2017 College Football Playoffs (and Other Bowl Games)

[sparcboxbuck]

They literally just as well not play the game... it's always a shutout and their starters are out by the 3rd quarter.

Absolutely it should be pointed out and IMO it should be treated as a bye week.

And the difference between this example and a bottom feeder in the B1G is? Aside from ‘we’re in the same conference so...’

I get what you’re saying, but let’s not kid ourselves that some conference games (B1G and SEC alike) are nothing more than an excuse to tailgate and get some reps for the young ones.

The point on the surface is a good talking point, but under scrutiny I’m not sure it’s one I’d want to push.

 

[mendensa]

yes, but conference games u r forced to play vs. Mercer-likes, that u have a choice to schedule is where the argument is made.

 

[bukIpower]

And the difference between this example and a bottom feeder in the B1G is? Aside from ‘we’re in the same conference so...’

I get what you’re saying, but let’s not kid ourselves that some conference games (B1G and SEC alike) are nothing more than an excuse to tailgate and get some reps for the young ones.

The point on the surface is a good talking point, but under scrutiny I’m not sure it’s one I’d want to push.

You re joking right? HUGE difference between playing Mercer at home instead of playing IOWA or Nebraska on the road.

We play 9 conference games in the most complete league in college football top to bottom. There also is a huge difference in that we cannot pick our conference opponents and we cannot pick where we play them.

So when they tell us "buckeyes you're playing at Madison at night" then we have no choice.

I'll thump my chest all day everyday playing even Minnesota or NW over Mercer.

They deserve to be trashed for their scheduling.

 

[sparcboxbuck]

yes, but conference games u r forced to play vs. Mercer-likes, that u have a choice to schedule is where the argument is made.

This is the only difference... one you’re forced to play and one you chose to play.

A powderpuff is a powderpuff.

 

[sparcboxbuck]

You re joking right? HUGE difference between playing Mercer at home instead of playing IOWA or Nebraska on the road.

We play 9 conference games in the most complete league in college football top to bottom. There also is a huge difference in that we cannot pick our conference opponents and we cannot pick where we play them.

So when they tell us "buckeyes you're playing at Madison at night" then we have no choice.

I'll thump my chest all day everyday playing even Minnesota or NW over Mercer.

They deserve to be trashed for their scheduling.

Not going to bother... your response suggest you completely missed my point.

You’re clearly wound too tight, on a ridiculously trivial issue — over which you have zero control, to recognize that the kettle and the pot are both black.

 

[mendensa]

I don't know Sparcboxbuck, I tend to agree with bucklpower. I think we both get your argument u r trying to make. Fun tailgaiting aside, any time u go on the road in conference, in any given year, even vs. a bottom dweller, there is a chance to get knocked off (remember, we were favored by 21 on the road vs. Iowa. nobody saw that coming). There is no chance Mercer is competing with Bama in Tuscaloosa.

There is a big disparity between an extra conference road game vs. IU, Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, or Illinois vs. Bama's one less conference game, FCS cupcake, the week before a rivalry game, in week 12, when everyone else is playing meaningful games. If you can't see that, we'll have to agree to disagree.

 

[sparcboxbuck]

I don't know Sparcboxbuck, I tend to agree with bucklpower. I think we both get your argument u r trying to make. Fun tailgaiting aside, any time u go on the road in conference, in any given year, even vs. a bottom dweller, there is a chance to get knocked off (remember, we were favored by 21 on the road vs. Iowa. nobody saw that coming). There is no chance Mercer is competing with Bama in Tuscaloosa.

There is a big disparity between an extra road conference game vs. IU, Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, or Illinois vs. Bama's one less conference game, FCS cupcake, the week before a rivalry game, in week 12 of the season. If you can't see that, we'll have to agree to disagree.

Oh, I clearly see the difference between a B1G bottom feeder and the likes of Mercer, especially in the context of 'chance to get knocked off' on the road with an additional conference game. I don't deny that at all. What I take issue with is it's not something we can control (royal we intended) and any arguments beyond not doing what they needed to do sounding like Penn State / *ichigan complaining about crap while failing to recognize that if they had taken care of business there would be no discussion on the point. Win and lose with dignity.

