Article CFP unanimously approves 5+7 model for new 12-team playoff

[stinger78]

The discussion about the middling teams comes from the "reasoning" often provided that the SEC teams deserve more guaranteed spots, or deserve a bye over the other conferences, or an OOC loss by an SEC team is excused because "they play such a brutal SeC schedule" that is so much harder than what anyone else plays.

In 2023, the SEC had 6 teams with losing records.

Florida
S Carolina
Vandy
Auburn
MSU
Arkansas

Does anybody doubt that Florida and Auburn, at the very least, will be overrated to start next season, based on this past season's results? MSU and Arkansas likely will too, and a decent chance also for SC. Vandy is pretty much the only SEC school that doesn't benefit from this perception.

To be fair, there are a couple ACC teams, Miami and UNC, who seem to also benefit from being wildly overrated to start every season too. Schools like Tech, Wake, Syracuse? Almost always come into the following season expected to do worse, especially if they had a really good season the previous year.

Good summary. Not sure why this is so difficult to grasp. The Narrative is the conference and all benefit from it. Yet,
Just since 2000, GT is 4-0 vs. Vandy, 3-0 vs. MSU, 2-0 vs. Auburn, and 1-0 vs. Kentucky, while going 0-1 vs. UT, 0-2 vs. LSU, O-3 vs. Ole Miss, and 4-19 vs. UGAg.

UGAg is its own special form of rivalry pain for GT, but other than them, GT is 10-6 against Vandy, MSU, Auburn, and Kentucky, and 10-11 adding LSU and Ole Miss.
Many of those years GT has been a pretty mediocre program, some worse, some better.

Over the same time span, Wake is 6-5 vs. Vandy, 1-0 vs. TAMU, 2-0 vs. Ole Miss, and 0-1 vs. MSU, (and 1-0 vs. Oregon, BTW).

Clemson is 15-8 vs. USCe, 1-4 vs. UGA, 2-1 vs. Kentucky, 1-1 vs. UT, 3-1 vs. TAMU, 2-3 vs. Bama, 4-2 vs. Auburn, … and 2-0 vs. OU.

This same scenario is repeated for team after team in the ACC. Maybe up by a game or two or down by a game or two, but not dominated by the SEC.

BTW, UGA is 4-8 vs. Bama.

Top to bottom, as a conference, the SEC is marginally better than the ACC most years, but only due to the top 2-3 teams. SECspeed refers to the conference as a whole, not just those 2-3 teams. That’s The Narrative at work, and it unnecessarily elevates the SEC while hurting the other conferences.

 

[Root4GT]

Yes, we know that.

Seems like a lot of posters don't believe that!

 

[bobongo]

Seems like a lot of posters don't believe that!

This was the statement that I said we all know:

"Again, "average" teams do nothing to move the national needle. Perception is based on the top teams. Perception translates to eyeballs on tv, which translates to $$$. Games between middling teams (in any conference) do not matter when it comes to the $$."

I don't see anything in that statement that we don't all know. We all know perception is based on the teams at the top. That isn't the issue. The issue is whether those perceptions are valid when it comes to conference comparisons, whether conferences should be compared based on just what's on top or all of the conferences, top to bottom. Since the top teams play the other teams, the middling ones and the bottom feeders, and base their reputations in large part based on those games, I don't see how ignoring the middle and bottom of the conferences makes for any valid comparison.

 

[yeti92]

That said, the current "way too early" preseason rankings from ESPN and SI show none of the SEC teams you mentioned.

yes I'm aware they aren't in the top 25, but I wouldn't be surprised at all to see UF and Auburn in the 25-40 range. Heck, going off the athlon sports final 2023 rankings, they have Auburn (#56) ahead of Tech (#59) with Florida right behind at #60.

Auburn went 6-7, getting absolutely crushed at home by NMSU (2nd biggest MOV in any of their wins) and beating exactly zero teams with a winning record. Their best win was over 6-7 Cal and then 5-7 Miss State. Fwiw, NMSU had 10 wins and ranked a full 1 spot ahead of Auburn despite a 3 TD MOV on the road.

