Michigan #1 Overall, Draws Alabama In Rose Bowl
Well: the committee left out 13-0 Florida State in favor of Alabama, which upset Georgia in the SEC championship game, and Michigan draws them. Alabama's not your usual Alabama team, having struggled for sizeable chunks of the season. They're literally tied with FSU in SP+ at 23.7; Michigan is at 32.1. Bama enters with the #11 offense and #9 defense; Michigan is 10 and 1.
Alabama is 12-1, with a ten-point loss at home to Texas and a series of narrow wins over South Florida (17-3), Texas A&M (26-20), Arkansas (24-21), Auburn (27-24) and Georgia (27-24). They hammered LSU, Mississippi State, and Kentucky and have two-TD wins over Ole Miss and Tennessee.
More analysis to follow. There is no content after the jump.
December 3rd, 2023 at 12:33 PM ^
F Bama. Go Blue!
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:16 PM ^
Hey Brian!
Love that you're here, supporting Team 144!
But as a Niners fan, we have a pretty big game to get ready for today, so kindly excuse yourself & go back to casting magic spells on Brock Purdy!
Mr. Irrelevant is Pick 199 revisited!
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:28 PM ^
I think Brian has put in his work already, and I’m sure Purdy will be prepped to work the Birds today (and I’m an Eagles fan)
December 3rd, 2023 at 8:03 PM ^
And indeed he did!
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:38 PM ^
Brandon Graham says,
”E-A-G-L-E-S”
December 3rd, 2023 at 11:32 PM ^
Ambry Thomas, Jake Moody & Ronnie Bell say "GO N-I-N-E-R-S!"
December 3rd, 2023 at 12:33 PM ^
Go Blue!
December 3rd, 2023 at 4:53 PM ^
We're doing it Tom Emanski-style: Back to back to back...
December 3rd, 2023 at 4:56 PM ^
underrated reference (no matter how many likes it picks up)
December 4th, 2023 at 1:26 AM ^
After not getting picked to the 9-10u LL All Star team my son - after he stopped crying long enough to compose himself - put a baseball in my hand and said "teach me how to pitch".
I started off with "Back to Back to Back" that summer. It worked.
December 3rd, 2023 at 12:33 PM ^
Sorry but FSU got fucked royally. If you think they didn't just ask yourself if it were undefeated Michigan not making it.
December 3rd, 2023 at 12:34 PM ^
of course they got fucked. It's just so obvious they were going to is the thing.
They can lean on the "QB is hurt" thing, but even if he wasn't, I bet Bama would have gotten in.
$$$
December 3rd, 2023 at 12:43 PM ^
FSU should go Sobchak on the committee
December 3rd, 2023 at 3:12 PM ^
Pains me to say but I also don't think FSU’s coach lobbied hard enough for his team, especially when both Kirby and Saban started chirping for their inclusion, the minute their game was finished.
Is it a little uncouth and sorta awkward, yes but if it helps get your team into the CFP, who cares? The ACC doesn’t have the largest sports network in their pocket and a southern good old boy radio host singing their praises so sometimes you have to be your own cheerleader and I don’t think Norvell was loud enough.
December 3rd, 2023 at 5:26 PM ^
Norvell and the ACC suit didn't have near as much airtime as Sankey and Satan (who I understand is a regular on one of the shows on the wwl).
One more reason to never watch espen again.
December 3rd, 2023 at 12:44 PM ^
No Travis, no playoffs
No JJ, no playoffs
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:00 PM ^
This further translates that it’s all about perception, not reality. This sends the message that if your team is full of superstars or *5 star players, it’s ok to lose because it’s not a team game but based on how “good” your team is. Thank God JJ or Corum didn’t get injured, Michigan might’ve gotten left out.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:25 PM ^
Reality is a matter of perception
December 3rd, 2023 at 9:01 PM ^
Well then it seems the perception of your perception leads to quite the inconsistent reality.
December 3rd, 2023 at 2:28 PM ^
And this is what bothers me - if the committee says “not having your best player matters” then the opposite can be said as well ….Bama has had no serious injuries but lost to Texas and barely got by several average teams - when an SEC team is interested, motivated and has weeks to prepare, the probability favors them….it sucks but history has proven this…..
December 3rd, 2023 at 3:12 PM ^
College football has always been about perception. That's the whole idea behind the CFP committee.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:06 PM ^
BS. It's about money. OSU got in with their QB out in 2014 and Meyer said as much on air yesterday before the game started.
December 3rd, 2023 at 2:04 PM ^
That OSU team got in because they beat Wisconsin 59-0 in the BTCG game. That fact is something that a lot of people arguing this point are seeming to forget. OSU proved to the committee that they were still just as dangerous without JT Barrett as they were with him. FSU can’t say that about itself with Jordan Travis out.
Yes, there is a precedent for this sort of thing that could’ve potentially worked for FSU. But 59-0 was the bar that OSU set when that precedent happened. And it was against a really good Wisconsin team.
FSU didn’t even come close to meeting that bar. They won, but you can tell they’re not the same team.