But, in recognition of your point, take Mercer out of their schedule and rotate SEC teams through the hole similar to how we rotate across the B1G. How many losses to you see? Especially when the SEC is supposedly top heavy. Likelihood of getting knocked off adjusted, it's pretty much the same outcome. Frankly, I'd even go so far as to say I prefer the B1G situation in that when we do play a cupcake and our seconds and thirds are on the field they are getting better reps.

That said, I do think that you nailed it with your 'week before a rivalry game' statement. It's less, in my mind, a matter of who they play and more a matter of who they play when. To that end, if anyone has a right to bitch it would be the rival team... but guess what? In this case they both flipp'n do it. Bama had Mercer and Auburn had LA-Monroe.

There's a slew of things that one can cite that could be used to suggest that the playing field is not balanced... and this is merely one of them. Still can't do crap about it other than to take care of business.

 

[bukIpower]

I don't know Sparcboxbuck, I tend to agree with bucklpower. I think we both get your argument u r trying to make. Fun tailgaiting aside, any time u go on the road in conference, in any given year, even vs. a bottom dweller, there is a chance to get knocked off (remember, we were favored by 21 on the road vs. Iowa. nobody saw that coming). There is no chance Mercer is competing with Bama in Tuscaloosa.

There is a big disparity between an extra conference road game vs. IU, Minnesota, Iowa, Purdue, or Illinois vs. Bama's one less conference game, FCS cupcake, the week before a rivalry game, in week 12, when everyone else is playing meaningful games. If you can't see that, we'll have to agree to disagree.

Yeah this is what I'm saying and I'm not wound too tight... It's just really crazy to point out that Mercer is just as competent as facing any 9th conference foe. Sure we might get Illinois as a 9th game (worst B1G team) but even they're much better then Mercer.

There's just no way to cut it you should be penalized for playing a FCS opponent and especially playing one so late in the year which enables their players to rest.

You said it though... We had no choice but to play what was in front of us and yeah we should've beat Iowa is the simple answer. That said had we only played 8 conference games and had control of the extra game you can bet we play another MAC school or something. Maybe that extra game would've replaced Iowa but maybe it wouldn't have?

What I do know is even if we only played 8 conference games we sure as shit wouldn't be playing them in November.

We're only hurting ourselves (the B1G) by playing 9 conference games as it's been proven it can only hurt you. The committee has shown that the "eye test" weighs much heavier then absolutely any concrete proven statistic like Conference Championships or quality wins for that matter. It's much easier to look like a juggernaut when you're playing Akron compared to playing Iowa.

 

[mendensa]

I gotcha. Good stuff fellas.

U can say what u want about OSU not taking care of business bc they certainly did not, but my biggest complaint is that Saban has been manipulating the schedule for years. He won't play a true non-con road game, he has a bye week almost every yr before the LSU game, and has a cupcake FCS school before the Iron Bowl every yr.

When you're Alabama, and all u have to do to make the CFP is come in 3rd in your own conference, chances of getting back every year r pretty good with that schedule.

 

[mendensa]

and one other point, and I'll use Wisc as an example:

Some yrs that extra conference game could be a Minnesota, other yrs it could be a Wisc. Big difference.

Wisc can in some years make it to the CCG without playing the likes of OSU, MSU, PSU, UM. And other yrs they may have to play 2 or 3 of them. Big difference in going 11-1 vs. going 9-3. With 1 less conference game for Bama, they r far less likely to hit all the better teams in the East in their cross-over games.

 

[sparcboxbuck]

I gotcha. Good stuff fellas.

U can say what u want about OSU not taking care of business bc they certainly did not, but my biggest complaint is that Saban has been manipulating the schedule for years. He won't play a true non-con road game, he has a bye week almost every yr before the LSU game, and has a cupcake FCS school before the Iron Bowl every yr.

When you're Alabama, and all u have to do to make the CFP is come in 3rd in your own conference, chances of getting back every year r pretty good with that schedule.

Add that as well as playing north of Dixie to that list of items that tilt the field in their favor. Can't do a thing about it.

Coming from us, this argument is like bitching because your neighbor just got a third Ferrari while there's two in our garage. As I type this it hit me that these discussions rub me the wrong way as much as the bitching about JTB during the season. It's not that there aren't necessarily faults / issues / problems... it's the abject failure to recognize how Goddamn good things are right now -- both from an absolute perspective as well as from a relative perspective as an alum of the Cooper years.