Florida went 5-7, with a highlight win over Tennessee and no other wins over opponents with a winning record. They also lost to 4-8 Arkansas at home.

Tech went 7-6 with 2 wins over opponents with winning records and no losses to teams with losing records.

Does anyone here believe Auburn or Florida were as good as Tech last year?

 

[stinger78]

This was the statement that I said we all know:

"Again, "average" teams do nothing to move the national needle. Perception is based on the top teams. Perception translates to eyeballs on tv, which translates to $$$. Games between middling teams (in any conference) do not matter when it comes to the $$."

I don't see anything in that statement that we don't all know. We all know perception is based on the teams at the top. That isn't the issue. The issue is whether those perceptions are valid when it comes to conference comparisons, whether conferences should be compared based on just what's on top or all of the conferences, top to bottom. Since the top teams play the other teams, the middling ones and the bottom feeders, and base their reputations in large part based on those games, I don't see how ignoring the middle and bottom of the conferences makes for any valid comparison.

Yes, and to get back to the topic at hand... That perception is being fleshed out in the 5+7 rules being adopted wherein the SEC/B1G get HALF of the available slots. It provides them greater odds of winning the CFP, enhancing their Narrative, and increasing the distance between the haves and have nots of CFB.

 

[Root4GT]

This was the statement that I said we all know:

"Again, "average" teams do nothing to move the national needle. Perception is based on the top teams. Perception translates to eyeballs on tv, which translates to $$$. Games between middling teams (in any conference) do not matter when it comes to the $$."

I don't see anything in that statement that we don't all know. We all know perception is based on the teams at the top. That isn't the issue. The issue is whether those perceptions are valid when it comes to conference comparisons, whether conferences should be compared based on just what's on top or all of the conferences, top to bottom. Since the top teams play the other teams, the middling ones and the bottom feeders, and base their reputations in large part based on those games, I don't see how ignoring the middle and bottom of the conferences makes for any valid comparison.

The question is who cares about teams 6-12 in any conference but a few diehards saying the SEC and B1G are not better football Conferences than the ACC? You guys are only going to convince a few diehard GT fans. You guys have earned the "Saint Jude" award! Well done!

 

[Dman374]

Let's stack them per fandual odds to win their conference as of today March 13th, 2024. SEC vs ACC top to bottom in order. Visualize this with me.

ACC	SEC
Clemson	Georgia
Florida State	Texas
Miami	Ole Miss
Louisville	Alabama
NC State	LSU
SMU	Tennessee
Virginia Tech	Missouri
North Carolina	Texas A&M
Syracuse	Oklahoma
California	Auburn
Georgia Tech	Kentucky
Duke	South Carolina
Pitt	Florida
Virginia	Arkansas
Boston College	Mississippi State
Wake Forest	Vandy

I'm a lifelong Georgia Tech fan, but you're out your mind if you think there isn't a gap between the ACC and SEC. I've been following recruiting for a decade, the reason the ACC has fell back is there is a clear and widening talent gap over the past decade. Here's a not so hot take that's going to ruffle some feathers. If Tennessee or Missouri is in the ACC, they're in contention, key word, contention to win the ACC. I could make that case further down the SEC, than I could transplanting an ACC team into the SEC. Let's say Clemson/Florida State enter to SEC tomorrow. Where would they end up in this ranking? Probably somewhere after the No. 5 spot LSU.

 

[stinger78]

ACC vs. SEC:
2023 - 7-5
2022 - 4-7
2021 - 3-8
2020 - 3-3
2019 - 4-8
2018 - 4-6
2017 - 5-7
2016 - 10-4
2015 - 4-6
2014 - 5-3

Total: 49-57
SEC +8 over 10 years (0.8 games/year average)

Source: https://mcubed.net/ncaaf/tvc/sec/acc.shtml

Guy, this is NOT dominance, this is The SEC being better by a game or so on average. In their really good seasons, the SEC was better by about 3 games per season (6 of the 10 better seasons by an average of 24-42 = +18, or 3 games over those 6 seasons). So, in their good years, or the ACC's really bad years, the SEC is clearly better. Up to this season, the trend was going in their direction but that reversed last fall.

