Game Thread: Non-SEC Conference Championship Games (12/7/24)

[westide]

Bama beat Ga who will be the #2 team. What ranked team has SMU beat?Their SOS doesn't compare to Bama's. SMU had their chance and blew it. Remember what happened with TCU. I am sure the committee does. Remember all the gnashing of teeth last year with FSU? Bama proved they deserved to be in the NC playoff. FSU proved they didn't. Bama is in!

 

[carder24]

So the committee either says your strength of schedule doesn't matter or you shouldn't play in your conference title game.

Tough spot

But also easy if they follow their own rules

 

[carder24]

The committee will have to rank Clemson ahead of South Carolina, despite both having 3 losses, USC playing a much tougher schedule, and USC beating Clemson one week ago lol

They don’t have to move clemson at all if they don’t want to, they get a bid regardless, they don’t have to be reranked top 12. Same for asu, they could leave them down ahead of isu, and they are still seeded in playoff

 

[bamamc1]

Greg is terrible at his job, and only has a job like this because of Alabama. Bu

Greg is terrible at his job, and only has a job like this because of Alabama. But he craps on Alabama all the time.

I invite you to tune in and listen to his radio show that he co-hosts with Cole Cubelic each day. Greg played in and won a title with broken ribs. Not sure if he craps on Alabama but he sure put is ass on the line to win when he was a player here.

 

[BamaInBham]

Well that is partly the same thing.

ND was idle for one.

If they dropped Bama that's an Idle team they would have dropped in relation to.

Why are you getting all over me about semantics?

All I'm saying is the Committee is never really straightforward and they speak out of both sides of their mouth and ultimately do whatever they want at the last minute.

I agree with you about your last paragraph. But you are simply wrong about what they said. The semantics matter when you are parsing what someone said.

IMO, the Committee was as straightforward as they could be at that time. And if they were to choose Alabama they will not violate what they had said previously. That’s why at certain points they make nebulous statements. As we saw tonight, who knows what might happen?

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I agree with you about your last paragraph. But you are simply wrong about what they said. The semantics matter when you are parsing what someone said.

IMO, the Committee was as straightforward as they could be at that time. And if they were to choose Alabama they will not violate what they had said previously. That’s why at certain points they make nebulous statements. As we saw tonight, who knows what might happen?

They need to make some kind of definitive statement towards CG's

Do they carry risk or not for the teams that play in them?

If they carry risk then it would be better for Conferences to do away with them and just name a Conf Champion based on regular season results.

If they do not carry risk then say that and mark the participants safe.

It will keep being a problem in the future with these loose sometimes it matters sometimes it doesn't parameters.

Hypothetically Bama could have finished 10-2 but lost to Texas by 3 points in the SECCG and everyone would still be sweating... but in that case you'd want Bama marked safe before hand.

 

[rolltide_21]

They need to make some kind of definitive statement towards CG's

Do they carry risk or not for the teams that play in them?

If they carry risk then it would be better for Conferences to do away with them and just name a Conf Champion based on regular season results.

If they do not carry risk then say that and mark the participants safe.

It will keep being a problem in the future with these loose sometimes it matters sometimes it doesn't parameters.

Hypothetically Bama could have finished 10-2 but lost to Texas by 3 points in the SECCG and everyone would still be sweating... but in that case you'd want Bama marked safe before hand.

I do wonder if FCS & below have conference championship games? I would think not. Name conference champ based on the regular season & get the playoffs started earlier. Playing until Jan. 20 is ridiculous.

 

[Krymsonman]

I think the worst part of the whole clemson game was McElroy and the other dork gushing on and on about how great two mediocre teams were. Did they stop for one second and go - wait, these two teams are just plain mediocre and are playing the exact kind of game you would expect them to play. No, they acted like these were two upper echelon teams who would beat any other team. Sad.

 

[PA Tide Fan]

I think the worst part of the whole clemson game was McElroy and the other dork gushing on and on about how great two mediocre teams were. Did they stop for one second and go - wait, these two teams are just plain mediocre and are playing the exact kind of game you would expect them to play. No, they acted like these were two upper echelon teams who would beat any other team. Sad.

Miami could probably beat both those teams and they're already out.

