(01-10-2017 05:51 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:28 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  USC is on a nine game winning streak and beat the current #4 & #7 teams. Being ranked #3 is completely justified, I think too many people put stock into W/L records.

USC would be favored to beat any team not named Clemson or Alabama right now.

You could make a case for any of the 3-6 teams at #3, which is reflected by how close the vote totals were. USC has two top 10 wins and 3 top 25 wins, finished very strong, and played an extremely tough schedule. Each of the 3 teams that beat them is ranked in the final ranking. Ohio State is being punished too much by the voters for the poor showing against Clemson; based on their season as a whole and their quality wins they should be higher than #6.

Or maybe it has something do do with almost losing to Northwestern, Michigan State, Michigan, and getting demolished by Clemson.

Ohio State has had many close calls against average to bad teams this year and gets demolished at the end of the year when your team should be at it's best.

IMO they are lucky to be #6. You cannot even say with a straight face that Ohio State would be favored to beat LSU or FSU right now.

(01-10-2017 05:33 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  Well, there's "How Good Are They?" vs "What Spot Have They Earned?"

In the former, yeah, USC being #3 isn't so wild. In the latter, USC needs to drop a couple spots.

Let's analyze a couple spots then.

USC vs #4Washington (This is a team USC already beat in a convincing manner.)
USC vs #5 Oklahoma (Pretty even game but USC would probably be favored.)
USC vs #6 Ohio State (Again, USC would be favored)
USC vs #7 Penn State (USC was favored and won.)

I'm sorry but I see zero justification of ranking any of these teams above USC aside from them having a better record. That's what the "I don't watch the games" coaches poll does.

(01-11-2017 11:24 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:51 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:28 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  USC is on a nine game winning streak and beat the current #4 & #7 teams. Being ranked #3 is completely justified, I think too many people put stock into W/L records.

USC would be favored to beat any team not named Clemson or Alabama right now.

You could make a case for any of the 3-6 teams at #3, which is reflected by how close the vote totals were. USC has two top 10 wins and 3 top 25 wins, finished very strong, and played an extremely tough schedule. Each of the 3 teams that beat them is ranked in the final ranking. Ohio State is being punished too much by the voters for the poor showing against Clemson; based on their season as a whole and their quality wins they should be higher than #6.

Or maybe it has something do do with almost losing to Northwestern, Michigan State, Michigan, and getting demolished by Clemson.

Ohio State has had many close calls against average to bad teams this year and gets demolished at the end of the year when your team should be at it's best.

IMO they are lucky to be #6. You cannot even say with a straight face that Ohio State would be favored to beat LSU or FSU right now.

FSU who lost 63-20 to Louisville who lost to Kentucky?

Ohio St. would be a huge favorite over LSU (who got beaten by Wisconsin) and a favorite over FSU.

(01-10-2017 05:30 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 03:53 PM)SigNuTopper Wrote:  Auburn being Top 25 is a complete farce.

Which unranked teams do you think would be favored against Auburn?

Dunno abut favored but Georgia Tech would beat Auburn.

(01-11-2017 11:29 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:33 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  Well, there's "How Good Are They?" vs "What Spot Have They Earned?"

In the former, yeah, USC being #3 isn't so wild. In the latter, USC needs to drop a couple spots.

Let's analyze a couple spots then.

USC vs #4Washington (This is a team USC already beat in a convincing manner.)
USC vs #5 Oklahoma (Pretty even game but USC would probably be favored.)
USC vs #6 Ohio State (Again, USC would be favored)
USC vs #7 Penn State (USC was favored and won.)

I'm sorry but I see zero justification of ranking any of these teams above USC aside from them having a better record. That's what the "I don't watch the games" coaches poll does.

USC got destroyed by Alabama 52-6. They also lost to Stanford and Utah. UW beat Utah on the road and crushed Stanford at home. UW lost to Alabama only 24-7. UW won the Pac 12 while USC was 2nd in their division. So there are 4 reasons in addition to a better W/L record.

(01-11-2017 12:23 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 11:24 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:51 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:28 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  USC is on a nine game winning streak and beat the current #4 & #7 teams. Being ranked #3 is completely justified, I think too many people put stock into W/L records.

USC would be favored to beat any team not named Clemson or Alabama right now.

You could make a case for any of the 3-6 teams at #3, which is reflected by how close the vote totals were. USC has two top 10 wins and 3 top 25 wins, finished very strong, and played an extremely tough schedule. Each of the 3 teams that beat them is ranked in the final ranking. Ohio State is being punished too much by the voters for the poor showing against Clemson; based on their season as a whole and their quality wins they should be higher than #6.