What I see is an ACC that most years is very competitive with the SEC, though a notch below on average. I do not see the SEC just dominating the ACC in football going by on-field results.

 

[bobongo]

The question is who cares about teams 6-12 in any conference

Those are the teams on the top feeders' schedules. What's not to understand?

 

[Dman374]

ACC vs. SEC:
2023 - 7-5
2022 - 4-7
2021 - 3-8
2020 - 3-3
2019 - 4-8
2018 - 4-6
2017 - 5-7
2016 - 10-4
2015 - 4-6
2014 - 5-3

Total: 49-57
SEC +8 over 10 years (0.8 games/year average)

Source: https://mcubed.net/ncaaf/tvc/sec/acc.shtml

Guy, this is NOT dominance, this is The SEC being better by a game or so on average. In their really good seasons, the SEC was better by about 3 games per season (6 of the 10 better seasons by an average of 24-42 = +18, or 3 games over those 6 seasons). So, in their good years, or the ACC's really bad years, the SEC is clearly better. Up to this season, the trend was going in their direction but that reversed last fall.

What I see is an ACC that most years is very competitive with the SEC, though a notch below on average. I do not see the SEC just dominating the ACC in football going by on-field results.

Stack the ACC top to bottom level to level, and use that context for last years record. I'm going to start with Florida State, the champion. They had a great win against the No. 5 team in the SEC last year. That's the context though, it's the 5th best team. Then they had a hard fought rivalry win against Florida, one of the worst teams in that conference last year. It's not "ACC vs SEC", it's which team beat which team. Would you claim a Vandy win equals the same as a win against the mutts? You wouldn't. So let's add the context.

Matchup	Context	ACC Record
UNC @ South Carolina	#8 ACC team beats #10 SEC team 31-17	1-0
Virginia @ Tennessee	#13 ACC team loses to #6 SEC team 49-13	1-1
LSU vs Florida State	#5 SEC team loses to #1 ACC team 45-24	2-1
Texas A&M at Miami	#7 SEC team loses to #10 ACC team 48-33	3-1 (I agree this is an argument for ACC game with context)
Vandy @ Wake	Worst SEC team loses to worst ACC team 36-20	4-1 The floor is higher in the ACC
Georgia Tech at Ole Miss	#4 ACC team loses to 2nd best team in SEC west 48-23	4-2 (Game was closer than final score saids more about Georgia Tech than some people want to admit)
Mutts @ Georgia Tech	#1 SEC team beats #4 ACC team 31-23	4-3, covered the number see note below.
Clemson @ South Carolina	#6 ACC team beats #10 SEC team 16-7	5-3 rivalry game should be close
Florida State @ Florida	#1 ACC team beats #9 SEC team 24-15	6-3 rivalry game should be close
Kentucky @ Louisville	#2 ACC team loses to #8 SEC team 38-31	6-4 rivalry game should be close

The Miami win over A&M is an item to point to for ACC vs SEC. Totally agree. The other games with the context I'm not ready to pump my chest out. Florida State vs LSU I don't think is the flex some of you may think it is by how bad that teams secondary was last year. I'm also admitting this context above is with captain hindsight knowing where each of these teams ended the 2023 season. I'm also stating in this, and the other thread, follow recruiting. It's not rocket science why the ACC slipped and didn't get their crap together over the past decade. I think they could close the gap with time and urgency, but I also believe our boy Nick at ESPN has his mind made up with the conference, and it's just political theater until February roles around to decide what happens.

 

[Root4GT]

Those are the teams on the top feeders' schedules. What's not to understand?

Again who cares about the lower half of any Conference Nationally? Answer - no one. What don’t you understand about that?

 

[bobongo]

Again who cares about the lower half of any Conference Nationally? Answer - no one. What don’t you understand about that?

Well I care, so you are incorrect. And besides, for the umpteenth time, even though (and as I've acknowledged) most don't care, the point is that they should. That point has been made repeatedly, and you've repeatedly and obtusely ignored it. If you want to argue that point, fine - argue it. If you don't, we don't have any disagreement at all. Do you understand?

