Conference Realignment

stinger78

Helluva Engineer
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2,047
But this is just arguing a point that’s conjecture, eg system is biased towards SEC, or not substantiated, eg FSU is one of the four best .. because, why, record?

And don’t get me wrong .. I think selection by Committee is a ridiculous concept and made my case (with others) that the BCS system with a composite of several polls and computer rankings had a balancing effect. Instead there is a closed-door collaborative of a relatively few persons. Which I know is what you’re alluding to re the measuring stick.

I also acknowledge that given a NFL-style model that FSU would have been guaranteed an entry.

But until it’s demonstrated that FSU was really one of the four best teams — without simply pointing to its record and with accounting for the makeup of the team sans its most impactful player — I don’t get the continued beat that they were robbed. They were not — they simply did not measure up in a unique season that included other very qualified teams. I actually believe that uGA was more robbed than FSU 🤷‍♂️
Baloney. You don’t know this.
 

Northeast Stinger

Helluva Engineer
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9,748
So, in recap….

Playoff Committee was determined that an SEC team had to get in the playoffs, the only question was which criteria to use based on who won the SEC Championship.

Corn bread should be savory not sweet, but some slight sweetness is tolerable in some recipes that include jalapeños and / or creamed corn.

FSU was robbed but they are losing the sympathy vote.

The SEC was down this year but the usual ESPN spin helped cover for that. Side note, ESPN is already hinting at Michigan’s “tainted championship” in their sports commentary.

Collards and black eyed peas are good several days in a row.

The ACC will be screwed next year in the playoffs unless it can produce 3 undefeated conference champions to guarantee that at least one gets in.

You are all a great bunch and deserve a terrific 2024.
 

Root4GT

Helluva Engineer
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2,477
That’s an inconsistent way of selecting four tournament (playoff) teams.
If you’re going to pick based on what they’ve accomplished during the season, do that.
If you’re going to pick the best four, do that.
If you’re going to pick conference champions, do that.
What you just described flip flops between accomplishments, an individual tiebreaker, and best four, back and forth, in no particular order. You can game that to pick the teams you want, and the committee has been doing that.
Again, all the professional leagues set out clear criteria that only requires someone to flip a coin when all else fails.
If you have a committee meeting to choose playoff teams, you’ve screwed up. You built an unfair and corrupt system.
The system worked well this year. You can argue all day long that FSU without QB1 was equal to the 4 who played Monday. Their performance without QB1 didn’t show they were equal to the other 4. Take Pennix off UW they get rolled by Texas.

QB1 matters more than any other position.
 

Root4GT

Helluva Engineer
Messages
2,477
So, in recap….

Playoff Committee was determined that an SEC team had to get in the playoffs, the only question was which criteria to use based on who won the SEC Championship.

Corn bread should be savory not sweet, but some slight sweetness is tolerable in some recipes that include jalapeños and / or creamed corn.

FSU was robbed but they are losing the sympathy vote.

The SEC was down this year but the usual ESPN spin helped cover for that. Side note, ESPN is already hinting at Michigan’s “tainted championship” in their sports commentary.

Collards and black eyed peas are good several days in a row.

The ACC will be screwed next year in the playoffs unless it can produce 3 undefeated conference champions to guarantee that at least one gets in.

You are all a great bunch and deserve a terrific 2024.
You forgot, lots on this board have SEC PTSD
 

WreckinGT

Helluva Engineer
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3,003
The system worked well this year. You can argue all day long that FSU without QB1 was equal to the 4 who played Monday. Their performance without QB1 didn’t show they were equal to the other 4. Take Pennix off UW they get rolled by Texas.

QB1 matters more than any other position.
So you think if UGA beats Alabama in the SEC championship but Carson Beck gets injured that UGA would have been left out of the playoffs?
 

Randy Carson

Helluva Engineer
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1,248
Location
Apex, NC
So, in a college-football landscape driven by ESPN and Fox, old rivalries are less important than television audiences and ratings.

If you are ESPN, you are all-in on the SEC, right? Does an ACC merger with the SEC make any sense? Does that position ESPN well against Fox?

Or would you rather have the SEC merge with the Big12 knowing the B1G might merge with the ACC?

Just looking at a map of markets and big cities, etc., my untrained eye says that the SEC/ACC combination would have stronger audience shares than SEC/Big 12. And I wouldn't want the Fox to add those markets to its B1G audience.

"In 2011, then-LSU Chancellor Michael Martin made a prediction for the future of college football. “I think we could ultimately end up with two conferences: one called ESPN and one called FOX.”