December 3rd, 2023 at 5:30 PM ^
They played yesterday without QB2 also. QB3 managed the game, and the D shut down L'ville like nobody else had all year. QB2 would most definitely have been available 1/1.
This situation is untenable and it makes me nauseas for FSU getting screwed the way they did. It's a team game. That team rose up and did what was asked...13 times.
Plus, Bama got spanked at home. That's a deal breaker for me. Can't lose at home, can't get blown out.
Sad day for CFB.
December 4th, 2023 at 5:50 AM ^
Auburn was also the deal breaker for me with the 4th and goal from the 31. That two years now that Auburn ineptitude has put Bama in. A few years back Auburn wins if Tank Bigsby just stays in bounds.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:42 PM ^
OSU won the first CFP with a backup QB. The injury thing is BS. FSU earned it Bama did not.
December 3rd, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
There was a precedent in 2014 when OSU got in with a 3rd string QB.
December 3rd, 2023 at 12:49 PM ^
They got Dennis Franklined
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:00 PM ^
Same shit... 50 years later. Some things just stay the same.
A month later...
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:20 PM ^
That shirt though!
December 3rd, 2023 at 2:27 PM ^
That is the most 1973 picture ever.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:14 PM ^
I really wish I could upvote this 100 times.
December 3rd, 2023 at 3:55 PM ^
Sure does bring back bad memories. M was 10-0-1 that year. The only thing "good" was the B1G changed its bowl policy. Seems to happen more often than not that M gets involved in a snafu that changes future policies but still gets screwed in the mean time.
December 3rd, 2023 at 12:52 PM ^
Im pissed because we cant win an outright national title now. FSU will throttle their bowl opponent and they'll rightfully claim a share of the national title.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:05 PM ^
If Michigan beats Alabama and then Texas or Washington nobody is gonna be talking about FSU’s bowl game.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:07 PM ^
Of course they will, especially if they play ohio and win by more than 6, they're gonna have every argument.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:30 PM ^
You can put the concern that a Travis-less fsu would beat osu by more than 6 so far down my list of worries that it actually circles around the globe & taps me on the shoulder from behind!
But you have to be kidding anyway, I suppose?
December 3rd, 2023 at 2:20 PM ^
exactly.
December 4th, 2023 at 9:36 AM ^
Posts on this thread + quick glance at recent posting history give off a strong Buckeye troll odor.
People look for someone saying something outrageous and sometimes it is, but to me the dead giveaway is always over-the-top exaggeration of the stereotypes Ohio State and MSU fans apply to Michigan fans, of course mixed with dumb concern trolling like "Florida State will try to claim a Natty" lol.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:59 PM ^
Neither of those teams will have their best players on the field for that.
December 3rd, 2023 at 2:02 PM ^
I'll sign up for that scenario right now. and be thrilled with it.
December 3rd, 2023 at 3:16 PM ^
FSU will play Georgia and OSU is playing Missouri. If Missouri beats OSU and UGA loses to FSU, my guess is that it is more than likely that the losers will not have many of their seniors in their bowl game. They will sit out to prevent injury before entering the draft. Then the narrative will be that FSU, and Mizzou beat up on a weakened teams, and that would be accurate. The CFP is it. Yep, FSU got screwed because the CFP committee is in the bag for the SEC.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:13 PM ^
They’ll talk about it in the same way that they talked about UCF.
December 4th, 2023 at 1:12 AM ^
That they outhit Michigan?
December 4th, 2023 at 9:14 AM ^
lol. there will be dozens of posts on this board alone, to say nothing of the hundreds of moron youtube channels, excoriating everyone from boo corrigan to boo radley to ellen ripley.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:10 PM ^
If that pisses you off, you either have a great life or a very bad life. Here's hoping it's a great one.
December 3rd, 2023 at 3:53 PM ^
I mean, we beat ohio, so I am having a great season regardless. This is more like how I feel about innocent people becoming collateral damage in foreign wars.
December 3rd, 2023 at 1:11 PM ^
For FSU to claim a national title, they would have to be awarded a national title by an NCAA recognized selector. All that’s left are the CFP, AP, Coaches and various computer rankings. First three will not rank FSU #1. And there’s no computer ranking that will have FSU #1 if Michigan or Washington go undefeated, MAYBE there’s a weird formula that ranks them 1 if Texas or Bama win simply because they hadn’t lost.
I also have serious doubts FSU wins, let alone throttles their opponent, in their bowl game. They’re not a very good team without Travis.
December 3rd, 2023 at 3:27 PM ^
Or be coached by Scott Frost
December 3rd, 2023 at 5:40 PM ^
The Colley poll ranked UCF #1, largely because they were the only undefeated team at the end of the year. Alabama and Wisconsin were the only 1 loss teams.
So it fits in my claim, in a scenario where neither Michigan nor Washington finish undefeated, there’s a chance one of these polls ranks FSU #1.
As it stands currently, they’re #5 in the Colley Matrix. Ranked behind all four CFP participants. Essentially ensuring they won’t jump to #1 https://www.colleyrankings.com/currank.html
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