 

[Dman374]

@bobongo I agree the middle matters, but it's all dependent on matchups. I would also push back and say the casual fan would also care but it's team dependent. It's nuance. Let's look up at the middle of the SEC in the example above. Oklahoma and A&M are middle of the pack for the SEC, but that would be a national matchup to watch. Virginia Tech vs North Carolina also would be a good national matchup, although both brands are down. It's all dependent on the specific team and brand. It's also about ranked games, and the ACC hasn't been holding up it's end of the bargain with ranked teams as of late.

 

[stinger78]

Stack the ACC top to bottom level to level, and use that context for last years record. I'm going to start with Florida State, the champion. They had a great win against the No. 5 team in the SEC last year. That's the context though, it's the 5th best team. Then they had a hard fought rivalry win against Florida, one of the worst teams in that conference last year. It's not "ACC vs SEC", it's which team beat which team. Would you claim a Vandy win equals the same as a win against the mutts? You wouldn't. So let's add the context.

Matchup	Context	ACC Record
UNC @ South Carolina	#8 ACC team beats #10 SEC team 31-17	1-0
Virginia @ Tennessee	#13 ACC team loses to #6 SEC team 49-13	1-1
LSU vs Florida State	#5 SEC team loses to #1 ACC team 45-24	2-1
Texas A&M at Miami	#7 SEC team loses to #10 ACC team 48-33	3-1 (I agree this is an argument for ACC game with context)
Vandy @ Wake	Worst SEC team loses to worst ACC team 36-20	4-1 The floor is higher in the ACC
Georgia Tech at Ole Miss	#4 ACC team loses to 2nd best team in SEC west 48-23	4-2 (Game was closer than final score saids more about Georgia Tech than some people want to admit)
Mutts @ Georgia Tech	#1 SEC team beats #4 ACC team 31-23	4-3, covered the number see note below.
Clemson @ South Carolina	#6 ACC team beats #10 SEC team 16-7	5-3 rivalry game should be close
Florida State @ Florida	#1 ACC team beats #9 SEC team 24-15	6-3 rivalry game should be close
Kentucky @ Louisville	#2 ACC team loses to #8 SEC team 38-31	6-4 rivalry game should be close

The Miami win over A&M is an item to point to for ACC vs SEC. Totally agree. The other games with the context I'm not ready to pump my chest out. Florida State vs LSU I don't think is the flex some of you may think it is by how bad that teams secondary was last year. I'm also admitting this context above is with captain hindsight knowing where each of these teams ended the 2023 season. I'm also stating in this, and the other thread, follow recruiting. It's not rocket science why the ACC slipped and didn't get their crap together over the past decade. I think they could close the gap with time and urgency, but I also believe our boy Nick at ESPN has his mind made up with the conference, and it's just political theater until February roles around to decide what happens.

You don’t know what teams will do what next season. The only way to match teams is in retrospect. But they don’t all play each other that way, so your idea is but fantasy. If you want fact, then look at how they did against one another in groupings: top, middle, and bottom.

 

[yeti92]

Stack the ACC top to bottom level to level, and use that context for last years record. I'm going to start with Florida State, the champion. They had a great win against the No. 5 team in the SEC last year. That's the context though, it's the 5th best team. Then they had a hard fought rivalry win against Florida, one of the worst teams in that conference last year. It's not "ACC vs SEC", it's which team beat which team. Would you claim a Vandy win equals the same as a win against the mutts? You wouldn't. So let's add the context.

Matchup	Context	ACC Record
UNC @ South Carolina	#8 ACC team beats #10 SEC team 31-17	1-0
Virginia @ Tennessee	#13 ACC team loses to #6 SEC team 49-13	1-1
LSU vs Florida State	#5 SEC team loses to #1 ACC team 45-24	2-1
Texas A&M at Miami	#7 SEC team loses to #10 ACC team 48-33	3-1 (I agree this is an argument for ACC game with context)
Vandy @ Wake	Worst SEC team loses to worst ACC team 36-20	4-1 The floor is higher in the ACC
Georgia Tech at Ole Miss	#4 ACC team loses to 2nd best team in SEC west 48-23	4-2 (Game was closer than final score saids more about Georgia Tech than some people want to admit)
Mutts @ Georgia Tech	#1 SEC team beats #4 ACC team 31-23	4-3, covered the number see note below.
Clemson @ South Carolina	#6 ACC team beats #10 SEC team 16-7	5-3 rivalry game should be close
Florida State @ Florida	#1 ACC team beats #9 SEC team 24-15	6-3 rivalry game should be close
Kentucky @ Louisville	#2 ACC team loses to #8 SEC team 38-31	6-4 rivalry game should be close