Twelve years later, the dueling networks have purchased all the best inventory and bankrolled the seismic shifts in realignment. "
 
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Oldgoldandwhite

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5,635
Yeah probably so! And yet they took out uGA’s win streak and had Michigan on the ropes bigly last night! I suppose next year’s 12-team format (and your Pageant analogy is spot on for that!) will mitigate the uproar this year .. but the FSU affair is exhausting lol
Georgy was not as good this year either. Which four teams would have got left out if their QB got hurt? Hint: none.
 

Northeast Stinger

Helluva Engineer
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9,748
You know what ultimately saved the playoff committee?

Michigan trying several times to give the game away, thus keeping the Alabama game close.

Washington trying several times to give the game away, thus keeping the Texas game close.

If either Michigan or Washington wins by 3 scores, which they were capable of without the mistakes, it would have been abundantly clear that FSU would have fared much better than either Texas or Alabama.

Committee got very lucky after bungling the selection process.
 

stinger78

Helluva Engineer
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2,047
So you think if UGA beats Alabama in the SEC championship but Carson Beck gets injured that UGA would have been left out of the playoffs?
Or that Cardale Jones and Tua Tagovailoa weren’t back-up QB’s. The “Committee” cannot make that determination. That determination can only be made as the games are played.
 

stinger78

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2,047
You know what ultimately saved the playoff committee?

Michigan trying several times to give the game away, thus keeping the Alabama game close.

Washington trying several times to give the game away, thus keeping the Texas game close.

If either Michigan or Washington wins by 3 scores, which they were capable of without the mistakes, it would have been abundantly clear that FSU would have fared much better than either Texas or Alabama.

Committee got very lucky after bungling the selection process.
I don’t think it was lucky at all. I think this year any of UW, UoM, F$U, UGA, Bama, Texas, Oregon, and probably Oklahoma could have played competitive games with each other. They just jimmied the process to derive which four would play and left out an undefeated team from a P5 conference. It was unprecedented while inviting an SECheat school. Further, we all knew it was going to happen.
 

TechPhi97

Ramblin' Wreck
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561
Location
Davidson, NC
The system worked well this year. You can argue all day long that FSU without QB1 was equal to the 4 who played Monday. Their performance without QB1 didn’t show they were equal to the other 4. Take Pennix off UW they get rolled by Texas.

QB1 matters more than any other position.
They beat Florida with their backup, the same team that Missouri had to beat with a walk-off FG. Playing a 3rd stringer (true freshman, no less) in the ACC Championship game wasn’t even the QB that would play in the bowl game.
 

Richard7125

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
403
Exactly. And this is why the 4-team "playoff" has been a travesty from the beginning.

Almost 20 years ago, I agreed with Dan Wetzel's calls for a 16-team playoff that included all the conference champions - yes, even the so-called "lesser" conferences - and a number of at-large teams. AS he put it,


That was 2009. And what did we get? A compromise, that watered down the whole concept in the interest of the bowl money.

And in so-doing, may have killed what made college football great.

With a playoff with all the conference winners (and a number of at-larges) represented, it would be nearly impossible to argue that the winner wasn't the true champion, because the results would be laid out on the field. You want to win the natty? Win your conference in the regular season.

You could choose the at-large teams by committee, or by computer, or by straw poll of coaches and/or journalists. There would always be someone who was "left out," sure...but with a field that size, there would be a strong argument that they simply didn't do enough on the field to get in.

Now, next year we move to a 12-team playoff, and I'm thankful for that. But of course there's an asterisk - we've added byes for the teams who are deemed the "best." Yet again, we're putting a group of people in a room and letting them decide which 4 don't have to prove something in a game. The system will be better, sure - but we're still giving advantage based on the same human biases that got us to this point today.

For a game that supposedly is about players fighting it out on the gridiron, we sure do bend over backwards to avoid settling things on the field.
Byes seem to be an acceptable practice in the NFL. I also think a #1 vs #16 (crappy G5 conference winner) would be similar to a scrimmage; not a bye, but not a compelling matchup either. I think the 12 team playoff is really good in that respect because i think a #5 vs #12 would actually be a good game.
 

billga99

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
654
ACC-SEC Merger?

:oops:


That might just work...
But listening, why would yhe ACC schools getting 30 to 40 pct agree with this? That would keep their revenue at the current level for several more years. Now if they upped the ante to 60 to 70 pct it might be sellable. ESPN might consider since that would bring in NC, VA, DC, Boston, Piitsburgh and tangenially NY marketplaces. Not sure if they would care about SF area but tgey might.
 
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