December 2nd, 2018 at 1:26 AM ^
Not after Georgia moves up to 2nd by blowing a lead today and getting blown out by LSU.
December 2nd, 2018 at 1:31 AM ^
That would be ideal. I would LOVE the Rose Bowl. And OSU getting stomped by Bama.
December 2nd, 2018 at 1:31 AM ^
No, you don't go to the playoffs when you get blown out by 29 points vs. a 6-6 team. It will be Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma in the playoffs. The fewest points Oklahoma gave up in any game this season was 27(!), and that's still better than losing by 29 to Purdue.
December 2nd, 2018 at 1:46 AM ^
ESPN has osu at 71% to make the playoff
December 2nd, 2018 at 2:11 AM ^
I want OSU to make it. We go to the Rose and they get to lose to Bama. A true win-win.
December 2nd, 2018 at 1:35 AM ^
December 2nd, 2018 at 2:10 AM ^
Totally agree, Hatter. I just want a win to end the season on a relatively positive note. Losing The Game the way we did sucked, but ending on a win and completing an 11 win season would make it pretty hard to call this year anything other than a huge success.
December 2nd, 2018 at 6:16 AM ^
Agree however I’d have to leave out “huge”.
December 2nd, 2018 at 2:02 AM ^
Yay... said no one
December 2nd, 2018 at 2:47 AM ^
Couldn’t the committee leapfrog Penn State past LSU to avoid 4 SEC teams in the playoff/New Years 6?
Georgia lost so LSU’s win over them is no longer as good as it was last week and Ohio State won so that makes Penn State’s loss vs them better. There is some way they could justify it.
December 2nd, 2018 at 7:28 AM ^
I don't understand why the committee doesn't make statements with how they slot 5+. The bowl arrangements are important for all the players/teams, but they could do a lot of good for college football moving forwards.
-Drop SEC teams and say OOC schedule sucks.
-If OSU doesn't get in, keep them at 6 and have UCF leap them. "Despite what conversations are initiated on telecasts, it is important if you lose by >21 points in a game, and you can't barely beat inferior teams all year and expect your resume to impress."
-IF ND was 5, drop them to like 7 or 8 and say it's because they didn't play a conference title game.
-In reference to bullet #1, move a team up a couple of slots who scheduled good/great teams in the non conference. Even make a comment about how the game was scheduled in June of 2016, and that effort was noticed. If 1-loss 'bama had gotten in over a 1-loss conference champion Michigan, college football teams would be more incentivized to schedule baby seals pre conference.
TL;DR - the playoff committee has 2 jobs. Get the best ~4 teams with reasonable criteria and, in the process, try to make college football better moving forward.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:18 AM ^
"...try to make college football better moving forward."
This is EXACTLY what the committee should do. They know the pressure for 8 teams, and that the NY6, and all other bowls, have no meaning. They should be all in for improving the perception using matchups.
But they won't. They'll hide behind some document written years ago and say 'our charter only includes the playoff games'. And thereby abdicate any responsibility to make the game watchable.
If there's one thing that absolutely disgusts me at work, its having to deal with people that hide behind the written word of a policy document, rather than employing common sense. Fuck those people...
December 2nd, 2018 at 4:06 AM ^
Florida is borderline punishment for a 10-2 team. I would take UCF in the Fiesta bowl over a Florida matchup in a heartbeat.
December 2nd, 2018 at 4:24 AM ^
Mercedes-Benz Stadium is pretty nice.
December 2nd, 2018 at 6:00 AM ^
FiveThirtyEight predicts Oklahoma and Ohio State both jump Notre Dame and Georgia.
I’d love to see Notre Dame get punished like that for not playing in a conference championship game.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:49 AM ^
I agree with this for several reasons as well.
While they are undefeated, undefeated is not enough to get UCF in either... and while UCF played pretty much nobody, they are a conference champ.