The Miami win over A&M is an item to point to for ACC vs SEC. Totally agree. The other games with the context I'm not ready to pump my chest out. Florida State vs LSU I don't think is the flex some of you may think it is by how bad that teams secondary was last year. I'm also admitting this context above is with captain hindsight knowing where each of these teams ended the 2023 season. I'm also stating in this, and the other thread, follow recruiting. It's not rocket science why the ACC slipped and didn't get their crap together over the past decade. I think they could close the gap with time and urgency, but I also believe our boy Nick at ESPN has his mind made up with the conference, and it's just political theater until February roles around to decide what happens.

LSU was the 4th best team in the SEC, behind Bama, uga, and Ole Miss. Mizzou was 5th.

And what your list shows is that in general, the team expected to be better based on conference rank was better, with the exceptions of Miami-A&M (ACC) and Louisville-Kentucky (SEC). If the SEC was head and shoulders better per the Narrative, shouldn't their #7 team be able to beat our #10 team, not get their *** kicked? Shouldn't their #10 team be able to beat or at least play a close game against our #8 team at home? Shouldn't their worst team be better than our worst team? Shouldn't the #2 and #3 SEC teams be able to more soundly defeat the #4 ACC team, instead of being in 1 score games halfway through the 4th quarter?

 

[billga99]

Sorry this took so much space. Wanted to see how the preseason rankings in 2023 ended up in comparison to final college football playoff rankings. I realize the Big 12 would likely not have such a low ranked team in 2024. Also not all of the teams moving to new conferences would be performing as well. But this clearly will be the push in the next round of why the SEC and Big Ten will want the Top 12 (or 14) ranked teams. But it does show how key preseason rankings are and likely point to how much a cupcake OOC schedule most of the Big Ten and SEC schools have.

RANK	SCHOOL	RECORD	New Conf	Top 4 Byes	Qualify	Seed	Preseason Rankings
1	Michigan	13-0	Big Ten	**	**	1​	2
2	Washington	13-0	Big Ten		**	5​	10
3	Texas	12-1	SEC	**	**	2​	11
4	Alabama	12-1	SEC		**	6​	4
5	Florida State	13-0	ACC	**	**	3​	9
6	Georgia	12-1	SEC		**	7​	1
7	Ohio State	11-1	Big Ten		**	8​	3
8	Oregon	11-2	Big Ten		**	9​	15
9	Missouri	10-2	SEC		**	10​	NR
10	Penn State	10-2	Big Ten		**	11​	7
11	Ole Miss	10-2	SEC				22
12	Oklahoma	10-2	SEC				20
13	LSU	9-3	SEC				5
14	Arizona	9-3	Big 12	**	**	4​	NR
15	Louisville	10-3	ACC				NR
16	Notre Dame	9-3	Ind				13
17	Iowa	10-3	Big Ten				25
18	NC State	9-3	ACC				NR
19	Oregon State	8-4	Pac 12				18
20	Oklahoma State	9-4	Big 12				NR
21	Tennessee	8-4	SEC				12
22	Clemson	8-4	ACC				9
23	Liberty	13-0	Ind - G5		**	12​	NR
24	SMU	11-2	ACC				NR
25	Kansas State	8-4	Big 12				16
Preseason USC (6), Utah (14), TCU (17), Wisconsin (19), UNC (21), TX A&M (23), Tulane (24)
#1	Michigan	vs.	Washington/Liberty
#2	Texas	vs.	Alabama/Penn St.
#3	FSU	vs.	Georgia/Missouri
#4	Arizona	vs.	Ohio St/Oregon
SEC 4, Big Ten 5, ACC 1, Big 12 1, Group of 5 1

 

[Dman374]

LSU was the 4th best team in the SEC, behind Bama, uga, and Ole Miss. Mizzou was 5th.

