CFB Playoff/New Years Bowls Thread

The other bowl thread was getting longer, so I figured it would be cool to have one for the games starting tonight.

'Bama-Washington @ 3:00
Clemson-tOsu @ 7:00

Here's to hoping the SEC continues an awful postseason. Always remember we 35-0 bro'd Arkansas in the 2nd half.

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Comments

I will absolutely in no way, shape, or form be rooting for Clemson and I do not want them to finish strong.

Agreed. Clemson winning the national title in no way helps us. We need OSU to take care of Clemson and create doubt that they can win it all under Dabo. We need all the momentum we can get as the rising team in the ACC, and them failing to get it done again and losing so many talented players, including Watson, certainly helps our cause going forward.

Yes, I do not understand how Clemson winning a NC is possibly going to help us. They are already taking great players from Virginia and NC that we recruit heavily.

Well, they do represent the ACC.

How does Ohio State or Alabama winning help?

I'm on your side. I'm not rooting passionately for them to win, but it bodes well for the conference!

Fire Whit.

I really don't care about ACC pride, necessarily, but the better Clemson does, the better our on-field performance against them looks. The downside is they recruit the same areas and have been winning recruiting battles against us for years, so the better they do, the harder our arguments against them are.

"Exit light..."

Well the Big Ten has been held up as the best conference in the country this year. If Clemson beats OSU after FSU beat Michigan, it could help conference perception as long as we don't get another Louisville-style egg-laying in any more bowls.

Clemson hasn't won a natty the last 6 years while they were taking recruits we wanted. I think the stronger the ACC looks it helps create an umbrella for us to win those recruits that may have been borderline for us in the past.

So who else thinks Clemson doing well is helping VT now? ESPN having a field day talking about how well Ferrell, from Richmond, VA, is playing. Also how Clemson just develops those pass rushers and recruits so well. Yep, pulling for Clemson definitely is helping VT.

2 quick thoughts.

First thought, who we pull for is irrelevant to how the teams are playing, so lose the tude dude.

Second thought, that was the "old" VT. CJF is going to be out there convincing kids how close we are to being a CFP team.

Not really much to say about current VA recruits choosing Clemson. They are better then us and they have been coached better than our teams for a few years now. But we will change that, but rooting for them to beat the Buckeyes has no bearing on any of it.

There was no attitude whatsoever in my post, so my apologies if you took it that way. I was basically just saying how rooting for a team who is directly beating us head to head for recruits is somehow good because of "conference pride" makes no sense at all to me.

U are correct.

Sorry if I took it wrong, but seemed like there was a bit of snark at the end of your post

Clemson beats us for recruits because hey have coaches that until now have been better than our old regime at developing pros and, uhhh, winning games lately. That's about to change regardless of who wins this particular game.

Agreed, and sorry if you thought I was being snarky. I hope the tide begins to turn. But I just think it sucks having a major in-state recruit we missed on being so lauded on national tv. We need to convince these guys that we can do the same at VT.

Because we haven't lost recruits to Ohio state?

We most certainly have, but FSU and Clemson are literally pillaging VA's top recruits. OSU may reach into the commonwealth now and then for a recruit, but FSU and Clemson ransacking us has to stop.

I think the answer to that is playing better (check), and recruiting better.

I enjoyed seeing Clemson beat Ohio State tonight. Doesn't mean I want either of them to beat VT in recruiting.

Alright, I adjusted it, how about now?

Fire Whit.

Honestly I think it gives coaching staff a good sell if Clemson wins the NC. "Look how close we were to beating Clemson in the ACC championship. You can be the player that pushes us over the edge to beat them and we can represent ACC in NC"

Something like that...

Great idea making a new thread for the playoff!

VB born, class of '14

Let's go Huskies and Tigers!! (I guess that's an unpopular opinion on here today)

I wouldn't call it an unpopular opinion even though it has been so far. We want Bama to lose because they're an SEC team, and Clemson winning both gets us more money and will help the ACC in the standings next year. Note to everyone in general, I'm not saying that's how it should work just how the polls seem to have worked in the past.

"Hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo

No more money, the only playoff money payout is for a conference team making the field of 4. So we got our extra already.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Didn't know that, thanks for the info. Still glad Clemson won though. I would like to see Clemson go undefeated until they show up in Lane. It's been more than long enough, our football team needs to beat the top ranked team in the country.

"Hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo

Not for or against, but I'd say Clemson has a better chance of winning their game.

"Take care of the little things and the big things will come."

Exactly who I'm rooting for

"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

I think Bama rolls Washington 42 - 10, OSU knocks off the tigers 38 - 31.

"Take care of the little things and the big things will come."

I will take Bama in a much closer game, 31-27.

Clem over OSU by two scores, 34-24.

Fuck Bama. And Pat Narduzzi.

Outspoken team cake advocate. Hates terrapins. Resident Macho Man Gif Poster. Distant cousin to Dork Magic. Frequently misspells words.

i'm thinking 'bama might break the Huskies will to football.

Fire Whit.

Once this gets out of hand can we talk about how bad Louisville has made the ACC look this year?

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Don't sleep on the Huskies.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Damn UW strikes first

For my money, there is nothing better than a floppy haired Alabama fan looking dumbfounded in their houndstooth

Don't look now but the Huskies take an early lead.

No, wait, on second though, look now, football is fun to watch

Adjustments coming for Alabama. They weren't getting pressure or covering well early.

Honestly, the secondary is the "weakness" of that Alabama D, if you can cal it that.

If Browning can stay accurate downfield this could be interesting

Except over right guard. Right on cue from the announcer.

Clemson winning the NC helps us get The Belt back. Bama brought it into the playoffs, so whichever team wins the national title game will also win the belt. If Clemson wins the Title game, they bring the belt back for Conference play making it more likely that we'll see it in a conference game sometime next year.

The blocking on the run was amazing.

Fire Whit.

What a response by Bama

VB born, class of '14

Go Peterson's puppies! Let chaos reign!

So sick of a decade's worth of $EC dominance narrative out of their fans and eSPnablers

VTCC '86 Delta Co., Peru Hokie, Former Naval Aviator, Former FBISA, Forever married to my VT87 girl. Go VT!

A lot of Alabama's games are pretty close in the first 2-3 quarters, but down the stretch no one can match their depth. Washington is gonna need quite a few turnovers and trick plays to go their way to pull this one off.

"For those who have passed, for those to come, reach for excellence."

They also make defensive adjustments very quickly.

Godamn I hate the SEC and their Pom poms and their suits and ties.

"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

Dieter reminds me a lot of Wes Welker.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

obligatory

Dieter reminds me a lot of Wes Welker Danny Coale

Kinda has a lot of Jordy Nelson in his game

"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

Alabama fans boo everything.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Man Bama is getting away with a lot of holding

Washington has that one guy that actually gets to the QB/ball carrier, and that other guy who actually wraps up. If they could compare notes they wouldn't have to rely so much on Bama's mistakes.

___

-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

Bama should be up 3 scores or more if not for absurd plycalling and self inflicted wounds with penalties and drops. Truly wild this is close.

Bo Scarborough just made one of the best runs I've ever seen

this game started with potential...but it's just been a let down. so boring.

60% of the time Saban's strategy works every time!

"Take care of the little things and the big things will come."

My FIL is one of those SEC-SEC-SEC fans, not of Bama, but roots for them because of blind conf loyalty.

I asked if they chanted SEC -SEC when Miss St beat Miami OH on a blocked FG in the St Pete bowl.

Lol, Sark picks his nose and eats it on tv.

part of the coaching brotherhood with Urban and Harbaugh now.

I'm just so sick of watching Alabama win. Shallow is the only word I can think of to describe any recruit who commits or any fan with no ties to the State or University of Alabama I see. Tired of watching players from VA kick ass for other teams while VA schools struggle with Depth and lack of talent issues. I wish Saban would vanish mysteriously from the face of the earth. He has single handed ruined the SEC because nobody in their right mind would willingly go deal with that horseshit down in Tuscaloosa. I know I've said this before, my wife is a student at UA and I still hate them and the SEC more than I care to put to words.

It is a natural gift I posess to create friction in sensitive situations.

I'm just so sick of watching Alabama win.

Exactly. Plus, they're boring. They are the old school, stack the deck and run over all of their opponents kind of good. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but when they do it for almost a decade straight, it gets boring as hell.

