The Ridiculousness of College Football

[Gringo1873]

Amazing point has been made in this thread, which I did not realize until now. Assuming we play KSU in the championship game, there is nothing in it for them at all (bowl wise). Sugar Bowl with win, Sugar Bowl with loss. Amazing. If KSU beats Kansas, their fans can go ahead and book air travel

 

[LSU Game Attendee]

Amazing point has been made in this thread, which I did not realize until now. Assuming we play KSU in the championship game, there is nothing in it for them at all (bowl wise). Sugar Bowl with win, Sugar Bowl with loss. Amazing. If KSU beats Kansas, their fans can go ahead and book air travel

In this scenario, maybe the frogs could look forward to some SEC-style “strategic officiating” for the good of the conference!

 

[TopFrog]

Conference champions should mean something. A playoff should be the P5 conference champs and three highest-ranked at-large teams based on measureables (SOS, SOR, ranked wins, etc.). Quit ranking teams based on how good they were three years ago. Base it on the current year.

 

[NewFrogFan]

This year's Alabama is a good example of why I like the 4-team format and how exclusive it is. If we had a 12-team or even 8-team format, Bama would be sitting there just waiting for all this to be sorted out to see where they would play in the playoff, because they would be in. And not only would they be in, they'd have a real legitimate chance to win it all, because they are one of the best teams in the country. They would be favored today against everyone but Georgia and Ohio State, and even in those games underdogs by a very small margin.

But they lose a couple nail biters on the road to Top 10 caliber teams, and they are pretty much blocked from being a playoff team barring some bizarre things going on in the last couple weeks. I love that. That is what makes the college football regular season so great. And having that very slim margin for error in the regular season actually makes it easier for teams like TCU to 1) make the final four or 2) make the championship game.

The brand bias and blatant sales jobs this time of year are disgusting. Losing should have consequences. When the mantra becomes justifying teams that dont play a round robin, dont win their division, dont play for a Conf Ch, to make the playoff, the system is broke. Georgia and Ohio State just struggled against very average teams last weekend. A true playoff will generate FAR more interest as it does in every other sport that does the same. Make the bowls bid every year for the best games and watch the money sky rocket.

 

[froginmn]

Amazing point has been made in this thread, which I did not realize until now. Assuming we play KSU in the championship game, there is nothing in it for them at all (bowl wise). Sugar Bowl with win, Sugar Bowl with loss. Amazing. If KSU beats Kansas, their fans can go ahead and book air travel

Right. But they have to wait until our ISU game.

And according to some, they need to be sure that 13-0 TCU doesn't get left out.

 

[Ron Swanson]

One of the main reasons that CFB is so much better than NFL is the beauty contest aspect of it and the small number of meaningful postseason spots. Every game is huge. How you win is huge. There’s never a game or a quarter you can skip.

Don’t get me wrong, I welcome the day when the Big 12 conference champ gets an auto-bid to the playoffs, but there should always be a beauty contest aspect to the sport. I actually love the idea of an 8 or 12 team playoff where the five big conferences get auto-bids and then the rest are selected by some sort of committee or ranking system. I think that’s the perfect balance. I haven’t decided yet how I feel about byes for the top seeds.

 

[froginmn]

Conference champions should mean something. A playoff should be the P5 conference champs and three highest-ranked at-large teams based on measureables (SOS, SOR, ranked wins, etc.). Quit ranking teams based on how good they were three years ago. Base it on the current year.

Alabama is viewed by many (including Wex) as being likely to beat just about anyone. That's simply based upon previous years' success.

This year they have had multiple close wins (Ole Miss, UT, A&M) and two losses. They aren't what they have been. Very good team? Of course. Would beat anyone? Not this year.

 

[Ron Swanson]

Alabama is viewed by many (including Wex) as being likely to beat just about anyone. That's simply based upon previous years' success.

This year they have had multiple close wins (Ole Miss, UT, A&M) and two losses. They aren't what they have been. Very good team? Of course. Would beat anyone? Not this year.

It’s not based completely on previous years success. The computer power rankings actually have Alabama at #3 behind Georgia and Ohio St.

