Both Ohio State and Georgia would be favored over

[bevosu]

Anytime Ohio State gets excluded from anything meaningful I'm a happy Orangeman.

 

[shu 49]

That's your opinion, fine. But, that doesn't change the argument that both Ohio State and Georgia would be favored over ND. If truly the "best" teams were in the playoff, than no one outside of those selected should be favored to win, especially on a neutral field.

Ohio st lost big big big to Purdue. That really hurts them. If it was close ok. Both Nd and o st beat Michigan. So why is state better than ND. Don’t get me wrong I hate all em. I just don’t see ur thought process. Not saying ur right or wrong. U may be dead on.

 

[rrlbees]

Georgia was in the playoff - just beat Alabama and you're in. You don't get to say you're a top 4 team when you lose 2 games, especially when you have 2, 1-loss conference champions breathing down your neck. If they had beaten LSU or 'Bama, sure. Lost both. They can sit out now

That’s why I’m against these conference championship games having any bearing on the playoff selection. Georgia got penalized for having to play against the best team in the country while Oklahoma was rewarded for playing a top 20 team. Heck, ND never has to play one of these extra games. Pick the playoff teams before these conference championship games.

 

[cuse10]

Notre Dame and Oklahoma aren't one of the four best teams. Outside of Michigan and Syracuse, they have played a terrible schedule. Notre Dame gets to sit back and watch everyone duke it out and put their records on the line. It isn't fair to everyone else who has to play a 13th game. What if Alabama lost and somehow fell out of the top four because everyone else won?

Oklahoma's reasoning for getting in was that their defense got better towards the end of the season. This is the same defense that gave up 700 yards to WVU. Their best wins are West Virginia, Army and Texas.

Unfortunately for Georgia, Kirby Smart and Jake Fromm's poor second half cost them a seat at the table.

 

[blust2i3d4]

Notre Dame would stomp Oklahoma.

Notre Dame will kill both Oklahoma and Ohio State. But Notre Dame/Georgia outcome is unpredictable. Probably win 5 games each if they play 10 times. Oklahoma is lucky to be in CFP. But they are conference champion so they are given benefit a bit.

 

[UnknownOrange]

That’s why I’m against these conference championship games having any bearing on the playoff selection. Georgia got penalized for having to play against the best team in the country while Oklahoma was rewarded for playing a top 20 team. Heck, ND never has to play one of these extra games. Pick the playoff teams before these conference championship games.

Fair - but LSU beat Georgia by 20.

Don't lose twice. Oklahoma lost to Texas, and then beat them by 12.

 

[bpo57]

That's true, but one week before that Michigan win, a coachless, hapless, Maryland team missed an open receiver on a 2 point conversion that wins the game.

They weren't competitive in their loss, to a 6-6 team.

Ohio State fans should be thrilled with the Rose Bowl.

And put a 51 spot on the board and ran for 9,856 yards.

 

[bpo57]

Who cares, fact is they are 11-1. And, there's hardly any doubt at all that they would be favored on a NEUTRAL field to beat ND and OU. As would Georgia.

The Westgate put out a lookahead line with Georgia favored by six over OU and 6.5 over OSU. This implies a pickem between OU and OSU.

 

[bpo57]

Other than ND, I agree with you. ND immensely struggled with Ball State at South Bend early in the season, Ball frigging State. They had to pull off a last few minute score to beat Pitt, at ND, and was a one possession score late in the 4Q against NW. But hey, that's why the call them opinions.

Neither Ian Book nor Dexter Williams played in that game. Their two best offensive players.

 

[Eric15]

So how do you determine four best teams? Ohio State outside of the Michigan game looked like crap all year. Georgia beat no one and played a 1aa team. Should you punish a team for that? Oh and both got blown out in their losers.

Georgia beat five Sagarin Top 30 teams, the second highest total in the country after Bama who beat six.

That said, I think Georgia is a great team, but I don’t feel sorry for them. They lost the benefit of the doubt when LSU handled them earlier in the year.

 

[bpo57]

That’s why I’m against these conference championship games having any bearing on the playoff selection. Georgia got penalized for having to play against the best team in the country while Oklahoma was rewarded for playing a top 20 team. Heck, ND never has to play one of these extra games. Pick the playoff teams before these conference championship games.

Or better yet cancel the conference championship games and go to an eight game format. Nobody gives a sheet about most of these conf championship games. Crowds have been subpar and the juice is lacking. We have enough data points without having to go to a conference championship game.

 

[bpo57]

Georgia beat five Sagarin Top 30 teams, the second highest total in the country after Bama who beat six.

That said, I think Georgia is a great team, but I don’t feel sorry for them. They lost the benefit of the doubt when LSU handled them earlier in the year.

That sums it up. I don't think anybody doubts they're one of the four best teams but they had their chance.

 

[dasher]

I'm really not a gambler, so I can't discuss all the technicalities, etc. with knowledge in regards to Vegas. But, I think it's fair to say that the general perception to the overall census is that the team generally favored in a game is because they are thought to be better. Simply speaking of course.

The betting line has zero to do with who that oddsmaker thinks would win. Miami played Penn st for the tile a few years back. Miami was favored by 7. the guy that set that line said that Penn st should be favored but in order to get equal amounts on both sides, what Vegas wants, they had to set the line with who the public thought should be favored.