ND is not a conference champ, and had Georgia not had to play a conference championship, they would be in the CFP. (Read, had ND played Clemson last night they would have a loss, or Clemson would, but either way it is an extra significant chance at a loss). 2014 OSU leap frogged #3 non-conference champ TCU, for instance, and would not have gotten in in 2016 but for its win over Wisconsin. The committee has been pretty consistent over the last several years about how meaningful that conference championship game is.
Even though their schedule was not as strong as it could have been, they never really distinguished themselves like Bama and Clemson did through blow outs or clear wins. ND played many, many close games to the end to poor quality teams. For instance, ND played 4 poor quality teams within 1 score (Ball state, USC, Vandy, and Pitt). These four teams combined for a record of 22 wins and 27 losses over the season. Each of those four also had much worse losses, than to ND, from similarly poor quality teams. In short, ND may be undefeated, but it's mostly due to luck.
Additionally, for ND to be out of the CFP completely, we have to compare them to OSU. Both teams played NW and Michigan. ND beat Michigan by 7, OSU by 23. ND beat NW by 10, OSU did it by 21.
If we take the eye test, I'd guess most people would think that Oklahoma and OSU would both likely win against the ND team that has struggled so much this year.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:58 AM ^
They can crunch all the numbers they want. I can't see the committee putting an OSU team that lost by 20+ to Purdue and struggled with a number of other crappy teams, sneaking in over an undefeated Notre Dame. Not happening
December 2nd, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
Not in a million years and I don't even understand why this is being discussed.
Yes, OSU played in a conference championship game. Against fucking Northwestern. And ND beat them by more. No chance it's happening.
December 2nd, 2018 at 6:52 AM ^
Hope thats not the case, but with Florida reportedly wanting to play UCF, we could land a better matchup. There are two projections for venue, Peach or Fiesta but both with Gators. I'd have to think a school or two would like to boost their resume by potentially beating HB.
December 2nd, 2018 at 1:52 PM ^
Sorry Dyslexia JH
December 2nd, 2018 at 1:58 PM ^
Sorry Dyslexia JH
December 2nd, 2018 at 7:56 AM ^
What a dull, uninspiring matchup. Really hope it’s somehow LSU instead.
No disrespect to Florida, but having to play them for the third time in four years would really suck. Honestly, I’d rather play anyone else.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:01 AM ^
The only good things to come out of OSU making the 4th playoff spot is that Michigan would go to the Rose Bowl and I would get to watch Alabama curb stomp OSU in the playoffs.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:05 AM ^
Like M Dog, think they should let UCF and Florida duke it out. Fiesta would be great, nice weather, solid opponent, prestigious win opportunity to send out the lads the right way on a good season.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:17 AM ^
Got to do something different to expect something different. Do you expect anything different next year? How about winning a big game for once.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
^^^This^^^
The Peach, Gator and Outback bowls are what you get when you are a middling Big Ten team. We didn't even win our division, much less the conference championship. At these bowls you play a middling SEC team with regional interest which are South Carolina, Florida and Mississippi State.
This is why we keep playing in the same bowls against the same teams.
Until we beat OSU and win the Big Ten we will always be in Bowl purgatory.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:36 AM ^
I would really like to see us play LSU or Washington State. Michigan versus Florida (again) does nothing for me.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:41 AM ^
The lack of excitement for a potential Florida matchup shows the desire for a change to the playoff system. No one would be complaining about this if it was a hypothetical first round game in a 8 or 16 team model because there’s something to play for the following week. Get rid of these conference championships.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:53 AM ^
I'm not going to lie, I would lose my mind over the possibility of a 16 team December-November playoff (and several extra possible games to watch Michigan play in).
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:51 AM ^
Pretty obvious the playoff should expand to at least 8 teams.
Leaving a one loss conference champion out is ludicrous
December 2nd, 2018 at 11:01 AM ^
Agreed.