Or maybe it has something do do with almost losing to Northwestern, Michigan State, Michigan, and getting demolished by Clemson.

Ohio State has had many close calls against average to bad teams this year and gets demolished at the end of the year when your team should be at it's best.

IMO they are lucky to be #6. You cannot even say with a straight face that Ohio State would be favored to beat LSU or FSU right now.

FSU who lost 63-20 to Louisville who lost to Kentucky?

Ohio St. would be a huge favorite over LSU (who got beaten by Wisconsin) and a favorite over FSU.

They might be favored but they wouldn't beat FSU right now. If LSU's Russell Athletic Bowl offense wasn't a mirage I doubt they could beat them either. Ohio State's offense would struggle mightily to score against either defense.

(01-11-2017 11:06 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:30 PM)ken d Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 03:53 PM)SigNuTopper Wrote:  Auburn being Top 25 is a complete farce.

Which unranked teams do you think would be favored against Auburn?

Seriously, would anyone favor WKU, Georgia Tech, Air Force, Iowa, or Tulsa over Auburn? Those are most of the next teams in.

Again, people need to put less stock into W/L records and actually watch the games. LSU also would probably be favored by two touchdowns against all the teams like WVU that have a better record and are ranked below them.

WKU would have destroyed Auburn in a bowl. Auburn just didn't have the offense at the end of the year. Georgia Tech would probably beat them as well. They did beat UGA the week after UGA beat Auburn, both in close games. Iowa would be one of those 10-7 games.

(01-11-2017 12:30 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 12:23 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 11:24 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:51 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:28 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  USC is on a nine game winning streak and beat the current #4 & #7 teams. Being ranked #3 is completely justified, I think too many people put stock into W/L records.

USC would be favored to beat any team not named Clemson or Alabama right now.

You could make a case for any of the 3-6 teams at #3, which is reflected by how close the vote totals were. USC has two top 10 wins and 3 top 25 wins, finished very strong, and played an extremely tough schedule. Each of the 3 teams that beat them is ranked in the final ranking. Ohio State is being punished too much by the voters for the poor showing against Clemson; based on their season as a whole and their quality wins they should be higher than #6.

Or maybe it has something do do with almost losing to Northwestern, Michigan State, Michigan, and getting demolished by Clemson.

Ohio State has had many close calls against average to bad teams this year and gets demolished at the end of the year when your team should be at it's best.

IMO they are lucky to be #6. You cannot even say with a straight face that Ohio State would be favored to beat LSU or FSU right now.

FSU who lost 63-20 to Louisville who lost to Kentucky?

Ohio St. would be a huge favorite over LSU (who got beaten by Wisconsin) and a favorite over FSU.

They might be favored but they wouldn't beat FSU right now. If LSU's Russell Athletic Bowl offense wasn't a mirage I doubt they could beat them either. Ohio State's offense would struggle mightily to score against either defense.

FSU gave up 63 to Louisville. Their defense is not in Clemson's class.
LSU has a good defense, but couldn't score much against Wisconsin, who Ohio St. beat.

(01-11-2017 12:35 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 12:30 PM)Kaplony Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 12:23 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 11:24 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:51 PM)Wedge Wrote:  You could make a case for any of the 3-6 teams at #3, which is reflected by how close the vote totals were. USC has two top 10 wins and 3 top 25 wins, finished very strong, and played an extremely tough schedule. Each of the 3 teams that beat them is ranked in the final ranking. Ohio State is being punished too much by the voters for the poor showing against Clemson; based on their season as a whole and their quality wins they should be higher than #6.

Or maybe it has something do do with almost losing to Northwestern, Michigan State, Michigan, and getting demolished by Clemson.

Ohio State has had many close calls against average to bad teams this year and gets demolished at the end of the year when your team should be at it's best.

IMO they are lucky to be #6. You cannot even say with a straight face that Ohio State would be favored to beat LSU or FSU right now.

FSU who lost 63-20 to Louisville who lost to Kentucky?

Ohio St. would be a huge favorite over LSU (who got beaten by Wisconsin) and a favorite over FSU.

They might be favored but they wouldn't beat FSU right now. If LSU's Russell Athletic Bowl offense wasn't a mirage I doubt they could beat them either. Ohio State's offense would struggle mightily to score against either defense.

FSU gave up 63 to Louisville. Their defense is not in Clemson's class.
LSU has a good defense, but couldn't score much against Wisconsin, who Ohio St. beat.