And what your list shows is that in general, the team expected to be better based on conference rank was better, with the exceptions of Miami-A&M (ACC) and Louisville-Kentucky (SEC). If the SEC was head and shoulders better per the Narrative, shouldn't their #7 team be able to beat our #10 team, not get their *** kicked? Shouldn't their #10 team be able to beat or at least play a close game against our #8 team at home? Shouldn't their worst team be better than our worst team? Shouldn't the #2 and #3 SEC teams be able to more soundly defeat the #4 ACC team, instead of being in 1 score games halfway through the 4th quarter?

I would love to see a final rankings that isn't broken out into divisions for the SEC. If you could send me a link I'll update my post. Let me copy and paste the earlier comment you didn't reply to:

Let's stack them per fandual odds to win their conference as of today March 13th, 2024. SEC vs ACC top to bottom in order. Visualize this with me.

ACC	SEC
Clemson	Georgia
Florida State	Texas
Miami	Ole Miss
Louisville	Alabama
NC State	LSU
SMU	Tennessee
Virginia Tech	Missouri
North Carolina	Texas A&M
Syracuse	Oklahoma
California	Auburn
Georgia Tech	Kentucky
Duke	South Carolina
Pitt	Florida
Virginia	Arkansas
Boston College	Mississippi State
Wake Forest	Vandy

I'm a lifelong Georgia Tech fan, but you're out your mind if you think there isn't a gap between the ACC and SEC. I've been following recruiting for a decade, the reason the ACC has fell back is there is a clear and widening talent gap over the past decade. Here's a not so hot take that's going to ruffle some feathers. If Tennessee or Missouri is in the ACC, they're in contention, key word, contention to win the ACC. I could make that case further down the SEC, than I could transplanting an ACC team into the SEC. Let's say Clemson/Florida State enter to SEC tomorrow. Where would they end up in this ranking? I'm asking you @yeti92 where would Tennessee rank in the ACC? What about Missouri? Do the same with Clemson or Florida State in the SEC and where would you rank them? How about this thought exercise, let's say you're A&M with Miami level talent, but with a more competent head coach. Where would they rank in the ACC? Would Louisville crack the top 10 of the SEC if they joined today?
Now solutions, recruiting or talent acquisition. Really like what Key is doing focusing on the State of Georgia, but need to see us crack the top 25, then work our way up to top 10. Athletic freaks are the differences, and we need more than Clemson/Florida State/Miami in the top 25.

 

[Root4GT]

Well I care, so you are incorrect. And besides, for the umpteenth time, even though (and as I've acknowledged) most don't care, the point is that they should. That point has been made repeatedly, and you've repeatedly and obtusely ignored it. If you want to argue that point, fine - argue it. If you don't, we don't have any disagreement at all. Do you understand?

Glad you and 5 others care. The 30 million other college football fans don't care. Do you care about the perceptions of Indiana, Oregon State, Arizona State or the other middling teams in other conferences or only about the SEC because the National Narrative is the SEC is a better football conference? Keep banging that drum. Only a few hard core on this board are on your train to nowhere. Now when the ACC starts winning National Titles in batches and has other teams playing for the Title then the other 30 million (that's a wild as guess by the way ) will begin to care!

On Dman's post above listing the conference teams how many of those head to head games do you think the ACC team would be favored in? 2-4 seems about right. The SEC team would be favored in the 7-9 range. Until the ACC wins the games that matter (GT vs UGA does not matter as we don't win enough to even be a blip) the perception will stay as it is that the SEC is better than the ACC in football and it's not close in the National perception. Perception is reality.

As long as you guys keep trying to convince the Board the ACC is not inferior to the SEC in football you will get pushback.

 

[yeti92]

I would love to see a final rankings that isn't broken out into divisions for the SEC. If you could send me a link I'll update my post. Let me copy and paste the earlier comment you didn't reply to:

Let's stack them per fandual odds to win their conference as of today March 13th, 2024. SEC vs ACC top to bottom in order. Visualize this with me.

