Michigan should be #4, ahead of LSU
The stunningly beautiful and obviously brilliant Maria Taylor argues that we should be the #4 team when the first CFP Rankings come out.
Also, Pep said we reworked our entire offensive scheme to suit Shea's talents.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
It won't matter because there is so much football left. Almost all the one loss teams will have two losses by the end of the season. The SEC, Big 10 and Big 12 will just prey on each other the next couple weeks. We just need to keep winning games and it will work out.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:11 PM ^
Exactly. Let’s just beat PSU in a little over a week and then let everything sort itself out. We win out we will be in so nothing to worry about now
October 25th, 2018 at 3:31 PM ^
That's not entirely true. If LSU beats Alabama and then Alabama runs the table, I can see the committee taking 1 loss Alabama over 1 loss Michigan. In this scenario, Clemson and Notre Dame are undefeated and either LSU or Georgia wins the SEC championship and has 1 loss.
October 25th, 2018 at 4:21 PM ^
Yeah, we kinda need Bama to win out.
October 25th, 2018 at 5:15 PM ^
Hell I could see them putting Alabama into the NC game even if they lose in the semi-final
October 25th, 2018 at 4:29 PM ^
Nope. A one-loss Big Ten Champ Michigan gets in over a one-loss non-champ Alabama. This is pretty much exactly what happened to Wisconsin last year.
October 25th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
the golden domers will have two losses when the season is over
October 25th, 2018 at 5:54 PM ^
Wisconsin was good last year but nowhere near as good as Alabama is this year (or basically any Alabama team over the last decade).
The committee wants the “best” four teams. Wisconsin was not one of them.
October 26th, 2018 at 1:53 PM ^
No chance a 1 loss Alabama gets in over a 1 loss Michigan. Alabama SOS is sooooo weak and Michigans schedule is about the toughest in the nation with a really impressive 1 loss to another playoff contender.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:09 PM ^
But Maria Taylor is indeed attractive.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:47 AM ^
I mean, LSU plays Alabama in a week and a half. They're about to either be behind us or very deservedly in front of us, depending. Not really a big deal.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:01 PM ^
While true, I keep thinking that even if LSU beats Alabama (and we beat Penn State), the Tide will not fall beneath us. So our ranking wouldn't change. Alabama will be kept in the mix regardless if they win the SEC.
Still too much football to play to worry about this because we have to somehow win in Columbus.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:05 PM ^
Whats the motivation for Bama to NOT lose this game? Heck they can lose and will make the playoffs. What a load of crap.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
You say that as if we're undefeated. We lost to Notre Dame. Good teams can lose a game and make the playoffs, not sure what the outrage is here.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:04 PM ^
If UM goes 12-1 and wins the B1G, they are 100% in the CFP. This isn't debatable.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:19 PM ^
Unfortunately it would be debatable if bama loses a very good, close game to LSU and then destroys the competition the rest of the way and LSU wins out.
If Oklahoma or Texas is lights out the rest of the way (not just winning), then they could be in the picture.
But, I certainly think if Michigan wins out they very, very likely make the CFP.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:31 PM ^
I find any conversation that include LSU beating Alabama funny. That game will be over well before halftime. In Joe Burrow's best games, he's only a 50% passer. Saban with a QB that can throw is too much for Cajun Hoke and the Tigers.
October 25th, 2018 at 2:43 PM ^
I'm telling you, if Bama were to lose and we were to win out, they're not putting Bama in. They're not gonna put in an 11-1 non conference champ over a 12-1 conference champ with a similar loss to a playoff team (if LSU and Notre Dame were to win out).
October 25th, 2018 at 3:14 PM ^
Completely agree. People are freaking about nonsense. Bama made it last year as an 11-1 non-champ because all the other conf champs had two losses, the best of which, OSU had a 31-point loss to Iowa.
Absolutely zero chance Bama makes it as an 11-1 divisional runner-up over a 12-1 B1G champ Michigan. Zero. They'd have very few quality wins and would have lost their one tough road game. Just not enough.
There is a tiny chance a 12-1 conference runner-up Bama makes it if they lose the SEC title game and a lot of other things go wrong for M (B1G East teams keep losing to teams M doesn't play, etc). But even that is a small chance.