 

[Horn88]

The Clemson-Notre Dame line is high IMO.
I don’t think Clemson will blow them out but will win a one possession score game.
-11 is high. While I think the Clemson D will shut down the ND running game. The Clemson secondary isn’t as good as it has been in the past. Book can pass. Clemson 31 ND 28

Alabama outscores Oklahoma.
Bama 56 Oklahoma 38

11 seems high to me too. Clemson has been in games down to the last possession/minute against both ranked teams they played this year. Lawrence hasn't really been tested yet in "pressure snaps" so not sure how he'll respond. Also ND has a month to try to confuse him. Book can keep it competitive and move the ball on the suspect Clemson pass defense.

Bama covers if Tua is close to 100%. People remember what they last saw and they saw Tua on one leg and Bama play about as bad as they can play. Still managed to beat a top 5 team on a neutral field. All year the offenses were about even with Bama playing much better defenses and Bama's defense is leaps and bounds better than OU. Murray and Riley will keep it interesting in the first half though.

 

[PeteCalvin]

If Cuse hadn’t played its worst game in three seasons down in the Bronx, perhaps we could have spoiled ND’s playoff. Who knows?

The football gods weren’t with the Orange that day. We had our chance to send the Irish elsewhere.

 

[TerryD]

Oklahoma and Notre Dame. In my opinion, the committee failed in putting their money where there mouth is, as they had stated it was the principal objective placing the 4 best teams in the playoff. Maybe I'm just too dunce, but I've spent my entire life with the understanding that the team favored to win, is generally because it's the better team, especially when all things are considered equal, i.e. neutral field.

So, for all those that feel it's a "joke" Dino didn't get ACC coach of the year (which imo he clearly should've received) and that the voting committee lacked consistency, etc., I guess the same premise can be argued relative to this "selected" 4.

The 8 team (or larger) playoff can't get here soon enough.

Ohio State got destroyed by 29 points by a mediocre 6-6 Purdue.

It could not get past that loss no matter how hard it tried.

 

[Eric15]

That sums it up. I don't think anybody doubts they're one of the four best teams but they had their chance.

Obviously this is just my opinion, but my calculus is...

If UGA had beat LSU, they're in over OU and OSU without question.
If UGA had lost to LSU by a couple points or in OT, I strongly consider them over OU and OSU and its a razor thin margin either way.
But they lose to LSU in a game that's never really competitive? Sorry, that's a New Year's Six Bowl resume.

 

[bpo57]

Ohio State got destroyed by 29 points by a mediocre 6-6 Purdue.

It could not get past that loss no matter how hard it tried.

I think giving up 51 to an even more mediocre Maryland squad was worse. And OSU was extremely fortunate to win that game by one point.

 

[Eric15]

Georgia was in the playoff - just beat Alabama and you're in.

Agreed. If you want to win a national title, you have to beat Bama. They had their shot, and their starting QB got knocked out of the game, but they lost to them on a neutral field in the "Elite 8" instead of the Final Four.

 

[HRE Otto IV]

Georgia beat five Sagarin Top 30 teams, the second highest total in the country after Bama who beat six.

That said, I think Georgia is a great team, but I don’t feel sorry for them. They lost the benefit of the doubt when LSU handled them earlier in the year.

That assumes accuracy in Sagarin. No one in their right mind thinks Miami is good but his computer does. The best two teams UGA played they lost, one by blowout. They played garbage OOC. I ain’t giving them a cookie for beating overrated UK and a Florida.

 

[HOFCeluck]

Agreed. If you want to win a national title, you have to beat Bama. They had their shot, but they lost to them on a neutral field in the "Elite 8" instead of the Final Four.

Except Georgia would have to in a likelihood beat Bama twice.

 

[bpo57]

Obviously this is just my opinion, but my calculus is...

If UGA had beat LSU, they're in over OU and OSU without question.
If UGA had lost to LSU by a couple points or in OT, I strongly consider them over OU and OSU and its a razor thin margin either way.
But they lose to LSU in a game that's never really competitive? Sorry, that's a New Year's Six Bowl resume.

That's a fair assessment. The only counter, and it's not enough to carry the day, is that they played a tougher schedule with five top 25 opponents. And when they won they won convincingly while OU and OSU had some very unimpressive wins.

 

[Eric15]

I ain’t giving them a cookie for beating overrated UK and a Florida.

Florida beat LSU (the team that blew out Georgia), beat a very solid Mississippi State team, and beat a handful of other SEC bowl teams.

 

[bpo57]

Florida beat LSU (the team that blew out Georgia), beat a very solid Mississippi State team, and beat a handful of other SEC bowl teams.

It's a concept some here are unwilling to acknowledge but this year the SEC is just much better than the other power conferences so comparisons are not so simple.

 

[Cuse69]

Losing a game means something, you can go through all the what ifs that you want, Notre Dame went undefeated and 9 of the 12 teams they beat are going to a bowl game, they arguable have the best resume, clemsons best win is syracuse by 3 at home, notre beat syracuse by 33 in NYC. By no means does notre dame have some easy schedule, they travel all over the country, they had 1 "cupcake" game most teams have 3, some have 4. OSU has 1 good win against MICH who ND also beat, ND beat SU, Stanford and VT were still both ranked and considered good when ND beat them, Stanford was 8th. OSU lost by 29 to 6-6 purdue, LSU beat georgia by 20 and georgia has not beaten anyone, if the games were decided by what people thought they wouldn't play the games and most of the time people are guessing or wrong. Its time to give ND the respect they deserve, they beat a lot of very good teams while not losing and very clearly deserve to be in the playoff. Remember if these ESPN people were as smart as they think they are they wouldn't be making low 6 figures on ESPN they'd still be playing or coaching making millions