Conference Realignment

Augusta_Jacket

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RonJohn said:
The biggest problem with that quote to me is the desire for consistency. The media doesn't want consistency on a year-to-year basis. The measurement changes based on what makes the SEC look good the most money for the media. The big problem this year is that the SEC doesn't look good, so there isn't a measurement that helps them. Even Alabama vs. Oregon, their "resumes" are very similar, and at the end of the year will likely be almost identical. They keep changing the measurement to ensure the teams from the SEC are ranked highest. Now that measurements don't show that, this appears to be an attempt at some kind of an abstract understanding of consistency being the reason that Alabama should be the highest ranked 1 loss team. (And then backing up and saying that well maybe SEC incoming team Texas since they actually won head to head with Alabama.)

I myself would just say that I do question McElroy's professionalism, or at least his impartiality.
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Other than the bolded, spot on. The only reason the media seem to care most about the SEC schools is that they have large and rabid fanbases that drive ratings.
 
stinger78

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RonJohn said:
The biggest problem with that quote to me is the desire for consistency. The media doesn't want consistency on a year-to-year basis. The measurement changes based on what makes the SEC look good. The big problem this year is that the SEC doesn't look good, so there isn't a measurement that helps them. Even Alabama vs. Oregon, their "resumes" are very similar, and at the end of the year will likely be almost identical. They keep changing the measurement to ensure the teams from the SEC are ranked highest. Now that measurements don't show that, this appears to be an attempt at some kind of an abstract understanding of consistency being the reason that Alabama should be the highest ranked 1 loss team. (And then backing up and saying that well maybe SEC incoming team Texas since they actually won head to head with Alabama.)

I myself would just say that I do question McElroy's professionalism, or at least his impartiality.
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If Alabama beats UGA in the SEC CG, then their 1-loss resume is better than UTA's. They will get into the dance. Of course, UGA, as reigning super-power will. One of tOSU/UoM will have a loss as well. We could end up with 0-loss teams: Ohio State, FSU and Washington, plus a 1-loss team from UGA, Alabama, Michigan, Oregon, and Texas. How do you sort that out? Like this:

  • Texas beat Alabama in the top 8
  • Alabama beat Georgia in the top 8
  • Georgia beat nobody in the top 8
  • Michigan beat nobody in the top 8
  • Oregon beat nobody in the top 8

The last slot goes to either Texas or Alabama. Texas won that one straight up, so Texas gets the slot.

In this scenario, the teams are: Ohio State (B1G), FSU (ACC), Washington (P12), and Texas (B12). Fair and square.
 
Bogey

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An Alabama win over higher rated UGA in the 13th week is worth more than a Texas win over Alabama in week 2 in my book. Alabama gets the slot. ;-)
 
orientalnc

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The most likely outcome of the next three weeks is undeated uga, FSU, Washington and the winner of the Michigan-tOSU game are in the playoffs. The only time for a hard decision is if one or more of these loses a game. That's where the eye ball test and controversy ensues.

Possible scenarios:

One loss Alabama defeats uga in SEC CG and other three remain undefeated.
Michigan/tOSU winner loses B1G CG and other three remain undefeated.
Washington loses PACn CG and other three remain undefeated.
FSU loses ACC CG and other three remain undefeated.
uga or Bama lose a game in regular season.
3-way tie in B1G results in someone other than Michigan/tOSU winner being champ.
Someone other than uga or Bama win SEC CG.
A lot of possibilities exist if more than one of the top four lose in or before their CG.

I think all of us are cheering for two things at this point:
Someone, preferrably us, beats uga and keeps them at home during the playoffs.
The ACC has a team in the playoffs.
 

MWBATL

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LT 1967 said:
I believe Coach Key's comments on the ACC Huddle after the game is revealing. His comments were very positive concerning the ACC as being the most competitive conference.
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Clearly incorrect. Based on scoreboard, the MAC is the best conference this year. At least, from GT's perspective....
 

