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

[BamaNation]

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.

Yet they will say that since we're all talking about who should/shouldn't be selected this is beneficial.

I think, so far, the committee has gotten it correct. Today is really the only day that matters and they're considering more than on-the-field results because of the rhetoric and pressure they're getting.

I've gotta say, though, we were told "the committee is watching the games" I didn't know that meant they were in a hotel conference room in uncomfortable chairs watching games on 50" tvs.

 

[westide]

Jimmy Stein said Jerry Palm predicted Bama would get is because of its resume compared to SMU. He believes Bama will play PSU in the first game.

 

[B1GTide]

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.

Sorry, that doesn't make him better at his job or mean that he supports Alabama when it matters in his job. He doesn't.

 

[B1GTide]

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.

They do not have to hype the teams at all. They can just do their jobs, and do it well. People were not watching to see how great the teams were.

 

[B1GTide]

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?

I would stop watching college football if they did that. First, there is no P4, only P2. Second, that would mean that 4 bad football teams would get in every year automatically

 

[DzynKingRTR]

If record is all that matters, why isn't Army in and smu out? They won their conference and have a better record than smu and Alabama

 

[BamaNation]

I would stop watching college football if they did that. First, there is no P4, only P2. Second, that would mean that 4 bad football teams would get in every year automatically

Not saying I want this, but if all the whiney people who keep saying that if you make it to your CG and lose that takes precedence over the whole season for everybody else, they have an easy solution. The fact that they didn't do this in creating the CFP rules means that the PTB believe as you believe - at least that's what they believed before noon today when they actually have to show their cards.

 

[Power Eye]

They do not have to hype the teams at all. They can just do their jobs, and do it well. People were not watching to see how great the teams were.

When McElroy first started with ESPN I felt like he tried to go out of his way to mask his Alabama fandom, but I think his tune changed over the last couple of years and was a huge advocate of ours last year. I’m not going to write him off over this particular debate because I do think it’s a difficult argument.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

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

Cut me some slack, I grew up with Howard Cosell and Brent Musburger trying to convince me every single game that some player on that field was the greatest athlete in the history of humanity. When Brent was observing Katherine Webb years ago, I thought it was actually a step up in his attempts at not sounding like a WWE wrestling promoter.

Thing is, they could actually do it a lot more subtly than what was going on last night. And that’s quite amazing when you remember there was nothing subtle about Cosell.

 

[CB4]

They do not have to hype the teams at all. They can just do their jobs, and do it well. People were not watching to see how great the teams were.

I couldn’t agree more. I don’t need someone to tell me how I should “interpret” what I’m seeing..I have eyes and a brain. I’m capable of making my own decision.

Sean McDonough many years back was one of favorite play by play guys. A “just the facts” guy. Now he has become a “sham-wow pitch man”.

My eyes last told me neither of those teams should be in a playoff. But they will be.

 

[CrimsonNagus]

I don’t want to live in a CFB world where just making your CCG is an automatic qualifier. It’s bad enough some weak conference get their champs automatically in, now people want the losers to have auto-bids as well. That’s ridiculous.

Got to stop acting like the conferences are equal, the Big12 and ACC and not equal with the B1G/SEC and it shows. SMU just lost to a #17 team with 3 loses. They can’t beat a ranked team, their argument is just as weak as Miami’s yet because they lost a CCG they should remain in?

Honestly though, I do think the committee puts them in based on last weeks rankings. SMU ranked at #8, even though we knew they had a weak schedule and lost to the only good team they played, is the committee basically saying that unless they are blown out they are in. IMO

Ultimately, I will not be mad at the committee, I’m still mad at Bama’s no show in Norman. That is the only reason we are here.

 

[tusks_n_raider]

I don’t want to live in a CFB world where just making your CCG is an automatic qualifier. It’s bad enough some weak conference get their champs automatically in, now people want the losers to have auto-bids as well. That’s ridiculous.