Since Saban took over with the 2007 season, Alabama has won 4 national championships (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015). Of the years that they did not, only 2007 and 2010 were "down" years. (Actually, 2007 did quite suck for them.) In 2008, they were ranked #1 for the final month of the season until they lost the SEC Championship game to #2 Florida. In 2013, they were eliminated by the Kick Six. Since 2014, they have made the CFP all three years.

So, in 9 seasons, they have missed the championship field three times, and two of those were by a single game or play. They haven't lost a national championship game that they actually made it to.

Exactly. Plus, they're boring

As a fan of good defense, they are anything but boring. Besides watching Virginia Tech, watching Alabama's defense is my favorite part of college football in any given week. They adapt by drive and sometimes they even make adjustments mid-drive. The things they pick up on, the way the communicate, and the cohesiveness of the defense overall is truly a work of art. I read breakdowns every week where someone notices something pre-snap and it leads to a Bama turnover. For example, before Ryan Anderson's amazing mid-pick stiff arm pick six play, Reuben Foster recognized the alignment and told Ryan to peel out to the screen and it led to a pick six.

I like defense, but I'd like to see someone able to challenge them more consistently. It seems like all their RBs and DBs look like 7' tall, 240lb Bobby Bouchers slathered in grease "just take the ball and go straight" and it's like parting the Red Sea. If they're just a product of the system (good OL scheme, great Def. calls, etc) give me the system, but sheesh.

___

-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

Ohio State continuing to be ultra conservative and play directly into Clemson's hands.

Tim Beck has handcuffed what could be a great offense.

Couldn't agree more.

Fire Whit.

for a while there was a rumor swirling that he was headed to Texas with Herman. Guess that fizzled out, much to Buckeye fan's dismay.

Yes redditCFB makes me very confident they want Beck gone, and I agree quite strongly. He is awful.

I'm super happy that Clilen Farrel is doing well playing football for Clemson and I'm super disappointed that Clilen Farrel is doing well playing football for Clemson.

Seriously though, the kids name is being called on almost every play. Good for him!

Is coronavirus over yet?

That awkward moment when you realize VT put up 35 on Clemson, and OSU might get shut out

Only meaning one thing. VT>tOSU

Fire Whit.

I was really hoping Clemson would get a TD there so I could ask if Clemson blows the lead, would we call it Clemsoning or Arkansasing?

Fire Whit.

Y'all don't understand how hard I will be rooting for Alabama on the 9th. I don't know if I will survive a Clemson NC.

That was a horrible non-call by the refs right there.

On the illegal snap by Clemson?

Fire Whit.

Actually, there is more than something very wrong with that.

Sometimes we live no particular way but our own

Wow Wilkins with the savage ball grab

via GIPHY

He definitely gave him the business, just more of a fondle...

@vtscottyb

I prefer Ron Cherry's "giving him the business" call

"I liked you guys a lot better when everybody told you you were terrible." -Justin Fuente

That's what I was going for, but I failed on the GIF search front...

via GIPHY

@vtscottyb

what the fuck

i can't laugh at this. it makes me angry. what the fuck was he doing man.

Going for the ball(s)?

Fire Whit.

Clemson is looking really good! It's nice being able to appreciate how great their team is when VT isn't playing them, a hell of a lot closer than OSU.

Yes,that's the Hokie Bird riding a camel. Why'd you ask?

Please based Kiffin, do what you did to Clemson last year on the 9th.

Clemson coaches barking for a late hit flag. Guess they didn't get the memo that these aren't ACC refs.

Ohio State is definitely not passing the eye test right now lol

VB born, class of '14

So we hung 35 on this Clemson team.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Here's to hoping PSU gets obliterated tomorrow so the media will finally get off their knees for the Big 10.

Fire Whit.

Idk I kinda hope PSU obliterates USC so that we get to hear the "Penn State should've been in instead of Ohio State" arguments again :D

This.

I would love this to be the cornerstone of the argument that only conference champions should get playoff berths.

"I liked you guys a lot better when everybody told you you were terrible." -Justin Fuente

If it would have this effect, I'd love it, but I seriously doubt that it will. I'd prefer that USC obliterate PSU, so we can stop talking about how awesome the B1G is.