Now, I’m fairly certain recruiting rankings (team talent composite rankings) factor in to those computer models, but those types of computer models are where Vegas gets their spreads from, so they’re far from worthless. I’m by no means saying that those ratings should determine who gets into a playoff, but I thought I should give some context to the debate.

 

[Wexahu]

Conference champions should mean something. A playoff should be the P5 conference champs and three highest-ranked at-large teams based on measureables (SOS, SOR, ranked wins, etc.). Quit ranking teams based on how good they were three years ago. Base it on the current year.

That’s what they are doing. Tennessee hasn’t been all that good for years and they were #1 in the first poll. LSU has been a train wreck the last two years and is now #5 despite two losses. USC was 4-7 last year and is now #6.

I’m not sure what the complaining is about. We are ranked #4 and no 1-loss teams are ahead of us. We played a lousy OOC and we’ve won our league games by an average of less that 10 points. The two teams ahead of us, one played a terrible OOC (but won those three games by a 166-10 margin) and has won their league games by an average of 19 points, the other played Notre Dame in OOC and has won their league games by an average of 28 points. We can nitpick why scoring margin shouldn't matter much and which league's average teams are better than the other but is our current ranking that much of a disservice? And everyone seems to think we're gonna jump one of the teams ahead of us and get into the top 3 with a win Saturday. Again, is that such a disservice and lack of respect?

And they have to rank teams 5-10 too. It's not like they can have us at 4 and skip 5-7 and then pick up at 8 with LSU and USC. It's like people complain first and then try to justify the complaining somehow from there.

 

[Wexahu]

It’s not based completely on previous years success. The computer power rankings actually have Alabama at #3 behind Georgia and Ohio St.

Now, I’m fairly certain recruiting rankings (team talent composite rankings) factor in to those computer models, but those types of computer models are where Vegas gets their spreads from, so they’re far from worthless. I’m by no means saying that those ratings should determine who gets into a playoff, but I thought I should give some context to the debate.

Agree. Those statistical models are far from worthless, unless people think the Vegas oddsmakers pull stuff out of their ass to set lines. I personally don't.

As for rankings being based on prior years, see Tennessee, LSU and USC and check out how good they've been in recent years.

 

[TopFrog]

That’s what they are doing. Tennessee hasn’t been all that good for years and they were #1 in the first poll. LSU has been a train wreck the last two years and is now #5 despite two losses. USC was 4-7 last year and is now #6.

I’m not sure what the complaining is about. We are ranked #4 and no 1-loss teams are behind us. We played a lousy OOC and we’ve won our league games by an average of less that 10 points. The two teams ahead of us, one played a terrible OOC (but won those three games by a 166-10 margin) and has won their league games by an average of 19 points, the other played Notre Dame in OOC and has won their league games by an average of 28 points. We can nitpick why scoring margin shouldn't matter much and which league's average teams are better than the other but is our current ranking that much of a disservice? And everyone seems to think we're gonna jump one of the teams ahead of us and get into the top 3 with a win Saturday. Again, is that such a disservice and lack of respect?

And they have to rank teams 5-10 too. It's not like they can have us at 4 and skip 5-7 and then pick up at 8 with LSU and USC. It's like people complain first and then try to justify the complaining somehow from there.

No it is really not. It is a four-team invitational.

 

[DeuceBoogieNights]

It’s not based completely on previous years success. The computer power rankings actually have Alabama at #3 behind Georgia and Ohio St.

Now, I’m fairly certain recruiting rankings (team talent composite rankings) factor in to those computer models, but those types of computer models are where Vegas gets their spreads from, so they’re far from worthless. I’m by no means saying that those ratings should determine who gets into a playoff, but I thought I should give some context to the debate.

I totally get it but computers and advanced analytics don't always see/tell the full story. Those same metrics had us 7 point dogs to Texas. Oklahoma was a what 5 or point favorite against us?

I think Alabama is good. I think they are also very beatable this season. Which is the point. The computers can't watch games.

 

[PurplFrawg]

but it’d be a damn shame if we end up in the Cotton Bowl against Tulane.

LOL. I was just thinking about how this would have sounded to us in the 1980s and 90s.

 

[Wexahu]

I totally get it but computers and advanced analytics don't always see/tell the full story. Those same metrics had us 7 point dogs to Texas. Oklahoma was a what 5 or point favorite against us?

