Georgia's case. The Bulldogs played the "top of the conference". Whatever that's worth. The SEspnC have better lineman than the other conferences. That's about it. So Tennessee and South Carolina can probably beat Indiana. Given that, the real question is how much do we want the SEC and the B1G to take their beach ball and play on another beach? The separation is already clear between them and the other two "power" conferences. I'm fine with it so long as the SEC schedule includes B1G teams. Then roster management and coaching will determine who the best teams are. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
OregonDucks No. 26 Share Posted yesterday at 01:49 PM On 12/22/2024 at 8:25 AM, Mike West said: 10-3 SEC far more qualified. Especially in Georgia's case. The Bulldogs played the "top of the conference". Whatever that's worth. Tennessee certainly didn’t look like they belonged in the playoffs last night (I don’t want to hear any more SEC grips) and Texas looked far from dominant. Indiana lost to Ohio State by 23; Tennessee by 25. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevada Dawg No. 27 Share Posted 21 hours ago I hate to say this, but I think what round 1 of the playoffs illustrated in spades is that there are only about 6-8 at most schools that can realistically compete for a national title in football. And I want to reiterate that my point about the B1Gt. it? focused on strength of the conference and competitive balance from top to bottom, not the quality of teams selected for inclusion in the 12-team format. Of course, we know the 12 team format will survive and maybe even expand to 16 teams soon due to the evil allure of he almighty dollar. But should it. What happens between the lines is always the ultimate decider. But I have almost never made sweeping pronouncements about a team based on the results of a given game. Were I to do that, I would have argued that OSU might not deserve to be excluded on the basis of losing at home to a very mediocre Michigan team. And if Oregon should lose by 17 points to OSU in the Rose Bowl, an unlikely but not impossible outcome, how many would think that maybe the Ducks did not belong in the playoffs. And let's say the Bucks go on to win the Natty, also a far from impossible outcome given the way they played last night, how many football fans will remember five years from now just how great a season OBD have had? Duck fans will, but the average college football fan will not retain this memory over he long run. 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 28 Share Posted 21 hours ago On 12/22/2024 at 11:56 AM, Nevada Dawg said: And let's say the Bucks go on to win the Natty, also a far from impossible outcome given the way they played last night, how many football fans will remember five years from now just how great a season OBD have had? Duck fans will, but the average college football fan will not retain this memory over he long run. It won't take 5 years. The discussion here for the last couple of months has been about how little attention, credit, Oregon is getting now for being No.1. Should osu2 beat the Ducks in the Rose Bowl, dismissing the Ducks will flow from the voices that were muted before. 13-0, B1G Champion will be forgotten as quickly as Tez on a wheel route. 1 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatOrlando No. 29 Share Posted 15 hours ago I can safely say the B1G has the best top programs. Not just this year. Oregon, Ohio State, Penn State are elite. They all could've won the SEC. The SEC clan thing isn't imagined. I don't get it myself. It's not like having Georgia or Texas winning it all makes Florida any better. You think Michigan fans are rooting for Ohio State? Is there a Washington fan rooting for Oregon? The whole "SEC SEC SEC" chant should be mocked. I hope Notre Dame stomps Georgia. Same with Arizona State over Texas. Alabama and Ole Miss got real quiet after Tennessee got drubbed. Tennessee actually beat Alabama where Indiana hadn't beaten anybody. So four blowouts don't mean Ole Miss or Alabama should've been in. It just means the perceived better teams were just that. My only qualm is that Oregon got the best team of the four advancing. Ohio State had a better year than Texas or Notre Dame( two top ten wins) They beat Penn State in Happy Valley. Oregon had the best season, they were the only undefeated. The matchups should have Oregon vs Boise State. Georgia vs Arizona State, Notre Dame vs Penn State and Ohio State vs Texas. Check out the money lines. Texas and Penn State are double digits favorites. Oregon is a one point underdog. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 30 Share Posted 14 hours ago Many great comments. Two teams ranked No. 12. and No. 9. got a 1st round pass and B12 and Mountain West made $8M each. The two ACC teams lost in the first round and they, not the ACC, made $4M each. The No. 16 team, Clemson, gave the best showing of the four teams that lost this weekend. As is most often the case in the NFL the better, higher-ranked home teams won and as Nevada Dawg noted, all of the home teams won the LOS. If seeding was the same as ranking No. 10 SMU would have likely lost at No. 7 Tennessee. The No. 9 Boise game at No. 8 Indiana would likely have been competitive. No. 11 Bama would have played at No. 6 Ohio State. No. 12 ASU would have played at No. 5 Notre Dame. Teams 1-4 would have had byes: OREGON; Georgia; Texas; and Penn State. I don't think the teams that made the field were too far off base. I think the idiotic seeding format that elevated lower-ranked teams screwed things up. And the screw-up is exacerbated by playing the quarter-finals off campus. Seeding equating to ranking is an easy fix. The other change won't happen as long as Bowl Master Disney is paying for the show. The fans of the best teams do not get to see them play at home. Kansas City has a 1st Round Bye and then its fans have to go to Pasadena to watch the Chiefs play? Of course not. The Billionaires get it. I'm shocked. The money shown above speaks for itself and is the reason why CFB is not going to cut the number of the teams in PO field. [I'm, like Paul Finebaum, going outside my territory here. I get Sankey and the SEC's SOS and SOR beef. So do something about it! Make a far better effort at balancing the SEC 2025 in-conference SOS. IMO it's ludicrous that Georgia has to play the same teams in 2025 it played in 2024 and Texas again, sans Georgia, plays the SEC lightweights.] Sorry, Lane Kiffin, the three teams Ole Miss lost to had 17 collective losses and 19 collective wins. No matter the conference, you are not allowed just to count wins. The PO will prosper despite Lame Kitten, moi, and the folks in charge. There will never be a model that satisfies all. As it should be. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
30Duck Moderator No. 31 Share Posted 14 hours ago On 12/22/2024 at 6:16 PM, Jon Joseph said: There will never be a model that satisfies all. As it should be. But the model that would have satisfied the most people was right there. The ridiculous blunder that gave the 6 seed such an easier path to the Championship Game than the 1 seed would have given the 6th grade student an F if it had been presented as a school project. The 1-12 seeding would have delivered much better games in the 1st round & minimized greatly the thought that some of the teams shouldn't have been playing at all. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GatOrlando No. 32 Share Posted 6 hours ago They should keep the first round campus sites. The guaranteed playoff spot for the P4 and GO5 should remain. But having a guaranteed bye for a GO5 or lesser P4 champion should be eliminated. If Oregon, Georgia, Texas and Ohio State are ranked 1-4 by the committee, those should get the byes. But Oregon is getting a harder path than the team they beat in the conference title game. Same goes for Georgia. So Penn State and Texas get home games vs the two worst playoff teams and then get the third and fourth worst teams in a neutral site where they are favored to win by more than their first round games? Oregon gets a top four team in a venue they are quite comfortable in, Georgia gets what is arguably the best Notre Dame team in my lifetime without their starting QB? This would be like the Chiefs getting the Bills in the Divisional instead of the Broncos or Ravens. The NFL adjusts second round games depending on seed. The Chiefs get the lowest seed as a reward. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrJacksPlaidPants Moderator No. 33 Share Posted 3 hours ago On 12/22/2024 at 6:16 PM, Jon Joseph said: No. 11 Bama would have played at No. 6 Ohio State. This would've been a bloodbath. Maybe as bad as the Tennessee game, but probably worse. We saw what Bama did in Norman, OK when the weather got below 60 degrees. They would've been lucky to score 3 points in Columbus. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...