If LSU beats Bama, the SEC WILL NOT get two teams in before M makes it at 12-1. Full stop. Will not happen.
October 25th, 2018 at 5:16 PM ^
A one loss Texas or Oklahoma do not pass a 1 loss Michigan. No way, no how.
October 25th, 2018 at 2:32 PM ^
Very debateable. Have you been paying attention to the last 10 yrs of college football and SEC bias?
October 25th, 2018 at 5:25 PM ^
What sucks would be an Alabama loss, they would sit out the championship game and still get the 4th spot in the playoffs.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
True for the polls. Quite possibly true in the committee rankings. But not exactly unreasonable, either. If they were to lose, their one loss would be barely less impressive than our one loss (no way they get blown out, after all) and while their schedule hasn't been gangbusters, our biggest win is against a Wisconsin team that isn't lighting the world on fire.
Since a Bama loss to LSU is the only real way for the SEC to get two teams in the playoff, I'm actually not really in favor of it.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:20 PM ^
I understand this argument, but they will also not have any significant wins on their resume. If they don't end up going to the SEC championship and lose to LSU, then the quality of their wins looks pretty unimpressive.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:35 PM ^
I think that's the deciding factor. A couple of quality wins for bama and I see the argument they're one of the four best even with a loss to lsu. Without them, the lack of a division or conference title means they should be excluded just like a 1-loss notre dame would be. And if a choice then boils down to a 1-loss bama or nd, the committee should pick nd based off strength of schedule. It's about time Alabama got punished for their pathetic ooc scheduling.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:50 PM ^
This already happened last year and they got in! Granted, Michigan losing the first week against a good team is different from OSU and Iowa but it's hardly a given. The SEC is getting a team in anyway so I'd rather Alabama just win out and knock out all the other teams in conference.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:05 PM ^
That is because OSU had 2 losses last year! People forget that. We will be in with 1 loss if we win the Big Ten.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:53 PM ^
Alabama, like Michigan, schedules one quality non-conference opponent a year. This is not Oregon scheduling a bunch of patsies. They schedule well.
As it happens, Louisville has turned out to be a disaster this year. But scheduling them wasn't a bad idea at all--just two years ago they had the look of an elite team with Lamar Jackson. The year before they played a top five FSU team that had just come off of a good season and that win over us in the Orange Bowl. And the year before that they pummeled a USC team that wound up beating Penn State in the Rose Bowl.
This year their schedule has a lot of flimsiness. But it's not for lack of trying on their part, in contrast to some other SEC teams.
One of the problems we run into with Bama: We have a better schedule, and if they have one loss, they are both pretty good losses. But the quality of our wins is taking a hit as teams like Wisconsin and MSU look to have disappointing seasons. And Alabama has looked absolutely dominant on the field, something that the committee has openly stated that they look at.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:26 PM ^
Louisville was good for 2 years when they had Lamar Jackson. That's it. Nobody thought they we're scheduling a football powerhouse with Louisville on the schedule.
October 25th, 2018 at 2:44 PM ^
Stepenjrking, I find you to be insightful and reasonable in your comments. This time I think you're off base.
Alabama's non-conference schedule is significantly less challenging than Michigan's, almost every year, for four reasons:
- The SEC has 4 OOC games, and only 8 conference games. I've read that persists because SEC bottom feeders want to load up on cupcakes to reach bowl eligibility, but it hugely benefits 'bama too. This year the tide's OOC opponents are LA-Lafayette, Arkansas St., Louisville, and The Citadel. Sheesh.
- While you're correct that they schedule one OOC game that appears to be a challenge every year, it's always at home or on a "neutral" site in the south. They never schedule home/homes, or travel outside their region.
- They always schedule an FCS body-bag. The last three years they've scheduled Chattanooga, Mercer and The Citadel. Ridiculous.
- Worst of all, that body-bag game is scheduled late in the season - typically Mid-November. That's absurd. So, 'bama gets a bye week AND a second "off" week in the heart of their season.
If Alabama scheduled a second P5 OOC opponent in their November slot, it would make their schedule closer to parity (there's still more at stake in conference games).
There was a time when the SEC was head and shoulders above the B1G top-to-bottom, but that's no longer the case. Bama's schedule is a joke this year.