I think Alabama is good. I think they are also very beatable this season. Which is the point. The computers can't watch games.

I guess not but advanced analytics do about as good a job of objectively analyzing a team's strength as anything else out there. Billions of dollars are on the line every week based on those measurables, they have to be as accurate as possible or else huge businesses are going to lose a hell of a lot of money. They tend to not like doing that.

And cherry-picking results is not really a good way to dispute that, of course games aren't going to turn out just like they should every week. We beat Baylor by 1 point. So some people are saying we should be #2 or #3 (even #1) and we are just one point better than Baylor? Of course not, that's stupid. That's about as relevant as the Texas and Oklahoma results relative to the spreads. The CFP committee is obviously not going straight by advanced analytics (nor should they IMO) because we are #4 and Texas is #24, but those advanced analytics say Texas would be favored by 2 points in the Big 12 CCG against us. And they probably would be.

 

[Eight]

It’s crazy, I am reading some comments from ISU fans/alumns who have already said the season is done for ISU and wouldn’t mind losing to TCU so at least a big 12 team can be represented in the CFP

It’s actually pretty monumental for a big 12 team to get in that’s not OU… since they are leaving the conference anyways and who know what else is in store in terms of conference realignment

If we get into the playoffs, can kstate still make a ny6 bowl?

someone make sure campbell and his team know the season is over before saturday

 

[Fiscuits]

This is my point. There are no “rules”…the system is corrupted. We lose to KState in the Big 12 Title Game - we’ll still have a better overall record and ranking….zero shot at a National Title and end up in a far lower bowl than the Sugar.

What other sport does this???!!!!

 

[froginmn]

Agree. Those statistical models are far from worthless, unless people think the Vegas oddsmakers pull stuff out of their ass to set lines. I personally don't.

As for rankings being based on prior years, see Tennessee, LSU and USC and check out how good they've been in recent years.

LSU won the title a couple years ago.

And lost at home to FSU, but with two losses they're #5 ahead of Clemson and USC. Their big wins are a home one pointer over Bama and a home win over freefalling Ole Miss. BTW Ole Miss was thought to be great based on winning early against Vandy, Kentucky, and Auburn plus Troy, Central Ark, Georgia Tech, and Tulsa.

LSU has played a grand total of three games on the road - 5-6 Auburn (4 point win), 6-5 Florida (10 point win) and 6-5 Arky (3 point win).

What part of that makes you think they have an impressive resume?

 

[Wexahu]

LSU won the title a couple years ago.

And lost at home to FSU, but with two losses they're #5 ahead of Clemson and USC. Their big wins are a home one pointer over Bama and a home win over freefalling Ole Miss. BTW Ole Miss was thought to be great based on winning early against Vandy, Kentucky, and Auburn plus Troy, Central Ark, Georgia Tech, and Tulsa.

LSU has played a grand total of three games on the road - 5-6 Auburn (4 point win), 6-5 Florida (10 point win) and 6-5 Arky (3 point win).

What part of that makes you think they have an impressive resume?

Who should be ahead of them? I mean, if you want to say USC I’d buy that, no argument really. But who else? Alabama? Clemson? Oregon? Tennessee? Kansas State? Let’s examine those resumes and see if there aren’t some flaws.

 

[froginmn]

Who should be ahead of them? I mean, if you want to say USC I’d buy that, no argument really. But who else? Alabama? Clemson? Oregon? Tennessee? Kansas State? Let’s examine those resumes and see if there aren’t some flaws.

Definitely USC and probably Clemson, given that they have a common opponent to compare against.

 

[Endless Purple]

The slave labor has been (up until NIL) on the backs of 18-22 year old kids who created a multi billion dollar a year enterprise while not benefitting one cent from it.

Comparing football players to slave labor is reprehensible.

Football players are not grabbed and forced into the game and denied the ability to leave when they choose. They are not whipped until potential death.

Sick of people comparing football players to slaves. Not even close and should be suspension worthy.

Most every industry out there has low income people at the base and executives making much more. When people complaing about service station workers not getting 100,000 a year because the Shell and Exxon execs are getting rich, then we have a discussion starting.