SWC75
Bored Historian
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Again this year I’ll be keeping track of those teams in contention for the very real four team College Football Playoff as well as those for my fictional creations, the Pesci Bowl, (named after short but feisty actor Joe Pesci), and the dreaded Ty-D Bowl, named after the toilet bowl cleaning product.
The playoff is four the best four power conference-level teams in the country, (Notre Dame counts as aa power conference team). The Pesci Bowl is for the two best non-power conference teams. The Ty-D Bowl is for the two worst FBS teams in the country. The idea is to track the contenders through their coming schedules, which will tell us what games to look out for. I’ll start with the teams with perfect records: undefeated power conference and non-power conference teams and winless FBS teams. When there are fewer than 3 undefeated power teams or 2 non-power teams or 2 winless teams, then I’ll include the 1 loss and 1 win teams. But for now, we are looking at perfect records.
THE PLAYOFF
We are left with no undefeated power conference teams and 5 teams with one loss plus 2 two loss power conference champions for a 4 team playoff.
Clemson 12-1 (460-166) ranked #1 by both polls and the committee
Comments: How did we ever beat these guys? They look like they are on their way to a second straight national title and it was close to being 3 straight.
Oklahoma 12-1 (584-325) ranked #2 in both polls and by the committee
Comments: It was deja vu all over again in the revived Big 12 title game, (unlike the SEC version), with the Sooners winning 41-17 instead of 38-20. They look strong but they haven’t played any ACC or SEC teams and their defense can be leaky.
Georgia 12-1 (454-172) ranked #3 in both polls and by the committee
Comment: Georgia got full revenge against Auburn, not only beating the only team to beat them but beating them as badly as they had been beaten, (the first game was 23-40). It gives them a Gene Tunney/Lennox Lewis type of record: not invincible but they beat anybody who had beaten them. It makes them the closest thing to an unbeaten team.
Alabama 11-1 (469-138) ranked #4 by the writers, coaches and by the committee
Comment: The commentators at the Big Ten title game were trying to see that game as a ‘semi-final’ since a 2 loss Ohio State team would be picked over Alabama because tyey were a conference champion. Apparently they didn’t remember 2011 when ‘Bama didn’t win their division but were invited to the then 2 team playoff and won the title. They weren’t going to leave out the team that was ranked #1 virtually all year and has won 4 national championships in 8 years. If you don’t think they belong there, as youself: Who wants to play them?
Ohio State 11-2 (552-259) ranked #5 in the polls and by the committee
Comment: The Buckeyes are the best of the 10-2 teams but, in a four team playoff, that isn’t going to cut it. They had been #8 and that’s a big leap to the top 4. Maybe if they beaten the Badgers 59-0 like they did in 2014 it might have made a difference and the game started out like a blow-out but Wisconsin’s comeback cut that off.
Wisconsin 12-1 (439-171) ranked #6 by both polls and by the committee
Comment: The Badgers had a great run and kept winning when everybody predicted they would lose because they weren’t that good. They gave a good account of themselves against the Buckeyes after giving up three big plays in the first half. But in the end, they came up short and will be watching the playoff on TV.
Southern California 11-2 (449-342 ) ranked #8/#7 by the polls and #8 by the committee, (they have Auburn, now with 3 losses as #7)
Comment: The PAC12 was out of it early as their top teams all got beat earlier than the other conference’s top teams and then got their second losses early as well. The Trojans won their last 5 games but it was too little, too late for the playoff.
The leaving out of the Big Ten and Pac 12 titlists will hopefully push us closer to an 8 team playoff with automatic bids for the power conference champions, which is clearly what is needed here and what should have been done decades ago. Using the committee’s rankings, here is what it would have looked like this year:
Pac 12 champion Southern California 10-2 at ACC champion Clemson 12-1
At large Auburn 10-3 at Big 8 champion Oklahoma 12-1
At large Wisconsin 12-1 at SEC champion Georgia 12-1
Big 10 champion Ohio State 11-2 at At large Alabama 11-1
Every other team has two losses except 12-0 Central Florida, who is ranked #10 in both polls and #12 by the committee. You could hold the quarterfinals at the home field at the higher seeded team in early December and maybe the semi-finals the enxt week, the then championship in one of the major bowls, allowing the teams that lost in the quarters and semis to go to bowls and end their season with wins. Or you could play the quarters in the top four bowls on New Year’s Day, the semis the next week and the final in the week before the Super Bowl. Either would be better than what we have now.