What they did against Louisville has no bearing against how they would do against Ohio State. FSU's defense is physical and fast, especially their pass rush. They would do much of the same against the Buckeyes as Clemson did because of that.

As for LSU and Wisconsin....different HC, different OC. As I said if their offense in the RA Bowl wasn't a mirage they would beat Ohio State. Even if it was a mirage it's a very tight game.

Ohio State was overrated because they are Ohio State, and the PTB had decided that whoever won between them and Michigan was going to the playoff. Unfortunately for them and the Big Slow when you are overrated and play quality teams you get exposed, which they did. Big time.

(01-11-2017 11:06 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  Seriously, would anyone favor WKU, Georgia Tech, Air Force, Iowa, or Tulsa over Auburn? Those are most of the next teams in.

Georgia Tech finished the season winning 5 of their last 6 including wins at Virginia Tech, at Georgia, and neutral site against Kentucky.

(01-11-2017 12:23 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 11:24 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:51 PM)Wedge Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:28 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  USC is on a nine game winning streak and beat the current #4 & #7 teams. Being ranked #3 is completely justified, I think too many people put stock into W/L records.

USC would be favored to beat any team not named Clemson or Alabama right now.

You could make a case for any of the 3-6 teams at #3, which is reflected by how close the vote totals were. USC has two top 10 wins and 3 top 25 wins, finished very strong, and played an extremely tough schedule. Each of the 3 teams that beat them is ranked in the final ranking. Ohio State is being punished too much by the voters for the poor showing against Clemson; based on their season as a whole and their quality wins they should be higher than #6.

Or maybe it has something do do with almost losing to Northwestern, Michigan State, Michigan, and getting demolished by Clemson.

Ohio State has had many close calls against average to bad teams this year and gets demolished at the end of the year when your team should be at it's best.

IMO they are lucky to be #6. You cannot even say with a straight face that Ohio State would be favored to beat LSU or FSU right now.

FSU who lost 63-20 to Louisville who lost to Kentucky?

Ohio St. would be a huge favorite over LSU (who got beaten by Wisconsin) and a favorite over FSU.

What week was that? Oh yeah the fourth game....not the end of the season when experience is no longer an issue and teams have reached their peak.

(01-11-2017 03:29 PM)georgia_tech_swagger Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 11:06 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  Seriously, would anyone favor WKU, Georgia Tech, Air Force, Iowa, or Tulsa over Auburn? Those are most of the next teams in.

Georgia Tech finished the season winning 5 of their last 6 including wins at Virginia Tech, at Georgia, and neutral site against Kentucky.

I think you guys had a great finish but there is no compelling justification that you should be ranked above Auburn or SDSU. Auburn had a better signature win and a tougher schedule. SDSU had a weaker schedule but won 11 games....

There is only room for 25 teams.

(01-11-2017 12:28 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 11:29 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:33 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  Well, there's "How Good Are They?" vs "What Spot Have They Earned?"

In the former, yeah, USC being #3 isn't so wild. In the latter, USC needs to drop a couple spots.

Let's analyze a couple spots then.

USC vs #4Washington (This is a team USC already beat in a convincing manner.)
USC vs #5 Oklahoma (Pretty even game but USC would probably be favored.)
USC vs #6 Ohio State (Again, USC would be favored)
USC vs #7 Penn State (USC was favored and won.)

I'm sorry but I see zero justification of ranking any of these teams above USC aside from them having a better record. That's what the "I don't watch the games" coaches poll does.

USC got destroyed by Alabama 52-6. They also lost to Stanford and Utah. UW beat Utah on the road and crushed Stanford at home. UW lost to Alabama only 24-7. UW won the Pac 12 while USC was 2nd in their division. So there are 4 reasons in addition to a better W/L record.

Cool, you picked out 3 of the first 4 games of the season. But ignored the fact that USC went on a nine game win streak. That included wins against #17, #7, #5.

You also conveniently ignore that USC beat Washington in very convincing matter. If we were ranked above Alabama I would make the same argument that we should not be ranked above them.

There is no argument for Washington or Penn State to be ranked ahead of USC when they beat both of those teams. There is an argument for Oklahoma if you are basing it on W/L record alone. But that would contradict a lot of teams. SDSU should be higher than LSU using that logic.

I thought SDSU was pretty darn good after Putin the hurts on my coogs

(01-11-2017 04:58 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 12:28 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 11:29 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:33 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  Well, there's "How Good Are They?" vs "What Spot Have They Earned?"

In the former, yeah, USC being #3 isn't so wild. In the latter, USC needs to drop a couple spots.