I'd also love to see WMU beat Wiscy, but it's not as likely to happen.

30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

I hope Penn State gets obliterated as well, but only because I want to be able to bask in the reflected glory of our bowl win around a ton of people whose team lost.

Don't forget about Western Michigan. If they beat Wisconsin the Big Ten wouldn't look so hot anymore either

Definitely gonna be rooting for the Fighting Fleckies

This year is a great argument for an 8-team playoff. I thought both games were boring (albeit played by great teams, but over pretty early) and we're left with a rematch of last year's game. FSU-Michigan was a much better game than either of these. I suspect if this continues, viewership will decline substantially.

"Exit light..."

Sooo....having more boring games would solve that? I'm not following the logic.

More chances for chaos, more interesting matchups. If, for instance, FSU-Michigan had been a playoff, I'd be psyched to see what happens next.

"Exit light..."

That being said, I'm still more for the 5 P5 conference champs, the highest ranking Go5 team, and two at-large.

Finally finished that exercise I mentioned in another thread of setting up that level of playoff all the way back to 1998 (first year of the BCS). Given the early days of the BCS only ranked the top 15, I used the AP poll for trying to rank/seed teams below 15th.

A few years I also set up two sets of brackets, assuming some caveat that if a P5/BCS AQ conference champion didn't rank at least 20th their automatic seed was given to the highest ranking team without an automatic bid as an extra at-large bid.

Right now it's on my HD and I want to improve the formatting, but I may post it in my Google Docs at a later point and share it for people who might be interested in what an 8-team playoff could have looked like in the last 18 years.

I think that would be fascinating to see.

"Exit light..."

And what's happens when 7-6 UCLA is the PAC-12 champ? You can't just say conference champs.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Then they go to the playoff having won their power 5 conference...

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Even win they "won" it because the better PAC teams would have been banned from postseason play that year?

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

You can throw as many qualifiers on it as you want... My answer is still yes

Conference champion should qualify you to the national playoff. If you want to throw some at large boss in the as well go for it, but winning your conference should be an auto qualifier

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Why not?

1. It is highly unlikely that would happen.
2. If that did happen they should get one of the eight seeds for winning a P5 conference. Unless you can make the playoffs by simply winning, the national champion can be considered arbitrarily chosen to some extent.
3. Fuck Jordan Zumwalt.

"Hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo

Why not? It's how the FCS, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and almost every other DI sport do it.

Or have we forgotten plethora of 8-8 teams to make the NFL playoffs as division champions, the 7-8-1 Carolina Panthers that won the NFC South a few years ago , and the plethora of NBA teams that make their playoffs every year with losing records?

Also, people may not realize this but it is possible to make the NFL playoffs with records of 3-13 or 0-10-6 as division champions. Likely? No, but it is possible.

Yea I don't want that to be ok. We want to find out who beat team is not the luckiest.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

One odd entry out of 8 won't negate "best team". Besides, there have been plenty of years where the "best" team may be 9-3 at the end of the season and would never make it into the play off as it exists today. It wasn't that long ago that most experts thought a 2 loss Colorado team was the best team in the country. Nebraska, who lost at home, to that CU team, in their last game of the season was voted into the NCG, because they only had 1 loss.

30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

Here's a novel concept....

The best teams don't always win titles. You're so wrapped up in trying to preserve the sanctity of the best you're forgetting that it's the uncertainty of the playoff format and the elimination style of the conference championship that makes sport so good.

"When I was growing up, Virginia Tech was a school that was kicking ass and taking names, and it's time we get back to that" - James Franklin

Exactly. If you're going to award the title to the "best team," then just give Alabama the trophy and cancel the whole season. Games aren't won on paper. To quote Chris Berman: "And that's why they play the games."

If you have 16 or 32 teams in the playoff, sure. There could be 10 - 15 teams better and/or more deserving left out for 8-5 FSU or 7-6 UCLA in an 8 team playoff.

___

-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

Said it before, will say it again:

It's called the National Championship game. We're looking for the champion. And the champion does not always equal the "best team".

(Just ask the 18-1 Patriots.)