Oldgoldandwhite

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Papa Foxtrot said:
This tweet is from the king of lazy takes, but I can't argue with it. With carriage fees tanking, ESPN desperately needs the rating $$$...
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It would be a hard sell to the public if they leave out possible undefeated conference champs and pick an also ran. But nothing would shock me.
 
stinger78

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Oldgoldandwhite said:
It would be a hard sell to the public if they leave out possible undefeated conference champs and pick an also ran. But nothing would shock me.
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If they leave out any undefeated P5 conference champs in favor of defeated SEC/B1G conference non-champs, that will be the downfall of the CFP for this season. Many will simply turn it off - essentially most of the folks west of the Mississippi River and east of the Appalachians will be playing pickle ball or otherwise entertaining themselves.
 

Root4GT

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RonJohn said:
Then don't pretend that rankings and CFP is actually about football. Just have fans register for an ESPN+ account and vote for who gets into the CFP.

If you watch any of the ESPN roundtable shows (which I stopped watching a long time ago), they don't simply say that the SEC is more popular than other conferences. They make statements about how grueling it is to play an SEC schedule. They talk about how teams have SEC speed that other teams can't compete with.

In your example, should Alabama get credit for playing such a "tough" schedule against such opponents as a 6-3 LSU team and a 5-4 A&M team? Apparently, the only two tough games they played this year they are 1-1, so they are not a very good team and don't deserve to be ranked in the top 10 from a football perspective. The biggest issue I have is that the same "facts" will be used by pundits to praise the SEC and denigrate other conferences. Media people will discuss how tough Alabama's schedule is since they have played teams like 6-3 LSU and 5-4 A&M, while at the same time disregarding the 4-2 conference head to head because the ACC "only" played 6-3 LSU and 5-4 A&M.

I think you are actually making the same point that other people are making. Media companies and personalities DO NOT discuss football and DO NOT rank teams and conferences based on football. It is all a popularity and push for ratings game. Since, according you your statements, Alabama has played a weak schedule so far, don't try to convince me that they are a top 10 team based on football record. Just admit that football doesn't matter and you want to get fans engaged as much as possible, for or against whatever teams the media hype companies want to create controversy about.
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Interesting you stopped watching the shows a long time ago yet feel qualified to comment on what the shows you don't actually watch! Very interesting!
 
roadkill

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There is evidence that the committee is actually looking at resumes and possibly some advanced stats – thus uga got bumped down a slot despite still being #1 in the AP and coach’s polls. If this is the case, I can’t see a scenario where an undefeated FSU gets left out.
 
RonJohn

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Root4GT said:
Interesting you stopped watching the shows a long time ago yet feel qualified to comment on what the shows you don't actually watch! Very interesting!
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I see clips. I have tuned into games in the last few years that came on immediately after Gameday. They spent a lot of time ogling over Katy Perry. They spent a lot of time talking to a country music star that i had no idea who he was.

Maybe what I should have said is that the shows on ESPN turned me off as a viewer years ago and I have not returned. I stopped watching because they stopped catering to me. Nothing political, those shows became less and less about sports and more and more about the personalities involved in sports. Maybe the shows have reverted back to what they were in the 90s and 2000s. I do not know for sure what they have now, but the arguing round table shows from a few years ago weren't even about the personalities in sports but about the personalities of the people on the shows.
 

Root4GT

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RonJohn said:
I see clips. I have tuned into games in the last few years that came on immediately after Gameday. They spent a lot of time ogling over Katy Perry. They spent a lot of time talking to a country music star that i had no idea who he was.

Maybe what I should have said is that the shows on ESPN turned me off as a viewer years ago and I have not returned. I stopped watching because they stopped catering to me. Nothing political, those shows became less and less about sports and more and more about the personalities involved in sports. Maybe the shows have reverted back to what they were in the 90s and 2000s. I do not know for sure what they have now, but the arguing round table shows from a few years ago weren't even about the personalities in sports but about the personalities of the people on the shows.
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The ESPN game day is unwatchable now, I agree. The SEC gets love from Fienbaum as that’s his job. This year most sports shows have not given the SEC much love. That’s simply past memories biasing the current reality.
 

CEB

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If it’s about resume, UGA is obviously still getting a big bump from previous years. This year, I’d put the resumes of FSU and Washington above them also. The only undefeated who is getting more “cred” for doing less is Michigan.

As for CFP, the only way a 1-loss Power 5 champ is left out is if all five conf champs have 1 or fewer losses. 2-loss conference champs open the door for a lot of craziness to happen, but not for conference champs with one or fewer losses.
 
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