(12-03-2017 01:22 PM)Ranger Wrote:  Good result. I think Bama is better. And OSU pretty dismally to Iowa.

Was it that impressive win over Mercer that convinced you?

The SEC West was down this season, with Arkansas being awful, both Mississippi teams and Texas A&M bring mediocre, LSU (lost at home to Troy) and Auburn (THREE losses, all on the road) not being overwhelming.

I think this year's playoff will be the impetus to switch to an 8-team playoff. The Big 10 is too powerful to let this slide. I just hope they don't give the 5 conferences an automatic berth, and maybe also limit any conference to two entries only and not 3 of the 8.

(12-03-2017 01:37 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I think this year's playoff will be the impetus to switch to an 8-team playoff. The Big 10 is too powerful to let this slide. I just hope they don't give the 5 conferences an automatic berth, and maybe also limit any conference to two entries only and not 3 of the 8.

The last two seasons, the Big 12 has been far below the other four P5 conferences. The B1G and Pac 12 have legitimate gripes because the clear message is: play only 8 conference games, so you'll have more opportunities to schedule Mercer. Conference games, even against the weaker teams, are tougher because of rivalry and familiarity.

(12-03-2017 01:22 PM)Ranger Wrote:  Good result. I think Bama is better. And OSU pretty dismally to Iowa.

True. OSU would have had to beat Wisconsin by 4 TD's to derail the sentiment, the reputation and the inevitability that Alabama has built over the years.

(12-03-2017 01:28 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 01:22 PM)Ranger Wrote:  Good result. I think Bama is better. And OSU pretty dismally to Iowa.

Was it that impressive win over Mercer that convinced you?

The SEC West was down this season, with Arkansas being awful, both Mississippi teams and Texas A&M bring mediocre, LSU (lost at home to Troy) and Auburn (THREE losses, all on the road) not being overwhelming.

Auburn's THREE losses were: @ #1 Clemson, @ then-recently-reinvigorated LSU (those first two by a combined 12 points), and @ the SEC championship against a UGA that they had "whipped the dawg crap" out of a few weeks earlier. Sure, not overwhelming, but I'm not convinced that Alabama is even substantially better. They're just not being punished for taking a 13th chance at a loss. I'm reminded of the 2012-13 season where Georgia beat Florida to go the SEC Championship as #3 vs #2 Alabama, lost the championship by four points on an catch by the unintended receiver at the five-yard line, and then wound up ranked below Florida so the Gators got the Sugar Bowl and Georgia had to settle for the Citrus Bowl.

The more conference games a P5 team plays, the more opportunities they have to get excluded. Human-directed rankings seem more about punishing losses than rewarding victories.

(12-03-2017 01:28 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 01:22 PM)Ranger Wrote:  Good result. I think Bama is better. And OSU pretty dismally to Iowa.

Was it that impressive win over Mercer that convinced you?

The SEC West was down this season, with Arkansas being awful, both Mississippi teams and Texas A&M bring mediocre, LSU (lost at home to Troy) and Auburn (THREE losses, all on the road) not being overwhelming.

tOSU also embarrassed the committee last year with their dismal performance (losing 31-0). No matter how much they say it doesn't matter, when humans are involved, it does.

tOSU had enough question marks this year that coupled with last year - they weren't going to get benefit of the doubt.

The CUSA conference champ gets to play Akron in the Boca Raton Bowl. Why both to win this conference?

(12-03-2017 05:39 PM)temchugh Wrote:  The CUSA conference champ gets to play Akron in the Boca Raton Bowl. Why both to win this conference?

You mean the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl?

http://cheribunditartcherrybocaratonbowl.com

Needless to say, the internet is laughing at them. from si.com

Quote:Frankly, it's hard to sound worse than the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl or the NOVA Home Loans Arizona Bowl. But the Boca Raton Bowl may just take the cake.

That's the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl, thank you very much.