When you have such a small pool (eight is still small), shouldn't the "best teams" be the ones competing to be the "champion"?

___

-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

This issue is defining "best". This year. USC (the real one in LA) is one of the "best" 4 in terms of how they were playing at the end of the season. I suspect that you will argue that with 3 losses, including getting blown out by Bama, they wouldn't make your list.

Until you can develop an objective definition, that the general masses agree with, the CFP will always be subjective. Heck, look at the NCAA tourney. Every year, P5 teams, that have the vastly higher potential to get hot and win it all, than an FCS team that won its conf tourney, are left out.

30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

This year is a great argument for an 8-team playoff.

Unfortunately, the last two years look like good arguments for the 2-team system. Two years in a row, we've gotten 1 vs 2, and at least one shutout on the way to that.

Call me crazy, but I actually preferred the old way anyhow.

VT Class of '12 (MSE), MVBone, Go Hokies!

Hi, crazy!

I thought I would prefer the playoff, but I don't. I think the failure of the playoff is how it's structured. The whole point is to remove subjectivity but with the committee they made that impossible. If we're keeping subjectivity and picking teams in a popularity contest as pillars of the selection process we might as well just keep it the way we had it. The current playoff system feels like a very half assed attempt to placate the masses and hope for further controversy thus rendering the playoff experiment an ultimate failure.

I don't like it any more now than before. And with playoff games occurring on NYE I can't even watch them anyway. The whole thing was a failure imo. The old system wasn't any worse than what we have now.

Onward and upward

Pretty much everything you said, plus I feel like some of the appeal of the NY6 (in particular what used to be the old BCS bowls) has really faded. To me, FSU vs. Michigan and PSU vs. USC don't seem like such important games, but under the BCS system I almost never took that stance towards those bowls.

VT Class of '12 (MSE), MVBone, Go Hokies!

Oh well. I think they had a golden opportunity to make a real change and they f***ed it up. Now the playoff is going to garner the same criticism for the same controversies as the BCS and everyone will wonder why we switched in the first place. It's a shame really. Playoffs could have been successful but instead everyone is going to believe that playoffs just won't work... Because of mismanagement. *shrug emoji*

Onward and upward

I think they made too much change. Why do we need a committee to seed 4 teams?

By the end of the BCS, I didn't have a problem so much with the polls and rankings, as I did the two team limit. We need the computers to counter the human bias, and we need the human element to counter the black and white world of the computers.

The whole point is to remove subjectivity

I think this is what you wanted to come from the playoff, but I believe you are putting your thoughts onto the CFP that they never had. The playoff was not conceived to remove subjectivity. A human committee is 100% subjective and nobody ever thought otherwise. The playoff merely gives more teams a chance to win the NCG. It removes some controversy and helps prevent a situation with 3-4 undefeated teams (2004) from someone being left out. That said, it still creates controversy, which whether you like it or not, is great for the sport. It drives discussions on message boards (like our CFP selection discussion threads), radio, and tv programs for sports.

And here's why I am totally okay with that. I like that every game in college football counts. It makes the stakes higher every single time your team takes the field on saturday. One loss could remove you from championship contention, two losses almost certainly promises that. Putting too much emphasis on winning divisions and conferences creates a situation where we are essentially just making a baby version of the NFL. But I don't want college football to be like the NFL. I don't like when 7-9 teams make the playoffs because they play in a shitty division. College football doesn't allow for that stupid shit to happen, and I am very thankful for it.

Putting too much emphasis on winning divisions and conferences creates a situation where we are essentially just making a baby version of the NFL.

Agree completely. Conference championships should be a tie breaker between two teams. It shouldn't wipe out one team having a "better record" than another. Better record in quotes because there must be a strength of schedule assessment in that determination so win pct doesn't always mean better record. This year if UW was undefeated, I'd still say that anOSU had a better record.

30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

ROLL TIDE, FUCK CLEMSON.

Uh, are you okay? Blink twice if you're being held captive in Alabama.

"Hokie religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." Han Solo

My sentiments exactly. Fuck Clemson and a giant middle finger to the ACC. As far as I'm concerned they can STILL kiss CFB's and Virginia Tech's asses. On a side note, this karn'd whiskey from Nelson Co tastes particularly delicious. MERRY NEW YEAR TKP!!!