October 25th, 2018 at 4:06 PM ^
One thing I think you're forgetting here is that in this end of season scenario, we'll have beaten OSU by that point as well. So that quality win conceivably would trump anything Bama would have (assuming here that they'll lose to LSU, which I highly doubt will happen anyway).
People seem to be comparing our current resume/wins to Bama's end of season resume/wins, which obviously isn't apples to apples.
October 25th, 2018 at 2:39 PM ^
There are many reasons to knock 'Bama but their OOC scheduling is not pathetic other than the pasty that they before Auburn every year...the last three years, they have opened with and beaten USC, Florida State and Louisville...it's not 'Bama's fault that FSU and Louisville turned out to be shitty and USC was just...OK...and befre that, I believe they played Wisconsin
October 25th, 2018 at 6:23 PM ^
That slate of games has turned out to be equivalent to playing an average B1G team. So it essentially functions as the 9th conference game, since the SEC only plays 8. And the other 3 games they play each year are complete jokes.
October 25th, 2018 at 8:28 PM ^
Practically, yes...but I am not going to blame Alabama or anyone else for scheduling the USCs and Florida States of the world...not even Texas...OSU scheduled TCU this year, for example...that's not going to help them much...Alabama along with LSU and Tennesse was one of the few SEC teams that would schedule difficult OOC games and evevn, occasionally, on the road. Sometimes, a team turns out to be a dud...see Utah scheduling Michigan in 2008
October 25th, 2018 at 4:00 PM ^
AL beating LSU and losing a close one in SEC CG to 1-loss GA or FL is another problem scenario for other 1-loss teams. You then have 12-1 AL not 11-1 and the beat LSU in Death Valley. If they’re still destroying teams as they have been their narrative will reach mythical proportions.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:19 PM ^
I would think if Alabama lost they would probably fall to #5 behind us. That's what happened when they lost to Auburn last year.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
And yet Bama still made the CFP, along with Georgia.
We may need help, even if we win out. The SEC champ is in. Guaranfuckinteed. An undefeated Clemson and Notre Dame are in. A one loss Bama is most likely in. LSU, Oklahoma, UGA, Florida, and Texas are all contenders.
October 25th, 2018 at 2:55 PM ^
There were no P5 Conference winners with 1-loss that got left out. Ohio State & USC each had 2 losses. That's why 1-loss Alabama made it (along with 1-loss P5 conference winners Clemson, Oklahoma and Georgia)
October 25th, 2018 at 4:03 PM ^
Not over a one loss B1G Champ
October 25th, 2018 at 6:08 PM ^
That would mean Iowa’s guaranteed a berth, if they win out. Ha ha ha.
A two loss SEC champ would be chosen over a one loss, B1G champ, Iowa. And no way does a 12-1 Iowa jump an 11-1 Alabama.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:40 PM ^
LSU beating Alabama, though satisfying to many, plants a seed for potentially two SEC teams getting into the CFP. My wife is an LSU alum and her family are all big LSU fans so I am at a cross roads here. I want the easiest path for Michigan into the CFP but LSU beating Bama creates a bumpier road for Michigan.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:53 AM ^
Who cares?
We have an opportunity to get 3 more good wins (PSU, OSU, and B1G West Champ). Win those and we go to the CFP. Loss one and our current ranking won't matter at all.
All this positive chatter is great for recruiting, but that's it.
October 25th, 2018 at 11:59 AM ^
You forgot about our ultimate rival Rutger
October 25th, 2018 at 12:15 PM ^
So why is everyone dropping the S all of a sudden? Did I miss something?
October 25th, 2018 at 12:18 PM ^
One Rutger is plenty.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:48 PM ^
I dunno. The first I saw it was by Indiana blog Crimson Quarry on Twitter. That was at least last year, maybe two years ago. I don't know that they started it, or why it started, but it's been around for a little while.
**Edit: Checked with Crimson Quarry on Twitter. As far as they know, they were the first to do it back in 2015. So that's all I've got.
https://twitter.com/crimsonquarry/status/561614071171395584
October 26th, 2018 at 12:33 PM ^
You missed nothing clever or important.
October 25th, 2018 at 12:29 PM ^
I love having Rutgers in conference. We get a late season bodybag game just like Alabama but don’t have to take shit about schedule a non-P5 cupcake.
October 25th, 2018 at 1:34 PM ^
Buttger