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- Jan 13, 2013
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I dont want to hijack gators tears for this discussion much further. I appreciate your point of view and this being the first year of the expanded playoff it very well may play out exactly as you describe.All of that sounds good in theory.
But what actually happens is as follows.
The SEC (and Big 10) start with a dominant number of Top 25 teams. And then when one of their Top 25 teams loses to another Top 25 team, it is a "quality loss", so they don't drop down very far. Even when Pedo State and Oregon struggle early against TERRIBLE non-Big-10 teams, they are STILL hanging around the Top 25.
So if a core of 15 teams just keep sucking each other's *****...the next thing you know, you'll have a BUNCH of 3-loss SEC and Big 10 teams that populate the Final 12. Sure, you'll have an ACC team and a Big 12 team and a non-P4 team...
And then the rest will come from the SEC and Big 10. Remember, they don't all play each other anymore. And only the top 2 teams in each conference have to play in a championship game.
In other words, the rankings become a self-fulfilling prophesy. If you start high, you stay high, even after a couple of losses.
Which is why the complacent "if we keep winning, everything will work itself out, man" crowd is wrong. ACC teams have to lobby to be ranked as high as possible every week, because even one loss will validate the "ACC competition sucks" crowd.
If you look at the final CFP ranking last season only 1 team in the top 12 was slotted behind a team with more losses than them (FSU behind Bama.) The first 3 loss team was at 13 (LSU.) Oregon and Oklahoma would have made it in as 2 loss teams from non P2 conferences, aware they are now P2 teams. The CG losers from the ACC and the B1G had 3 and 4 losses respectively which kept them out of the top 12.
I stand by the notion that the number of 1 and 2 loss teams from the P2 will be reduced by the added strength of their new programs. How the committee chooses to view a 3 loss P2 team to a 1 loss team with a major conf loss is the real question. Who gets the nod in that scenario likely will be based on the eye test. I believe any 3 loss team who caught a fat L to one of the title contenders will get passed up by a team that has not been blown out and has less losses.