Let's analyze a couple spots then.

USC vs #4Washington (This is a team USC already beat in a convincing manner.)
USC vs #5 Oklahoma (Pretty even game but USC would probably be favored.)
USC vs #6 Ohio State (Again, USC would be favored)
USC vs #7 Penn State (USC was favored and won.)

I'm sorry but I see zero justification of ranking any of these teams above USC aside from them having a better record. That's what the "I don't watch the games" coaches poll does.

USC got destroyed by Alabama 52-6. They also lost to Stanford and Utah. UW beat Utah on the road and crushed Stanford at home. UW lost to Alabama only 24-7. UW won the Pac 12 while USC was 2nd in their division. So there are 4 reasons in addition to a better W/L record.

Cool, you picked out 3 of the first 4 games of the season. But ignored the fact that USC went on a nine game win streak. That included wins against #17, #7, #5.

You also conveniently ignore that USC beat Washington in very convincing matter. If we were ranked above Alabama I would make the same argument that we should not be ranked above them.

There is no argument for Washington or Penn State to be ranked ahead of USC when they beat both of those teams. There is an argument for Oklahoma if you are basing it on W/L record alone. But that would contradict a lot of teams. SDSU should be higher than LSU using that logic.

And you pick one game just because it is at the end of the season and ignore the rest.

And you like Auburn who clearly did poorly at the end of the season. Without their starting QB healthy, they were not a good team. You ignore their loss of 3 of their last 4.

As I said, there are plenty of arguments for Washington to be ranked ahead of USC. The ONLY argument for USC is that they did beat them head to head in Seattle 26-13 in a game that was 17-13 going into the 4th.

(01-11-2017 07:04 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 04:58 PM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 12:28 PM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-11-2017 11:29 AM)TrojanCampaign Wrote:  

(01-10-2017 05:33 PM)toddjnsn Wrote:  Well, there's "How Good Are They?" vs "What Spot Have They Earned?"

In the former, yeah, USC being #3 isn't so wild. In the latter, USC needs to drop a couple spots.

Let's analyze a couple spots then.

USC vs #4Washington (This is a team USC already beat in a convincing manner.)
USC vs #5 Oklahoma (Pretty even game but USC would probably be favored.)
USC vs #6 Ohio State (Again, USC would be favored)
USC vs #7 Penn State (USC was favored and won.)

I'm sorry but I see zero justification of ranking any of these teams above USC aside from them having a better record. That's what the "I don't watch the games" coaches poll does.

USC got destroyed by Alabama 52-6. They also lost to Stanford and Utah. UW beat Utah on the road and crushed Stanford at home. UW lost to Alabama only 24-7. UW won the Pac 12 while USC was 2nd in their division. So there are 4 reasons in addition to a better W/L record.

Cool, you picked out 3 of the first 4 games of the season. But ignored the fact that USC went on a nine game win streak. That included wins against #17, #7, #5.

You also conveniently ignore that USC beat Washington in very convincing matter. If we were ranked above Alabama I would make the same argument that we should not be ranked above them.

There is no argument for Washington or Penn State to be ranked ahead of USC when they beat both of those teams. There is an argument for Oklahoma if you are basing it on W/L record alone. But that would contradict a lot of teams. SDSU should be higher than LSU using that logic.

And you pick one game just because it is at the end of the season and ignore the rest.

And you like Auburn who clearly did poorly at the end of the season. Without their starting QB healthy, they were not a good team. You ignore their loss of 3 of their last 4.

As I said, there are plenty of arguments for Washington to be ranked ahead of USC. The ONLY argument for USC is that they did beat them head to head in Seattle 26-13 in a game that was 17-13 going into the 4th.

Which one game am I picking? That's an absurd claim considering I literally made an entire post before the Colorado game that no one said we would win. Saying it was going to be the turning point for USC and everyone will see who Sam Darnold is. Then the game against undefeated Washington which again people were saying "there is no way a 3 loss team is going to win". Then the dominating game against ND. USC sucked at the start of the year and deserved to drop out the top 25 which is what happened. Then the team made changes and became one of the best in the country.

I don't "Like" Auburn and I think their offense is terrible. But I do recognize they have a defense that could shut down many offenses. Again, I merely agree that most sane people would probably agree that Auburn would be the favored against SDSU, WKU, and Georgia Tech. None of those teams are loaded wih 4-5 star players on offense like Oklahoma.

Agree to disagree but USC is ranked ahead in the AP poll so I'm not the only one who thinks USC is justified.