When you live in SEC country you learn to put away rival bias and root for your conference. Sorry guys/girls but go ACC! Go Tigers!

-Semper Primus

I'm with you.

Go Tigers!

VT plays them next year at home. Would be great if they're the national champions.

Yeah, I live in SEC country and its ridiculous how much fans ride the coat tails of it's one great team. Other than Alabama, the SEC is a joke. I'm rooting for Clemson all day.

I can't stand Clemson or, to be more specific, Dabo but if they're the ones to knock off Bama then go Tigers!

I don't get the Clemson hate honestly. Every fanbase has a few bad eggs, but Clemson fans are pretty level headed in my personal experience. Alabama fans are just obnoxious and don't need another title.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Jet Sweep

I went to Clemson, and grew up in upstate SC. I can assure you there are more than a few bad eggs.

Not to mention, we have more TKPers on here that are Buckeye fans. How many do we have that are Death Valley fans? Plus, one (maybe even more) actually pulled for us in the ACCCG. Seems kinda like a shitty thing to do to root against a fans team that was pulling for you. At least to me.

Remember when Ohio State jumped the big 10 champ for a playoff spot. The overwhelming excuse was because we wanted the 4 best teams, or more specifically the 2 most exciting games. Well that was bullshit. Penn State should have been in.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

They never jumped Penn State, they were always ranked ahead of 2 loss Penn State throughout the season.

When a team from a division gets voted to the playoff while the champion of that division stays home, I consider it a jump. Was not referring to a specific ranking jump.

My larger point is that games hyped to be great matchups rarely live up to it. Eye tests fail often.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

I went back and watched one hour football vids of all of Ohio state's big games before the playoff, and I was very confident they would lose to Clemson for all the reasons they lost. Tim Beck was ultra-conservative and ran at the strength of their defense all game and refused to attack the Tiger linebackers and safeties in coverage who they could have picked on. Tigers would eventually get hot and at that point they would have an insurmountable hole to climb out of as they were forced to throw and set up Venables with easy blitzing and coverage options. They played directly into Clemson's hands and I saw it coming from a mile away, because of the eye test.

And I still think tOSU is a better team than Penn State.

Well, 24-21 disagrees with your eye test... Just sayin'

Onward and upward

Losing to Pitt and Michigan by 39 disagrees with yours.

Is Syracuse a better football team than us? They beat us straight up head to head.

Is 8-5 Pitt better than Clemson?

If all else were equal...

If OSU and PSU didn't have to come down to the head to head tie breaker to determine which team deserved a right to play for their championship your argument might make sense.

What if Michigan and OSU had to play ACC teams as well as each other? Maybe then they would have the same records? Your circular logic doesn't work because penn>osu>mich>Penn. That's why divisions and conferences are so pivotal. It's the only way to determine a team's worth relative to the field. Yes we lost to GT but we also won games against enough teams in our division to earn the right to play Clemson in Orlando. I don't think anyone would argue that GT should have been there instead. You're comparing apples to oranges. Penn state lost early but improved over the course of the season and won the games they needed to to play in the title game. Michigan and OSU didn't. OSU and Penn state were relatively equal (same division record) but PSU beat OSU head to head. Syracuse and GT didn't have the same record as VT. If they did, I would concede that they would deserve a shot over us.

Onward and upward

PSU and tOSU didn't have the same record either though so at some point you're drawing a line.

They had the same conference record...

Onward and upward

You're comparing apples to oranges. Penn state lost early but improved over the course of the season and won the games they needed to to play in the title game. Michigan and OSU didn't. OSU and Penn state were relatively equal (same division record) but PSU beat OSU head to head. Syracuse and GT didn't have the same record as VT

PSU didn't have the same record as anOSU. Using your line of reasoning, you could certainly say GT lost most of its games early and finished strong. As such, the same logic that you apply to PSU could be applied to GT, to argue that they were better since they beat VT head to head (in Lane even).

PSU won in part due to a horrible non-call on a DPI when anOSU was moving the ball late, in the game. If that call is made, I have no doubt that anOSU scores to take the lead. PSU's O was hot garbage in that game (276 yds of total O). Their last score was on a blocked punt. When looking at the full season of play, anOSU was clearly better than PSU.