Got to stop acting big like the conferences are equal, the Big12 and ACC and not equal with the B1G/SEC and it shows. SMU just lost to a #17 team with 3 loses. They can’t beat a ranked team, their argue is just as weak as Miami’s yet because they lost a CCG they should remain in?

Honestly though, I do think the committee puts them in based on last weeks rankings. SMU ranked at #8, even though we knew they had a weak schedule and lost to the only good team they played, is the committee basically saying that unless they are blown out they are in. IMO

Ultimately, I will not be mad at the committee, I’m still mad at Bama’s no show in Norman. That is the only reason we are here.

The whole thing is a mess.

2 out of 3 of BSU, ASU, and Clemson will have Top 4 Auto Seed/Byes pushing down at least 2 teams that are ranked above them while also pushing every other team down a peg or 2.

Of those 3 I feel like BSU is somewhat legitimate and their only loss is by 3 points on the road to the #1 ranked team.

ASU and Clemson are straight up bid stealers and 1 of them will be an Auto-Bye stealer.

I'm not sure either even belong but the Auto-bid for CG winners demands it.

I don't know how you fix it and I guess I'm just thinking out loud but the Automatic rules need to be eliminated because it ties the committee's hands where they HAVE to do certain things that over reward weaker teams and overly punish stronger teams.

Bama, Miami, USCe and Ole Miss all have the ability to do more damage than Clemson, ASU, SMU, and Indiana...

But the former all lost games they couldn't afford to lose.

The whole format has flaws they need to iron out.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

When McElroy first started with ESPN I felt like he tried to go out of his way to mask his Alabama fandom, but I think his tune changed over the last couple of years and was a huge advocate of ours last year. I’m not going to write him off over this particular debate because I do think it’s a difficult argument.

If he says anything complimentary towards us, it's dismissed as, "Well, what do you expect, he went there."

If he says anything that can be construed as putting us down, it's, "He's trying to cover his bias" OR "he forgot where he came from."

Kirk Herbstreit is in the same shoes, but somehow he has figured it out.

 

[CrimsonJazz]

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

Man, that’s weird. They were singing a different tune before I posted that.

 

[B1GTide]

If he says anything complimentary towards us, it's dismissed as, "Well, what do you expect, he went there."

If he says anything that can be construed as putting us down, it's, "He's trying to cover his bias" OR "he forgot where he came from."

Kirk Herbstreit is in the same shoes, but somehow he has figured it out.

Because Herbie says a thing and lets it be. Greg beats a drum over and over trying to convince people.

 

[CrimSonami]

As far as Sean and Greg announcing and coloring games goes there’s times I mute and just watch but I’ll do that with others as well. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate Greg’s role in bringing Bama back to the top of CFB, I have the pass to Upchurch and the one footed hop on the sideline hanging in my office, but he sometimes tries too hard to appear unbiased to the point its obnoxious and annoying.

I have no information to support if the committee members are influenced by the announcers while they’re watching the games but surely they’re bright enough to separate the over exuberance to force opinion on the public/fans during.

 

[JDCrimson]

Its hard to comment on anything when people overtly make a sheer mess of it trying to please too many people, chase the money above competition, or both at the same time.

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

What a SMU alum friend of mine texted last week in response to my honest question about what might happen if SMU and/or Boise State should lose: “…same as if Penn State or Georgia loses. If not, no worries, it'll further galvanize our faithful and we'll buy what we need in the future. The now legal Alabama plan.”

You can’t spell smug without S M U.

 

[Isaiah 63:1]

If the committee planned to put Alabama in over ACC loser SMU, the way to do that would’ve been to have ranked Alabama one spot ahead of SMU in the penultimate ranking; e.g., at 10, with SMU at 11. That would’ve allowed Alabama to stay in with a close SMU loss or a SMU win. They didn’t do that, which tells me a close SMU loss keeps them in and Alabama drops out; or the committee suck at game theory (also possible)…

 

[Rocky Mtn Bob]

... or the committee sucks at game theory (also possible)…