I kind of like playing in bowl games, regardless of how silly they sound. Of course this site was nice enough to give us a bowl game this season (we get to play Idaho in the newly created San Cissella Bowl - in Boston, MASS).

https://www.sbnation.com/a/bowl-games-schedule-2017

(12-03-2017 05:39 PM)temchugh Wrote:  The CUSA conference champ gets to play Akron in the Boca Raton Bowl. Why bother to win this conference?

I don't understand this at all. Southern Miss plays Florida State in the Independence Bowl. Why should the team that is easily the best in C-USA have to play a crap team like Akron? In my latest rankings, Florida Atlantic is #28, and Akron is #90. That's the most one-sided matchup of any bowl game, by far. It might be a 50 point beat down.

The conference champion picks a bowl, right? FAU must have wanted the home game, even though the opponent is Akron.

(12-03-2017 08:08 PM)WRCisforgotten79 Wrote:  

(12-03-2017 05:39 PM)temchugh Wrote:  The CUSA conference champ gets to play Akron in the Boca Raton Bowl. Why bother to win this conference?

I don't understand this at all. Southern Miss plays Florida State in the Independence Bowl. Why should the team that is easily the best in C-USA have to play a crap team like Akron? In my latest rankings, Florida Atlantic is #28, and Akron is #90. That's the most one-sided matchup of any bowl game, by far. It might be a 50 point beat down.

That's why they wanted it. Think of the head narcissist in charge there.

That is pathetic. Akron is ranked 106 and Florida Atlantic 57 according to Sagarin's ranking. I saw one pole where Florida Atlantic was ranked in the 30s. I guess you can question the worth of the Conf USA commissioner if this is the best he can do. Anyway, the rankings for the Conference USA bowls are pretty grim accept for Southern Miss. who surprisingly will play Florida State in the Independence bowl. The rankings are

NT (97) Vs Troy (72)
WKU (127) Vs Georgia State (154)
Marshall (89) vs. Colorado State (77)
Middle Tennessee (105) vs Arkansas State (86)
Florida Atlantic (57) vs Akron (106)
FIU (111) vs Temple (78)
UAB (119) Vs Ohio (57)
South Miss (103) Vs Florida State (30)
La Tech (101) vs SMU (71)
Conference USA should loose 7 out of 9 bowl games accept for Florida Atlantic and Western Kentucky. Stay tuned.
I guess UTSA is not going to a bowl game to date?

(12-03-2017 05:39 PM)temchugh Wrote:  The CUSA conference champ gets to play Akron in the Boca Raton Bowl. Why both to win this conference?

The bottom line is that there are really no marquee, program-changing bowl opponents to be had at this godawful level unless you get the NY6 slot (and last I checked Northern Illinois's and UH's programs remain unchanged). So when a program has some say in its bowl destination, I think you'll always see them clearly prioritize convenience for players and fans over some marginal increase in quality of opponent. Bowls are about trying not to lose too much money and rewarding the players, in that order. Creating compelling matchups in some sort of meritocratic way doesn't enter into it.

(12-03-2017 08:46 PM)illiniowl Wrote:  The bottom line is that there are really no marquee, program-changing bowl opponents to be had at this godawful level unless you get the NY6 slot (and last I checked Northern Illinois's and UH's programs remain unchanged). So when a program has some say in its bowl destination, I think you'll always see them clearly prioritize convenience for players and fans over some marginal increase in quality of opponent. Bowls are about trying not to lose too much money and rewarding the players, in that order. Creating compelling matchups in some sort of meritocratic way doesn't enter into it.

FAU also had a benefit of Lane Kiffin bringing some semblance of relevance by virtue of who he is. ESPN has had multiple Lane Train articles on the front page.

As a result you may as well take the easy home game, beat the crap out of Akron and keep the Lane Train rolling. Beating a 6-6 Florida State won't move the needle at all especially given they've already moved the needle... additionally there is a chance you lose, so no upside at all.

Next year FAU plays at OU and UCF. That is the time they can really make a statement.