PESCI BOWL
Central Florida 12-0 (593-302) ranked #10/#10 by the polls but #12 by the committee
Comment: They just won two classics over American Conference rivals South Florida 49-42 and Memphis 62-55, to maintain the only perfect record in FBS. A rematch of either would be a wonderfully entertaining game.
Memphis 10-2 (572-401) ranked #19/#18 in the polls but #20 by the committee
12/2 American Conference title game vs. Central Florida 11-0 (531-247) ranked #13/#12 by the polls but #15 by the committee
Comment: If Memphis wins, my fictional Pesci Bowl will be a rematch of these teams. If they lose, I’ll have to choose from the two loss teams below to find someone to challenge UCF.
South Florida 9-2 (421-248) ranked #23/#24 by the polls but unranked by the committee
Comment: Both Central and South Florida are huge schools in major recruiting areas but are stuck in mid-major conferences. Is there a way for them to get into power conferences and have a chance at the big prize?
San Diego State 10-2 (365-221) unranked
Comment: The Aztecs were the king of the mid-majors back in the Don Coryell/ Claude Gilbert era (1960’s and 70’s) and it’s nice to have them back but they didn’t even win their division in the Mountain West.
Toledo 11-2 (509-333) unranked
Comment: Toledo had their own golden era under Frank Lauterbur and John Murphy, (35 wins in a row form 1969=71) and they not only won their division but also the MAC title in convincing fashion over Akron, 45-28, (it was 38-0 at one point).
Troy 10-2 (359-210) unranked
Comment: These Trojans have a win at LSU to their credit. That might be the biggest win any of those teams had.
It would be fun to have a playoff at this level. But instead, I’ve got one game to choose opponents before: the mythical Pesci Bowl. It’s sorely tempting to set up a rematch between Central Florida and either South Florida or Memphis. I think those are the three best mid-majors this eyar. But I’d rather give somebody else a shot at the Knights. Therefore I chose:
PESCI BOWL
Central Florida 12-0 (593-302) vs. Toledo 11-2 (509-333)
Comment: UCF was 12-1 Fiesta Bowl champs in 2013, 0-12 in 2015 and are going for 13-0 in 2017.
TY-D BOWL
Texas- El Paso 0-12 (141-441)
Comment: UTEP, (formerly Texas Western), has had 21 seasons since 1972 in which they won 2 or fewer games. So this is familiar territory for them.
Baylor 1-11 (292-431)
Comment: The one-proud Bears are now 1-11. I may split the Ty-D Bowl into two levels: one for power conference teams and one for mid-majors.
Charlotte 1-11 (170-393)
Comment: Somehow they seemed more impressive as UBC-Charlotte.
Kansas 1-11 (224-521)
Comment: Kansas is so bad you wonder who they beat. The answer is Southeast Missouri, 38-16 in their opener.
Oregon State 1-11 (248-516)
Comment: Oregon is down but they still beat the toothless Beavers, 69-10. Ugh.
Rice 1-11 (195-429)
Comment: Rice’s season opened with a 7-62 loss to Stanford in Australia while their home city, Houston, was being flooded like a hurricane, so I guess you could say their season got better as it moved along.
These teams won’t be playing in any conference title games so I’ll choose the Ty-D Bowl participants now. In fact I’ll choose four of them:
TY-D BOWL (Power Conference Division)
Kansas 1-11 (224-521) vs. Oregon State 1-11 (248-516)
Comment: Baylor has fallen far but not all the way down to these two, (the Bears beat Kansas 38-9).
