Bama Panther

This is why the arguments happen and why teams like SMU and Indiana got in with teams like Bama, South Carolina, and Ole Miss did not. Arguments can be made for any number of teams. ND also beat Army (finished regular season in top 20), as well as aTm and Louisville (who both finished in the top 30 of the regular season). All three were ranked at the time of their games. Indiana played one ranked team (tOSU) and got smoked. SMU beat Pitt, who was ranked at the time of the game but ended up outside the top 30. Against, arguments can be made for any number of teams. The arguments for Indiana and SMU just weren’t persuasive to me. It may be my SEC bias coming through, but I think SC, Ole Miss, Bama, all had better records, even with their losses, because they did it against tougher competition from week-to-week. Either way though, 12 teams is way too many. This was imply a money grab, and there will be tons of blowouts in the first round every year with more likely in quarters and semis.

Go back through this thread. I don’t think Bama should have gotten in. I would have been happy had they gotten in, but I’m not sure they are in the top 12. I think they are in a group of 3-5 teams that could have beaten anyone in the field in a good day but lost badly if they had a bad day. My problem with Indiana and SMU is that I don’t think they could have beaten anyone in the field, even on a good day. They simply got in because they ran up wins against less than stellar competition.

Since these blowouts occurred in the 7/10 and 6/11 games, it suggests to me two things: (1) should the playoffs have been expanded to 12; and (2) if so, should SMU and Indiana, both teams who only got in due to the draw of extremely favorable schedules, have been amongst the 12?

Which is why they NEVER should have expanded to 12 teams. Now that we are here, it doesn’t mean we have to accept teams getting in due to weak schedules only to get railroaded in the first round.

Your issue must be with the 12-team format then. As I mentioned, there have been many prior seasons with 3-loss teams in the top 12. If we are going to have a 12-team (or God forbid, 16-team) format going forward, three losses is not a disqualifier. The real question we all should be asking is this: should there really be 12 teams in the playoffs? We know that there are at least 2, but I’d venture to guess about 6, teams that truly have no chance at winning this thing and should not be in a conversation about a “National Champion.”

In most seasons, multiple top 12 teams have 3 losses. It’s a nature of the 12-team format. You can’t say losing 3 games means you haven’t earned the right to be in the playoffs if you are still one of the top 12-ish teams (given auto bids for conference champs.

Gotcha. Where you said “no byes” threw me off. You mean no automatic byes for conference champs? Top 4, whoever they are, get byes, right?

if you seeded 1-12, SMU and Indiana wouldn’t be playing teams like Clemson and ASU. They’d be playing teams like Oregon and Georgia. Those games would be even worse.

I doubt ND and PSU will both be playing the NCCG. It could happen but it’s unlikely. Additionally, the past blowouts were against teams that were supposedly the #3 and #4 teams in the country. These were against teams ranked #8 and #10 who each struggled mightily in their regular season games against legit opponents.

I’m an SEC homer, so I was trying to be unbiased. Haha

The issue is the notion that all conferences and conference champs are created equally, when that just isn’t the case. 11-2 in the ACC is not the same as 9-3 in the SEC or B1G. The highest ranked G5 champion is very rarely going to be on the same level as the 3rd or 4th place B1G/SEC team.

Valid point, but those blowouts were at the hands of the teams that would go on to play in the NCCG. These blowouts have been at the hands of teams that may very well lose in the quarterfinals. That’s not the same thing.

These playoffs are a joke so far. Strength of Schedule should really be a consideration in the future. Not saying that Bama should be in, but South Carolina or Ole Miss would have absolutely had better showings.

This is a completely underwhelming game for being the first game of the first ever 12-team playoff.

Please, no! I don’t want to see Bama’s offense be an insane amount of QB keeps on RPOs, mixed with often erratic passing, again.