I think USC wins by 2+ scores and puts an end to this supposed 'slight' of PSU.

30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

PSU and OSU did have the same conference record. That's what matters for conference championship eligibility. OOC records need to be ignored unless all of the teams in one division played the same ooc opponents.

Onward and upward

But that's not all that matters for CFP. If a P5 team loses 3 OOC games, but sweeps their conference, should they be in the CFP? No.

OOC counts for CFP. If anOSU and PSU had the same overall records, then I can see your point, but in this case, they definitely didn't have the same overall records. As a direct consequence, conference champ takes the back seat in this case.

30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

The whole problem is perception. Everyone and their brother thought the big ten was the best conference in America so Penn States loss to Pitt was everyone's reason why OSU was soo much better and deserving of the playoff spot. But now in retrospect the ACC was way better than people thought and it looks like OSU would have been the 10-2 team if they had played pitt instead of Penn state. Hindsight is 20-20 but I think it's clear that the committee was wrong about OSU. Selecting conference champions would have been closer to right. Everyone was so caught up with big ten being sooo good but they have not fared well this post season. Their two best teams lost to ACC teams. OSU got blown out by ACC champion and Michigan lost a great close game to a team which lost 3 ACC games.

Onward and upward

Oh good. I was hoping we could have this argument again /s

Collapses thread

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

FOSTERS: Australian for defense

Not great when you have former players throwing your (absolutely awful) OC under the bus. That said, his statement is true. JT Barrett broke almost all of the Ohio State passing records as a freshman when they had Tom Herman. They have recruited like crazy since then, but the offense has gotten undeniably worse the last two years. Tim Beck almost has to go at this point, either that or have Tim Beck completely change his philosophy.

I interpret those closing emojis as "I see your frog soup."

Howd I do?

"Exit light..."

Pete Moris would love to hire you.

I have no idea why my username is VT_Warthog.

Arkansas blew a 24-0 lead in the Belk Bowl.

Ohio State: "Oh, that was such an embarrassing performance"
Mariah Carey: "I gotchu"

"Exit light..."

After rewatching some of that game last night, Penn St more than likely gets beat even worse.

Which still doesn't address the issue of the committee picking Ohio St. when a non division winner makes it into a playoff.

The Big 10 has not covered themselves in glory to this point, and really would not be surprised if USC runs the Lions off the field tomorrow

USC runs the Lions off the field tomorrow

Not only not surprised, but hoping for.

Would love to see W Mich beat Wiscy too, then the B1G's failure is complete.

30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

Is that you Emperor Palpatine?

VTCC '86 Delta Co., Peru Hokie, Former Naval Aviator, Former FBISA, Forever married to my VT87 girl. Go VT!

Is this the part where the Death Star blows up?

___

-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

I don't know if anyone has posted this (EDIT: just saw the other thread) but Lane Kiffin is out as Bama's OC ahead of the championship game. Sark takes over immediately.

Woof. I knew things were bad between Saban and Kiffin, but this is unprecedented.

No, I *don't* want to go to the SEC. Why do you ask?

We don't love dem Hoos.

Western Michigan does not belong here. They haven't played anyone like Wisconsion.

Fire Whit.

I think Clemson is going to beat Alabama. Alabama's offense is not good. Their defense is great and usually gives their offense a ton of opportunities with the ball which pumps their stats. Alabama's defense is great but I think that Clemson may be the first team they played this year that matches their talent level. Clemson won't score a lot but they'll score enough to win a 21-10 type ball game.

We're seeing lots of discussion of Clemson's O vs Bama's D. I think that part will be virtually a push. Clemson's D vs Bama's O is where Clemson will win the game. Bama's O hasn't been all that impressive this year (though certainly good enough).

30 years after starting grad school at Virginia Tech, I finally defended my dissertation and earned my PhD.
Don't give up on your dreams.

As long as Alabama doesn't score on Defense/ST, I think Clemson will win.

"For those who have passed, for those to come, reach for excellence."

Western Michigan is trying to both win and lose at the same time.

No, I *don't* want to go to the SEC. Why do you ask?

We don't love dem Hoos.