TY-D BOWL (Powerless Division)
Texas- El Paso 0-12 (141-441) vs. Charlotte 1-11 (170-393)
Comment: Rice already beat UTEP 31-14 for their only victory. Charlotte hasn’t played them yet.
The playoff is four the best four power conference-level teams in the country, (Notre Dame counts as aa power conference team). The Pesci Bowl is for the two best non-power conference teams. The Ty-D Bowl is for the two worst FBS teams in the country. The idea is to track the contenders through their coming schedules, which will tell us what games to look out for. I’ll start with the teams with perfect records: undefeated power conference and non-power conference teams and winless FBS teams. When there are fewer than 3 undefeated power teams or 2 non-power teams or 2 winless teams, then I’ll include the 1 loss and 1 win teams. But for now, we are looking at perfect records.
THE PLAYOFF
We are left with no undefeated power conference teams and 5 teams with one loss plus 2 two loss power conference champions for a 4 team playoff.
Clemson 12-1 (460-166) ranked #1 by both polls and the committee
Comments: How did we ever beat these guys? They look like they are on their way to a second straight national title and it was close to being 3 straight.
Oklahoma 12-1 (584-325) ranked #2 in both polls and by the committee
Comments: It was deja vu all over again in the revived Big 12 title game, (unlike the SEC version), with the Sooners winning 41-17 instead of 38-20. They look strong but they haven’t played any ACC or SEC teams and their defense can be leaky.
Georgia 12-1 (454-172) ranked #3 in both polls and by the committee
Comment: Georgia got full revenge against Auburn, not only beating the only team to beat them but beating them as badly as they had been beaten, (the first game was 23-40). It gives them a Gene Tunney/Lennox Lewis type of record: not invincible but they beat anybody who had beaten them. It makes them the closest thing to an unbeaten team.
Alabama 11-1 (469-138) ranked #4 by the writers, coaches and by the committee
Comment: The commentators at the Big Ten title game were trying to see that game as a ‘semi-final’ since a 2 loss Ohio State team would be picked over Alabama because tyey were a conference champion. Apparently they didn’t remember 2011 when ‘Bama didn’t win their division but were invited to the then 2 team playoff and won the title. They weren’t going to leave out the team that was ranked #1 virtually all year and has won 4 national championships in 8 years. If you don’t think they belong there, as youself: Who wants to play them?
Ohio State 11-2 (552-259) ranked #5 in the polls and by the committee
Comment: The Buckeyes are the best of the 10-2 teams but, in a four team playoff, that isn’t going to cut it. They had been #8 and that’s a big leap to the top 4. Maybe if they beaten the Badgers 59-0 like they did in 2014 it might have made a difference and the game started out like a blow-out but Wisconsin’s comeback cut that off.
Wisconsin 12-1 (439-171) ranked #6 by both polls and by the committee
Comment: The Badgers had a great run and kept winning when everybody predicted they would lose because they weren’t that good. They gave a good account of themselves against the Buckeyes after giving up three big plays in the first half. But in the end, they came up short and will be watching the playoff on TV.
Southern California 11-2 (449-342 ) ranked #8/#7 by the polls and #8 by the committee, (they have Auburn, now with 3 losses as #7)
Comment: The PAC12 was out of it early as their top teams all got beat earlier than the other conference’s top teams and then got their second losses early as well. The Trojans won their last 5 games but it was too little, too late for the playoff.
The leaving out of the Big Ten and Pac 12 titlists will hopefully push us closer to an 8 team playoff with automatic bids for the power conference champions, which is clearly what is needed here and what should have been done decades ago. Using the committee’s rankings, here is what it would have looked like this year:
Pac 12 champion Southern California 10-2 at ACC champion Clemson 12-1
At large Auburn 10-3 at Big 8 champion Oklahoma 12-1
At large Wisconsin 12-1 at SEC champion Georgia 12-1
Big 10 champion Ohio State 11-2 at At large Alabama 11-1
Every other team has two losses except 12-0 Central Florida, who is ranked #10 in both polls and #12 by the committee. You could hold the quarterfinals at the home field at the higher seeded team in early December and maybe the semi-finals the enxt week, the then championship in one of the major bowls, allowing the teams that lost in the quarters and semis to go to bowls and end their season with wins. Or you could play the quarters in the top four bowls on New Year’s Day, the semis the next week and the final in the week before the Super Bowl. Either would be better than what we have now.