I see your perspective and recognize the real and perceived advantages they for what they are. I guess I just chose to not get too wrapped up by it... and certainly believe that there's zero to say until the team goes undefeated and gets left out due to any of the long list of arguments that have been compiled. Sorry for being a crotchety old man.

 

[Onebuckfan]

Win all your games if you are obsessed with CFP. Beat scUM and win the Big 10 CCG is what I obsess over the CFP is people voting. We can beatScUM and win the CCG without a vote.

 

[bukIpower]

Add that as well as playing north of Dixie to that list of items that tilt the field in their favor. Can't do a thing about it.

Coming from us, this argument is like bitching because your neighbor just got a third Ferrari while there's two in our garage. As I type this it hit me that these discussions rub me the wrong way as much as the bitching about JTB during the season. It's not that there aren't necessarily faults / issues / problems... it's the abject failure to recognize how Goddamn good things are right now -- both from an absolute perspective as well as from a relative perspective as an alum of the Cooper years.

I see your perspective and recognize the real and perceived advantages they for what they are. I guess I just chose to not get too wrapped up by it... and certainly believe that there's zero to say until the team goes undefeated and gets left out due to any of the long list of arguments that have been compiled. Sorry for being a crotchety old man.

My frustration very well could be that we seem to be making things more difficult on ourselves when many other teams aren't doing that. We play true road games (including vs TCU), play 9 conference games, don't have strategic scheduling and we avoid FCS opponents.

Perhaps we should take control of things we can control to be honest. If Alabama can get in the playoffs by destroying a poor schedule for 2017 then we should certainly take note of that.

No more road games and trade out these Texas/USC/VT/TCU/Oregon/OU/Washington's of the world for Arkansas State or The Citadel and ring up 60 on them.

Shoot look at Georgia's schedule for next year... ITS CRIMINAL, but yet they'll get every benefit if they run the table up to the Championship game.

I realize there's not a damned thing we can do about it but hey it's a message board and it's fun to throw around ideas. However, right now the SEC has a very big advantage over most conferences due to playing less conference games and for the most part failing to challenge themselves with their scheduling (like going on the road and playing FCS opponents). Right now it's college playoffs or bust for the most part (not to me but to the vast majority) and there's just no need to challenge ourselves the way we do if it isn't going to get us in if we happen to lose.

 

[sparcboxbuck]

My frustration very well could be that we seem to be making things more difficult on ourselves when many other teams aren't doing that. We play true road games (including vs TCU), play 9 conference games, don't have strategic scheduling and we avoid FCS opponents.

Perhaps we should take control of things we can control to be honest. If Alabama can get in the playoffs by destroying a poor schedule for 2017 then we should certainly take note of that.

No more road games and trade out these Texas/USC/VT/TCU/Oregon/OU/Washington's of the world for Arkansas State or The Citadel and ring up 60 on them.

Shoot look at Georgia's schedule for next year... ITS CRIMINAL, but yet they'll get every benefit if they run the table up to the Championship game.

I realize there's not a damned thing we can do about it but hey it's a message board and it's fun to throw around ideas. However, right now the SEC has a very big advantage over most conferences due to playing less conference games and for the most part failing to challenge themselves with their scheduling (like going on the road and playing FCS opponents). Right now it's college playoffs or bust for the most part (not to me but to the vast majority) and there's just no need to challenge ourselves the way we do if it isn't going to get us in if we happen to lose.

I think that's great until they change the frick'n narrative back to SoS again... right? And we all know that's what's going to happen as soon as a switch is made. These one and one series take ages to get on the books. I think that we're seeing them as a result of the last time SoS was the mantra.

 

[MililaniBuckeye]

Perhaps we should take control of things we can control to be honest. If Alabama can get in the playoffs by destroying a poor schedule for 2017 then we should certainly take note of that.

Bama would not have got it ahead of us if we had only one loss.

No more road games and trade out these Texas/USC/VT/TCU/Oregon/OU/Washington's of the world for Arkansas State or The Citadel and ring up 60 on them.

Our road beatdown of Oklahoma last year got us into the playoffs.

Shoot look at Georgia's schedule for next year... ITS CRIMINAL, but yet they'll get every benefit if they run the table up to the Championship game.

They got in this year because they were the SEC champion. I doubt they'll get the same benefit of the doubt that Bama did this year if they're not the SEC champ.