November Madness

[Fjoinkay]

is perhaps my new favorite time of the year. I tried to stop watching yesterday, but finally I gave up. Amazing stuff all day and night. For the Cuse they battled on offense against a good defense, maybe the best defense they will face all season. Dungey was banged up early once again, and once again he showed tremendous spirit and effort and led the team. The defense continued to be stout on 3rd down. FSU stretched them out early with some runs, and they hit big on a few runs. Other than that the defense played well again. Today its 3 games to win 2, go Cuse!! I think they'll do it if they stay healthy in key areas.

Injuries will be crucial for teams fighting for playoff spots. With this selection committee, who knows, they may end up at the end of this process parsing teams based on injuries and who is more healthy. That would be bad in my opinion. Just look at OSUs championship a few years ago, but this committee is already using injuries as factor in its rankings so you never know.

The B1G East is a slugfest. The B1G may not make the playoffs this season (not clear yet), but it's hard to argue right now that any other P5 conference is more stout top-to-bottom. The B1G West is more competitive than popular perception. Overall the B1G has 5 really good teams and 2 teams with 3 loses that are solid and no teams that are really bad.

The Big 12 is always defensive off the field but not so much on the field. This conference is improved over 2 years ago, and 3, 4, and 5 years ago just like the ACC and the Pac12 and the B1G. It's just soft in the middle and right now really bad at the bottom although I think Baylor is building and will be good again soon. They have 3 really good teams at the top (only 1 plays defense), and 2 good teams with 3 losses.

The ACC is as strong as the Big 12 with 3 really good teams and 2 good teams with 3 losses. These teams all play defense. Clemson has a shot at repeating if they can stay healthy at key positions. They also have to beat the Gamecocks in Columbia. Miami deserves credit for being undefeated, and so far they have a clear shot to make the playoffs. The ACC is pretty solid top-to-bottom.

The Pac12 remains on the outside looking in when it comes fielding a team in the playoffs, but the Pac12 has 3 really good teams and 2 good teams with 3 losses. This conference is deep and could field 11 bowl teams this season. If Washington wins out they could make the playoffs. This is a very real possibility gong forward in my opinion, but it will not be easy for them to win out.

The SEC has 4 really good teams and 2 teams with 3 losses. The SEC is always strong, but no longer dominant like it was recently for 5 or so years. Georgia has 2 or 3 difficult games to play and Alabama needs to stay healthy, but both teams could make the playoffs. I'm in the camp that says Bama should be #1 right now.

When college football shifted to the P5 format and the playoffs system I began saying it would level the playing field among the P5 conferences. No one agreed with me and may SEC fans attacked me, but I think that has played out. The SEC is no longer dominant and the the other 4 conferences are better top-to-bottom. This is the new normal it seems with variations each season as each conference will have some goods seasons and other seasons not so much. I prefer this system because as we saw just yesterday the quality of the product is much better leading to many more enjoyable games to watch!

 

[nzm136]

I think that the SEC stopped investing in football like they did in the prior decade.

That's the real difference, not a playoff format.

Look at B1G coaching hires. Look at ACC hires. Then, look at SEC hires.

And the perception of SEC invincibility was shattered by FSU in the last year of the BCS.

 

[Fjoinkay]

I think that the SEC stopped investing in football like they did in the prior decade.

That's the real difference, not a playoff format.

Look at B1G coaching hires. Look at ACC hires. Then, look at SEC hires.

And the perception of SEC invincibility was shattered by FSU in the last year of the BCS.

And I think Ohio State beating Alabama in the first playoff championship game at the end of the '14 season was not only a shocker, but it was also a clear indication that change was happening. OSU hiring Urban Meyer for the 2012 season not only changed OSU football, but it impacted the entire B1G and the coaching changes that followed. That hire made the B1G better across the board.

And then the money that the P5 structure began funneling to P5 schools, and the recruiting advantages that all P5 schools have over non-P5 schools (except maybe Notre Dame) meant that it was only a matter of time until each P5 conference became more solid top-to-bottom. That to me meant that the SEC would no longer be dominant, and I think that has played out.