ACC	SEC
Clemson	Georgia
Florida State	Texas
Miami	Ole Miss
Louisville	Alabama
NC State	LSU
SMU	Tennessee
Virginia Tech	Missouri
North Carolina	Texas A&M
Syracuse	Oklahoma
California	Auburn
Georgia Tech	Kentucky
Duke	South Carolina
Pitt	Florida
Virginia	Arkansas
Boston College	Mississippi State
Wake Forest	Vandy

I'm a lifelong Georgia Tech fan, but you're out your mind if you think there isn't a gap between the ACC and SEC. I've been following recruiting for a decade, the reason the ACC has fell back is there is a clear and widening talent gap over the past decade. Here's a not so hot take that's going to ruffle some feathers. If Tennessee or Missouri is in the ACC, they're in contention, key word, contention to win the ACC. I could make that case further down the SEC, than I could transplanting an ACC team into the SEC. Let's say Clemson/Florida State enter to SEC tomorrow. Where would they end up in this ranking? I'm asking you @yeti92 where would Tennessee rank in the ACC? What about Missouri? Do the same with Clemson or Florida State in the SEC and where would you rank them? How about this thought exercise, let's say you're A&M with Miami level talent, but with a more competent head coach. Where would they rank in the ACC? Would Louisville crack the top 10 of the SEC if they joined today?
Now solutions, recruiting or talent acquisition. Really like what Key is doing focusing on the State of Georgia, but need to see us crack the top 25, then work our way up to top 10. Athletic freaks are the differences, and we need more than Clemson/Florida State/Miami in the top 25.

It's pretty easy to determine the top 5 rankings in the SEC from last season, and I've posted it before:

Alabama - Beat uga, LSU, and Ole Miss, no losses in conference
uga - Beat ole miss and mizzou, lost to Bama
ole miss - Lost to bama and uga, beat LSU and Mizzou
LSU - Lost to Bama and Ole Miss (and FSU), beat Mizzou
Mizzou - Lost to ole miss and LSU, beat none of the top 5

your fandual odds post is about next season, does not include all ACC teams, and is ultimately not relevant to what I am discussing. I could easily see the ACC winning half or more of the matchups you listed though.

If you have been following recruiting for a decade, I've got news for you: you are pretty new to recruiting compared to a lot of people here, myself included.

UT and Mizzou would be in contention about as much as Tech or Louisville or NC State or VT was this year. They would not be favorites to win the conference, that would still be FSU and Clemson.

Your thought exercise on A&M is a hilarious waste of time. "What if this team was a totally different team with a different coach, how good would they be?" Who cares, it is fiction.

Louisville would be in the top 10 in the SEC last season and yes very likely next season, they definitively better than the bottom 6 teams in the SEC this season, and the next 4 are arguable. But again, nobody is talking about the SEC in its configuration next year except you.

 

[Dman374]

It's pretty easy to determine the top 5 rankings in the SEC from last season, and I've posted it before:

Alabama - Beat uga, LSU, and Ole Miss, no losses in conference
uga - Beat ole miss and mizzou, lost to Bama
ole miss - Lost to bama and uga, beat LSU and Mizzou
LSU - Lost to Bama and Ole Miss (and FSU), beat Mizzou
Mizzou - Lost to ole miss and LSU, beat none of the top 5

your fandual odds post is about next season, does not include all ACC teams, and is ultimately not relevant to what I am discussing. I could easily see the ACC winning half or more of the matchups you listed though.

If you have been following recruiting for a decade, I've got news for you: you are pretty new to recruiting compared to a lot of people here, myself included.

UT and Mizzou would be in contention about as much as Tech or Louisville or NC State or VT was this year. They would not be favorites to win the conference, that would still be FSU and Clemson.

Your thought exercise on A&M is a hilarious waste of time. "What if this team was a totally different team with a different coach, how good would they be?" Who cares, it is fiction.

Louisville would be in the top 10 in the SEC last season and yes very likely next season, they definitively better than the bottom 6 teams in the SEC this season, and the next 4 are arguable. But again, nobody is talking about the SEC in its configuration next year except you.

Be specific. I’m curious, give me a W-L head to head for each row matchup listed.