Sunday, November 15, 2015

College Football week 11 thoughts:

After a Saturday that saw four of the Top Ten in the (idiotic) CFP Top Ten fall to defeat a nation of fans turns it's eyes to the Committee to see what comes next....

Some thoughts.

1. The SEC is overrated. - I've thought this for a while, but there's no denying it now. An average Ole Miss team beat a good Alabama team that beat an average LSU and Miss State team and a Wisconsin team that's not even going to win it's division in the B1G. Alabama is going to be the #2 team in the season ending CFP poll, and make the playoff, mainly because everyone (wrongly) views the SEC as still being the best conference in all the land.

2. The PAC-12 is very balanced. - But they don't have an elite team. Because of this they're beating the crap out of one another and, unlike the SEC teams, don't have a true "off-week" on their schedule. They also don't have a true "elite" team, which means that everyone now has two-plus losses and the conference is all but assured of missing out on the CFP.

3. The ACC has one good team.  Clemson. Both Florida State and North Carolina are above-average but they are not 'good' in terms of the CFP. We think that Clemson is good but if they lose to North Carolina in the ACC championship game then you would be advised to compare them to the PAC-12.

4. Baylor is NOT a good team. They got their helmets handed to them by OU, the first 'good' team they played all year, at home, in a game that was not competitive. Despite this they only fell to 10 in the AP Poll. After losing to OU in the manner they did Baylor should have fallen to around 15. Art Briles is a great offensive coordinator, but does not appear to have what it takes to bring a good defense to the field.

5. The CFP only watches certain games. How else do you explain them ranking Houston at 24 despite the program having more wins over teams with plus .500 records than Baylor? This week, Houston beat a good Memphis team with their back-up QB. They are undefeated and will probably find themselves somewhere around 20 in the CFP rankings being released Tuesday.  It's clear that the CFP is watching the Power 5 big games, and little else. For all of the promise this process is proving to be more corrupt and biased than the B(C)S. Either go to 4 16 team super-conferences or just blow it all up and let's go back to the old bowl system.

And finally.....


6. Michigan controls it's own destiny folks. Of course, this team is taking years off fans' lives, but they are way ahead of where I thought they would be before the season started.


My Top 10: (Remember, I'm only ranking on what has happened on the field, not stupid metrics like "game control" or "circumstances surrounding a loss" or whatever else the CFP Committee decides to invent to fit the rankings like they want.  Losses only matter in how good/bad they were. (In other words: OU is punished for losing to Texas, while Notre Dame is punished for losing to the only really good team they played, but get some credit for the Navy win)

1. Ohio State - I've explained this before, defending National Champions don't get knocked off the perch until someone beats them.

2. Clemson - Has proven to me that they belong here.

3. Oklahoma State - Undefeated HAS to mean something.

4. Iowa  - See #3.

5. Alabama - I struggle putting them here, but this is probably right.

6. Oklahoma - That Texas loss is puzzling

7. Notre Dame - Best loss of all the top teams, but their schedule is weak otherwise (excepting Navy)

8. Houston  - Still has to play Navy, which would be a big win. (and, see #3)

9. Florida  - That LSU loss is looking worse and worse.

10. Michigan State  - Nebraska?  Nebraska?


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