PESCI BOWL
Central Florida 12-0 (593-302) ranked #10/#10 by the polls but #12 by the committee
Comment: They just won two classics over American Conference rivals South Florida 49-42 and Memphis 62-55, to maintain the only perfect record in FBS. A rematch of either would be a wonderfully entertaining game.
Memphis 10-2 (572-401) ranked #19/#18 in the polls but #20 by the committee
12/2 American Conference title game vs. Central Florida 11-0 (531-247) ranked #13/#12 by the polls but #15 by the committee
Comment: If Memphis wins, my fictional Pesci Bowl will be a rematch of these teams. If they lose, I’ll have to choose from the two loss teams below to find someone to challenge UCF.
South Florida 9-2 (421-248) ranked #23/#24 by the polls but unranked by the committee
Comment: Both Central and South Florida are huge schools in major recruiting areas but are stuck in mid-major conferences. Is there a way for them to get into power conferences and have a chance at the big prize?
San Diego State 10-2 (365-221) unranked
Comment: The Aztecs were the king of the mid-majors back in the Don Coryell/ Claude Gilbert era (1960’s and 70’s) and it’s nice to have them back but they didn’t even win their division in the Mountain West.
Toledo 11-2 (509-333) unranked
Comment: Toledo had their own golden era under Frank Lauterbur and John Murphy, (35 wins in a row form 1969=71) and they not only won their division but also the MAC title in convincing fashion over Akron, 45-28, (it was 38-0 at one point).
Troy 10-2 (359-210) unranked
Comment: These Trojans have a win at LSU to their credit. That might be the biggest win any of those teams had.
It would be fun to have a playoff at this level. But instead, I’ve got one game to choose opponents before: the mythical Pesci Bowl. It’s sorely tempting to set up a rematch between Central Florida and either South Florida or Memphis. I think those are the three best mid-majors this eyar. But I’d rather give somebody else a shot at the Knights. Therefore I chose:
PESCI BOWL
Central Florida 12-0 (593-302) vs. Toledo 11-2 (509-333)
Comment: UCF was 12-1 Fiesta Bowl champs in 2013, 0-12 in 2015 and are going for 13-0 in 2017.
TY-D BOWL
Texas- El Paso 0-12 (141-441)
Comment: UTEP, (formerly Texas Western), has had 21 seasons since 1972 in which they won 2 or fewer games. So this is familiar territory for them.
Baylor 1-11 (292-431)
Comment: The one-proud Bears are now 1-11. I may split the Ty-D Bowl into two levels: one for power conference teams and one for mid-majors.
Charlotte 1-11 (170-393)
Comment: Somehow they seemed more impressive as UBC-Charlotte.
Kansas 1-11 (224-521)
Comment: Kansas is so bad you wonder who they beat. The answer is Southeast Missouri, 38-16 in their opener.
Oregon State 1-11 (248-516)
Comment: Oregon is down but they still beat the toothless Beavers, 69-10. Ugh.
Rice 1-11 (195-429)
Comment: Rice’s season opened with a 7-62 loss to Stanford in Australia while their home city, Houston, was being flooded like a hurricane, so I guess you could say their season got better as it moved along.
These teams won’t be playing in any conference title games so I’ll choose the Ty-D Bowl participants now. In fact I’ll choose four of them:
TY-D BOWL (Power Conference Division)
Kansas 1-11 (224-521) vs. Oregon State 1-11 (248-516)
Comment: Baylor has fallen far but not all the way down to these two, (the Bears beat Kansas 38-9).
TY-D BOWL (Powerless Division)
Texas- El Paso 0-12 (141-441) vs. Charlotte 1-11 (170-393)
Comment: Rice already beat UTEP 31-14 for their only victory. Charlotte hasn’t played them yet.