Other ludicrous things:
Divisions within conferences
Conferences still named for the number of teams they actually had in the 80’s
Five Conference commissioners who agreed to this stupid playoff format allowing 4 teams in knowing one P5, at minimum, would be left out as well as independents (their own fault)
Teams compelled to lobby for themselves like a beauty pageant instead of just playing in a playoff format. People can say “the whole season is a playoff”. Great, this is the only asinine level of football doing it this way and although I’m glad they ditched the voting system, do better.
December 2nd, 2018 at 8:57 AM ^
If we play Florida in a bowl game, I hope our team will be more inspired for the matchup than I will be.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:02 AM ^
Bleh. What a crappy match-up that would be. We would most likely throttle them yet again, and no one would care. I want LSU
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:06 AM ^
Most people are assuming Alabama, Clemson, ND, and Oklahoma or OSU in the CFP. There are many more possible interesting matchups if they end up ranking teams like this:
1) Alabama
2) Clemson
3)Oklahoma
4) OSU
5) ND
6) Georgia
7) UCF
8) Michigan
9) Washington
10-13) some version of FLA, LSU, PSU, Wazzu
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:22 AM ^
Give up on the idea of ND moving out of the playoffs. They won't. Nor should they - OSU did absolutely nothing to move up beyond #5. The B1G Championship was actually in doubt in the 4th quarter. If they had any chance to jump OU, they had to beat the living shit out of NW from start to finish. And they didn't come remotely close to doing that.
Georgia lost a second game - they have nothing to whine about. The top 4 is set.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:12 AM ^
The Peach Bowl is one of the BIG bowl games. Its one of the selection committee bowl games. The Peach Bowl was recently elevated to a NY6 bowl. Please do not confuse the Peach Bowl with the lesser (fruit-named) bowl games. Going to the Peach Bowl signifies a damn good season. When you think of the Peach Bowl, put it in the same tier as the Sugar bowl, Orange bowl, Rose bowl, Cotton bowl and Fiesta bowl. THE PEACH BOWL IS ONE OF THE NY6 BOWL GAMES.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:24 AM ^
You're missing the point. The problem isn't the Peach Bowl itself, the problem is the (probable) matchup with Floriduh for the 3rd time in 4 years. It's stale, and nobody wants to see it. Not even the diehard Michigan fans like us! I doubt that hardcore UF fans are anymore interested than us. And the general public won't give a shit about it...
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:27 AM ^
I would imagine UF is sick of losing to us too.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:51 AM ^
A lot of people have a problem with the Peach Bowl itself. Hell I'd rather play in the Citrus.
December 2nd, 2018 at 10:08 AM ^
The problem isn't the Peach Bowl itself, the problem is the (probable) matchup with Floriduh for the 3rd time in 4 years.
My problem is the Peach Bowl. I don't care if it's now considered a good bowl game. Playing in Atlanta on Dec. 29 sucks.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:50 AM ^
Can't believe that there are people posting here who don't know this.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:47 AM ^
Fuck the Peach Bowl
A beautiful dream season wasted because of poor coaching in road games. Same story as 2016. Now next year we will hear how they are a young team and need more time. Other teams go to national championship games with freshman QBs but our players have no hope of being productive until they are juniors and then they go to the NFL.
December 2nd, 2018 at 9:58 AM ^
Osu playing that freshman receiver that torched us & NW last night. Meanwhile we have our fastest guy (Ambry Thomas) on the bench, & don't put him in to cover for Watson ... or use him on offense.
December 2nd, 2018 at 10:38 AM ^
The team deserves the Peach Bowl. *Shrugs*
December 2nd, 2018 at 10:43 AM ^
I do not want to play Florida again!!! And the Peach Bowl is without a doubt the least of the NY6 Bowls. Atlanta at noon on the 29th?
December 2nd, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
Brutal
December 2nd, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
Hoping its LSU instead of Florida, but I don't think Florida will agree to play UCF.
December 2nd, 2018 at 11:31 AM ^
No, please no, no