Should FSU Have Been in the 4 Team Playoff?

Submitted by East German Judge on

Seeing how FSU got crushed by Oregon, did the Committee make a mistake by having FSU in the 4 team playoff?  They won so many games this year by the skin of their teeth, but were they the 3rd best?  Would a Oregon vs. TCU game been closer?

 

Don't forget that the 2012 undefeated Notre Dame team was in the BCS Championship Game and got crushed also.  Does undefeated = best team?

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enlightenedbum

January 1st, 2015 at 8:53 PM ^

Were they one of the four best teams? No.  I would have like... the rest of the top ten favored over them on a neutral field.

Can you reasonably keep an undefeated defending national champions out? No.

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orobs

January 1st, 2015 at 9:05 PM ^

Umm...Because in every sport in existence, excluding cfb, the team with the best record is rewarded for it with the best seeding (at least for P5 conference teams).  Isn't that the point of the regular season?  I'll take objective data over this bullshit "eye test" any day 

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DaveBrandonsEgo

January 1st, 2015 at 9:55 PM ^

At the end of the day, good teams with one loss are gonna say they deserved the playoff spot. If we start telling good undefeated teams that they weren't good enough, the playoff (created to minimize complaining) would no longer be serving a purpose. Any good undefeated team from a power 5 conference should be in the playoff. The way I look at it is that if you want a spot, win your games. Otherwise, you're at the mercy of the committee.

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wolfman81

January 2nd, 2015 at 12:02 AM ^

Except the data we have is so incomplete (12 games and 128 teams) that it is not enough to provide the resolution that we need to clearly define #3 from #4. Regardless of the format, there will always be the first snubbed team that just wasn't included. Does the committee get it wrong when one of the last four in loses big and one of the first four out win the NIT? I think not. My argument for why FSU should have been left out is that the big 12 was stronger than the ACC. Therefore winning the big 12 was more impressive than winning the ACC, regardless of the number of losses between the champs (within reason).

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Mr Miggle

January 1st, 2015 at 9:36 PM ^

non-conference schedule: OK St, Citadel, ND and UF. ND doesn't count as an ACC game.

Baylor was #5 and played SMU, NW St and Buffalo.

If you want teams to schedule somebody non-conference, FSU should be an absolute lock, no matter how close their wins. An undefeated Baylor would have been a more questionable choice.

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ndscott50

January 1st, 2015 at 8:54 PM ^

They were undefeated, defending national champs, and had not lost in 2 years. If they were not in it would have reduced the legitimacy of the eventual winner

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Mr. Yost

January 1st, 2015 at 8:54 PM ^

But that doesn't mean FSU shouldn't have been in the game.

Oregon didn't do anything special, FSU just turned the ball over every chance they got. Hats off to the Ducks, they took care business and took advantage of the mistakes.

If TCU would've turned the ball over like FSU did...they would've gotten blown out too.

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Muttley

January 2nd, 2015 at 1:30 AM ^

The Noles were moving the ball.  Had Cook not put the ball on the ground twice and the Noles score some points in those drives (w/ Mr Automatic at FG kicker), they are kicking a FG for an almost sure 3 points on 4th and 5 instead of watching Winston fumble as he slips for the Scoop-and-Score.

The Noles are still in the game down maybe 10 and are not shell-shocked down 25.

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McSomething

January 2nd, 2015 at 12:50 PM ^

FSU really wasn't "better than they looked" against Orgeon. Their constant need to pull it out late against mediocre ACC teams was proof enough of that. Anyone without blinders on during the season said they would get absolutely run off the field against any decent competition. And that's exactly what happened.

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The Dirty Nil

January 1st, 2015 at 8:55 PM ^

They were undefeated. It's like a couple years ago with ND in the championship game. Maybe they weren't the best or second best team, but they were undefeated.

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treetown

January 1st, 2015 at 9:03 PM ^

Yes, to keep the regular season meaningful, you have to pick them because:

1. They were a conference champ from one of the big conferences.

2. They were unbeaten - they did beat Georgia Tech who should get some respect.

3. They were the defending national champs - AND they were unbeaten AND a conference champ.

The Big 12 screwed themselves by messing up the naming of a champ trying to be too cute and sneak in Baylor and TCU and rightly got smacked by the selection committee by including neither one of them.

 

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bamf16

January 1st, 2015 at 8:56 PM ^

After watching a lot of football this year, I can see where you're coming from.  I don't think they beat any of the other 3 in the playoff, nor do I see them beating TCU or Baylor.

 

But that said, how do you keep out the defending national champion and only undefeated team in the country?!

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Follow Thy Fullback

January 1st, 2015 at 8:57 PM ^

TCU would have been a better matchup IMO but idk how you could leave FSU out when they won 29 straight. I've been pulling for a six team playoff from the start with the first 2 seeds having bye weeks and then 1 plays the lowest seed and 2 gets the other. Then the winners play for it all.

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mastodon

January 1st, 2015 at 10:31 PM ^

With so little conference interplay, awarding bye weeks to 1 and 2 is a bit unfair, as the rankings are subjective, and a bye week is a huge advantage.

Plus, if you're going to extend the playoff to 3 weeks, maximize participation and go to 8 teams.

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Baughlieve

January 1st, 2015 at 8:57 PM ^

When you go undefeated in a Power Five conference, you deserve to be there. TCU might have kept it closer, but I still think Oregon would've been too much for them. 

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