Bill Connelly’s original article
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/20...-committee

Complete BCS standings for your perusal
http://www.footballfoundation.org/Progra...hives.aspx

Connely picked:

USC, Texas, Penn State, Oregon


Now USC and Texas are the easy picks.

Number 3 comes down to the following 1 loss teams and notable 2 loss teams.

Penn State- Narrow loss to Michigan and beat 2 Big East teams in noncon. B1G Champs

WVU- Lost by 17 to VT but Pat White did not start yet. Beat Maryland in noncon and won Big East. The early loss and the fact White didn't play could help.

UGA- 2 losses but one was without Shockley and both were close. SEC Champ. You could argue it's a 1 loss team with a healthy DJ Shockley depending on how much the injury thing gets considered.

Ohio State- Narrow losses to Texas and Penn State. Were the runners up in a really deep year for the Big Ten and were unanimous #4 before the bowls in both polls and the computers.

VT- 2 losses, one by blowout to Miami probably eliminates them.

Oregon- One loss to USC by blowout hurts. They beat some good teams like Fresno, Houston, AzState, and Cal.



My pick?
Texas- Unbeaten & computer #1 due to SOS
USC- Unbeaten
Penn State- Only one loss team without a blowout loss and really strong SOS.
UGA- 2 losses but neither were by a large margin and the DJ Shockley injury helps the perception that they would be at worst a 1 loss team with him in there. Gets the nod over Ohio State for the conference championship as well as the injury factor.

Runner ups:
Ohio State- Lost to two qualifiers, did not win league, lost twice without key injury.
WVU- Lost badly to VT and SOS isn't good enough to overcome it.
Oregon- Got blown out and didn't win league.

(08-02-2014 11:59 PM)1845 Bear Wrote:  Bill Connelly’s original article
http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-football/20...-committee

Complete BCS standings for your perusal
http://www.footballfoundation.org/Progra...hives.aspx

Connely picked:

USC, Texas, Penn State, Oregon


Now USC and Texas are the easy picks.

Number 3 comes down to the following 1 loss teams and notable 2 loss teams.

Penn State- Narrow loss to Michigan and beat 2 Big East teams in noncon. B1G Champs

WVU- Lost by 17 to VT but Pat White did not start yet. Beat Maryland in noncon and won Big East. The early loss and the fact White didn't play could help.

UGA- 2 losses but one was without Shockley and both were close. SEC Champ. You could argue it's a 1 loss team with a healthy DJ Shockley depending on how much the injury thing gets considered.

Ohio State- Narrow losses to Texas and Penn State. Were the runners up in a really deep year for the Big Ten and were unanimous #4 before the bowls in both polls and the computers.

VT- 2 losses, one by blowout to Miami probably eliminates them.

Oregon- One loss to USC by blowout hurts. They beat some good teams like Fresno, Houston, AzState, and Cal.



My pick?
Texas- Unbeaten & computer #1 due to SOS
USC- Unbeaten
Penn State- Only one loss team without a blowout loss and really strong SOS.
UGA- 2 losses but neither were by a large margin and the DJ Shockley injury helps the perception that they would be at worst a 1 loss team with him in there. Gets the nod over Ohio State for the conference championship as well as the injury factor.

Runner ups:
Ohio State- Lost to two qualifiers, did not win league, lost twice without key injury.
WVU- Lost badly to VT and SOS isn't good enough to overcome it.
Oregon- Got blown out and didn't win league.

Think its USC, Texas, Penn St., Ohio St.

Ohio St. had a far tougher schedule than the other two loss teams or Oregon or WVU and Oregon got blown out and WVU just wasn't that impressive in their wins and did get beat pretty soundly by VT. Ohio St. lost two very, tough games (3 and 7 points), one on the road.

As for UGA, they just never looked that impressive all year long. They kept squeaking out wins. Ohio St. was blowing virtually everyone out and their better losses would trump the conference championship for the committee.

For me I agree. If UGA was a 1 loss team vs. a 1 loss Ohio St. (assuming they didn't play Texas but lost to PSU), I might give more weight to a conference champion. But with two losses, you've harmed your claim that you can be the best team, but just played in a tough conference. And UGA lost its two biggest rivalry games-Florida and Auburn while tying with Alabama for only the 3rd best regular season record in the SEC (LSU and Auburn were 7-1). Florida finished 1 game back as they lost to LSU and Alabama as well as division foe South Carolina.

Penn State is an easy pick to join Texas and USC. Big Ten champs, one loss, no. 3 in the polls and BCS.

It's a wide open field for the fourth slot. Ohio State was no. 4 in the polls and BCS. At two losses, they are a toss up with no. 5 in the polls Notre Dame (two "quality" losses) and no. 5 in the computers Oregon (only one loss). As an aside, both LSU and Virginia Tech almost certainly cost themselves imaginary slots by losing in their respective CCGs, emphasizing the important role that CCGs are going to play in the selection process.

Given the consensus of the polls, the computers and the BCS on Ohio State as no. 4, I would have to believe the committee would see it that way as well.

Georgia was on the wrong side of the conference and couldn't get it done against Florida to make that record more impressive or acceptable. Unfortunately for both Oregon and USC, the PAC only sent five bowl eligible teams, so while Oregon recovered respectfully from the thumping, at home no less, who was really that impressive after that?

Ohio State's a mixed bag...two shots at top teams and went 0-2 against them. BUT...like Oregon, they recovered well after their last loss and, unlike the Ducks, played some more impressive competition to get there. Do you reward the Buckeyes because they took their losses early and less severely? Do you reward them because the Big Ten sent seven teams bowling? Or, did they already have their shot and exposure after going 0-2 vs. the top three?

On merit, I think you have to give #4 to the Buckeyes. If the Big East was stronger and if VT wouldn't have lost to one of the Florida schools, the cases for WVU and VT would have been more considerable.

The only dispute here is #4, as Penn State is the obvious #3.

I know it may seem like hindsight talking but i would put WVU in at #4 over Ohio State and Georgia. WVU did have a weak schedule but not weak enough to be jumped by teams with more losses.

Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App

WVU's schedule was pretty darn weak. And their loss was pretty substantial (34-17)...on their home turf no less.

I'm a fan of diversity though...and Ohio State already had shots at PSU and Texas...one on road, one at home...and lost both. Georgia did well against a good schedule. And I could see that CCG catapulting them into the top 4 (similarly to what MSU's win over OSU did in 2013).

(08-03-2014 10:19 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  The only dispute here is #4, as Penn State is the obvious #3.

I know it may seem like hindsight talking but i would put WVU in at #4 over Ohio State and Georgia. WVU did have a weak schedule but not weak enough to be jumped by teams with more losses.

Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App

The problem with WVU is that they struggled against some of those weak teams (especially earlier in the season) and lost decisively at home against Virginia Tech who was one of the other 2 loss contenders.

(08-03-2014 11:56 AM)allthatyoucantleavebehind Wrote:  WVU's schedule was pretty darn weak. And their loss was pretty substantial (34-17)...on their home turf no less.

I'm a fan of diversity though...and Ohio State already had shots at PSU and Texas...one on road, one at home...and lost both. Georgia did well against a good schedule. And I could see that CCG catapulting them into the top 4 (similarly to what MSU's win over OSU did in 2013).

Good points. I certainly could not object to Georgia or Ohio State. It is a tough call.

Posted from my mobile device using the CSNbbs App