 

[westide]

When the committee said they would not punish a team simply for losing a conference championship, I don't think that they meant there could not be consequences for some teams when all things are considered. Texas and Penn St. both lost their championship game yet they will be in the playoff. Is SMU in the same category of Texas and Penn St? Of course not. Their resumes and SOS do not compare. By placing Bama at number 11 earlier, it seems clear to me that the committee viewed the ACC championship game as an elimination game. It was not simply that SMU lost but that they were deficient in other areas also.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

Both CBS and Yahoo sports are predicting that BAMA is in, FWIW.

 

[The Ols]

+240…lots of movement.

 

[bamaltc]

Both CBS and Yahoo sports are predicting that BAMA is in, FWIW.

Yahoo has SMU…

College Football Playoff predictions: Our best guess for what the 12-team bracket will look like on Sunday

SMU or Alabama? That's the biggest question facing the committee heading into the final set of rankings.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[KrAzY3]

They need to make some kind of definitive statement towards CG's

Do they carry risk or not for the teams that play in them?

If they carry risk then it would be better for Conferences to do away with them and just name a Conf Champion based on regular season results.

The real problem here is the attempt to treat unequal conferences as equal. Big 12 and ACC champs automatically get in, when in fact neither deserve to be in! Then we go one step further and we try to protect the loser in one of those games? There should be 0 in from those conferences, now because we live in crazy town it might be 3?

We need to stop letting people pretend that the conferences are equal in some way, they're not. The SEC and Big 10 are on another planet from those guys, the ACC and Big 12 are charity cases at this point lucky to get scraps.

So should the loser of the SECCG be punished severely (you know, like Georgia last year)? No, but should the loser from a conference that plays cupcakes get punished? Absolutely, because they finally played a decent team and they lost! Games the magnitude of the ACC and Big 12 championship games are just called Saturday in the SEC. We need to stop pretending they're something special, and giving them participation trophies!

 

[BamaInBham]

This is in response to tnr’s last post at 11:54 PM.

They have made numerous statements that Conf championship games do potentially matter. Just last year Alabama who was out was now in and the converse was true for UGA because of the SECG. Texas who won theirs moved from out to in because of the SECCG as well as their victory in the B12 CG.

The Committee is often in a place of not knowing what is going to happen in 4 games involving 8 teams, many of whom are in playoff contention. Rather than attempting to address all of the permutations, they just offer a little nebulous language here and there.

Another thing is they don’t want to affect the participants by their words nor show disrespect to those whose efforts were admirable but because of “reasons” are not held in high regard and so on.

IMO, it’s typically best to say as little as possible and let each team make their case. Then they have to wait 15-24 hours and they will know. That’s where Alabama and SMU are. UGA, Texas and others have performed well enough to know or like Arizona State and Clemson qualified according to the previously agreed upon rules.

I think I understand your frustration and mistrust of authorities is at an all time low. I think in this case they are simply in a tough spot.

 

[RammerJammer14]

I think the worst part of the whole clemson game was McElroy and the other dork gushing on and on about how great two mediocre teams were. Did they stop for one second and go - wait, these two teams are just plain mediocre and are playing the exact kind of game you would expect them to play. No, they acted like these were two upper echelon teams who would beat any other team. Sad.

I mean, it’s their job to hype up their game. What are they supposed to say, “these teams are average and everyone should tune in to another game?”

I think some of y'all take color commentary and play by play way too personally.

 

[BamaInCummingGA]

I think the worst part of the whole clemson game was McElroy and the other dork gushing on and on about how great two mediocre teams were. Did they stop for one second and go - wait, these two teams are just plain mediocre and are playing the exact kind of game you would expect them to play. No, they acted like these were two upper echelon teams who would beat any other team. Sad.

First off, consider who they work for. I would be willing to bet you that Greg and the other guy don't believe a third of what they said but have been "instructed" to build up this game/these teams due to tv contracts and such.

 

[TitleWave]

If only Okie had stayed in the Little 12 with 16 teams and the SEC had taken Rice.

 

[GrayTide]

I guess you could say I am a naive boomer who fell off the turnip truck, but I thought, and now have obviously been proven wrong, that the 12 team playoff was about selecting and seeding the 12 best teams. As long as the CFP Committee wants to include every conference champion and every conference runner up, regardless of that conference's strength, then every year is going to be just like this year. The CFP Committee, NIL, and the transfer portal are all complicit in ruining college football.

 

[BamaNation]

If CGs actually matter, then this is an easy fix: Top 4 ranked winners of the P4 CG's get byes. Losers of CGs are automatically in. Take the next 4 highest ranked teams regardless of anything else.
I'm not sure why this is so hard for the PTB?