Yeah, that was amazing. That was the least hustle I think I've seen from a team down two scores. 9:00 off the clock for a TD...and then the miss.

"Exit light..."

Paul Chryst has all the charisma of a turnip.

Looking forward to watching Amoree Jackson for USC in the Rose. He was the best nonQB I saw this year.

gg no re Penn State.

Edit: Alright, maybe I spoke too soon.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Kirk and Chris trying to nurse Keith Jackson through this broadcast is one of the saddest things I've ever listened to.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Penn State has come storminggg back this half in typical Penn State 2nd half fashion.

Amateur superstar and idiot extraordinaire.

Belk Bowl social media is still killing it.

"Exit light..."

Apparently the Rose Bowl put a picture of Joe Pa on the video board on a tribute and the entire disgusting PSU fanbase went nuts. This is a disgusting move by the Rose Bowl committee and it's what I've come to expect from the ridicules fan base of PSU.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Ohio State is just better, it's obvious. /s

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Penn State's offense has been creative and effective all year. Defense is porous. They are winning this game because of back to back super lucky tips. One leading to a 70 yard touchdown reception and an interception returned to the 5 on the ensuing possession.

USC has had their share of breaks and big plays as well.

I'd trust Barkley to go out there and run on anyone.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

I like Barkley, but they put up under 200 yards of offense on Michigan.

Man you never get tired of this do you?

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Not one bit ;)

SLO MO Franklin yelling is legendary

You put those words together, those are my favorite words, Popeyes and bahama
- Mike Burnup

ACC officiating crew doing their best to ruin a great game.

The rest of the country gets to see what we put up with throughout the season.

Pac-12 officials have just as bad of a rep, and we know how well their replay officials work.

And if the refs from the Belk Bowl are any indication, the Big 12 would be lucky to even call their refs "amateurs".

This is the best Rose Bowl since the Russell Wilson game.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

This Rose Bowl is ranking right up there with this year's Orange Bowl. Barkley is a hell of a RB and McSorley reminds me of Brewer, making stuff happen right when you think he's doomed.

"Exit light..."

This game deserves overtime and I think we're about to get it.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

DON'T WORRY, FAKE BREWER JUST THREW A BRUTAL PICK, THEY'LL WIN

"Exit light..."

Brutal is about the best way to describe that. After nearly getting picked on a long pass, they go back to it and then give away the game. Wow.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best, not the other way around.

Wow USCw just scored in 39 seconds.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

O SHITTTT

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

I'm just glad the refs let that close block in the back go.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

Am I crazy, or is that USC qb the next great nfl qb?

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K

Great minds

Sam Darnold looking like a great future NFL QB.

With the first pick of the 2019 NFL draft, the Cleveland Browns select...

RIP kid

Plan for the worst and hope for the best, not the other way around.

Two great NY6 games have pumped some meaning back into these games after last year I don't know if any were close.

Wow. Fight On. Hell of a game.

The Orange and Maroon you see, that's fighting on to victory.

Thank God. I love seeing those PSU fans think they are going to win or go to overtime and their hearts just get ripped out.

Feel bad for the players but the PSU fans who still cheer on Paterno this glorious.

Wet stuff on the red stuff.

Join us in the Key Players Club

USC QB doesn't look like a freshman, that's for sure.

Fire Whit.

Well I'm pretty content that the only major bowl the Big Ten won was the Cotton, where the 4th-best Big Ten team beat the MAC champion.

Their best win was probably NW'ern over Pitt. Worst loss is clearly the blowout at the hands of Clemson.

ACC had a pretty good bowl season. Wonder if Clemson can actually pull it off against Alabama. #goACC

Even if Clemson manages to win there will be an asterisk for that game due to the departure of the Bama OC

Onward and upward

Disregarding games where Grayson Allen isn't the Bama OC, UNC still sucks

Warning: this post occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)..

OU 35, AU 19. So much for the SEC.

___

-What we do is, if we need that extra push, you know what we do? -Put it up to fully dipped? -Fully dipped. Exactly. It's dork magic.

The scary thing about Darnold is that he almost went to Duke.

In Sam Rogers we trust.

Oklahoma would be a serious contender if they just had a defense. Plagued them for a few years now.