I think the right 4 teams made it, who is the Big 12 kidding.
That being said, how about a 6 team playoff. teams 1 and 2 get a bye. That would only add 2 games.
I think FSU has a very weak schedule and doesn't deserve the top spot. I don't think FSU could beat out the team Alabama lost to, let alone beat them. A lot of FSU's wins were very close to unranked teams. Sure, they won, but they weren't convincing. There is no way they are better than Alabama, and I'd put them below Oregon as well.
This was an interesting season with a lot of teams losing early to good teams that lost later and screwed themselves.
Winning ugly is better than losing pretty.
Get a championship (or at least pick one, no ties),
I have not been paying a lot of attention to this today so could be a bit behind. I'm surprised that no one from TCU or Baylor has been extremely vocal today. Or some rep from the Big 12 for that matter.
I did hear the head of the selection committee just after the announcement infer that OSU made it easier on them by winning their conference championship. He kept harping on conference championship. So I wonder if they just used that as a deciding factor to help them get out of the whole 'how do we handle the TCU vs. Baylor decision?' train wreck.
FSU has a higher SOS and SOR ranking than OSU. I don't see why they should be ranked ahead of FSU.
FSU has wins over 3 ranked teams. I can't find it, does anybody know how many the other playoff teams have?
Fern
It was an excuse he used to not have to make the hard decision. It doesn't look that hard:
OSU lost to Virgina Tech, a 6-6 team 35-21.
Baylor lost to West Virginia, a 7-5 team 41-27.
TCU lost to Baylor, an 11-1 team 61-58.
To me, one looks bad and one looks good with one in the middle.
NCAA won't let the big xii have a conference championship game without having 12 teams. there aren't 2 teams deserving of being in a P5 conference that aren't already in a P5 conference, and no one is leaving big, sec, pac, or acc for the big 12. seeing as how this thing is likely to go to 8 next time the contracts come up (or before), i don't think the big xii should be in a rush to add some scrubs just to get a conference championship game. the ACC's going to go back to being left out as soon as jameisends up in jailleaves for the NFL anyway.
bowlsby's "let's go for 2" would only have worked if 2 of the other top teams lost, and they didn't, so he should have dropped it.
regardless, i'm not sure how much "presenting" baylor as champs would have mattered, it's not like you get a set amount of points for being champs. situation is fluid, and all up to whatever makes the mouse the most money.
Oh. So the opponents matter when the topic isn't FSU? Funny, I thought the record is all that matters
The Big 12 can apply for a waiver for a Championship Game due to having less than 12 teams.
At the same time they can blame Texas.
They really need to go to some system where the major conferences have an automatic playoff berth and then some committee like this gets to choose At Large and seedings. Obviously this is like basketball but on a much smaller scale in terms of # of teams.
Example:
SEC - Alabama
Pac 10 - Oregon
ACC - Florida State
Big 10 - Ohio State
Big 12 - Baylor (Co-champ but would win via head to head in this example)
At Large #1 - TCU
At Large #2 - Ole Miss
At Large #3 - Michigan St.
Could limit to just 1 At Large team if you want a bye week for the top 2 but once again you get back to having people select the top 2 so in my opinion we should keep this even.
So just based on computer rankings* I came up with the following:
1) Alabama
8) Michigan State
2) Oregon
7) Ole Miss
3) TCU
6) Baylor
4) Ohio State
5) Florida State
*Based on computer rankings the 8th team would Mississippi State. In this example of an 8 team playoff I do think there should be some rule where only 2 teams from a single conference can participate.
Someone is always going to be left out of these things but in this case I do think it's better than what we have because at least your major conferences will always have a rep.
A lot has been said about FSU not having statement wins. This is the last 6 weeks worth of defense they faced.
Total Defense rank:
Louisville #6
UVA #30
Miami #14
BC #12
UF #9
GT #63
And toss on Clemson without Winston in OT
Clemson #1
Bamas last 6 weeks
Tenn #34
LSU #8 OT victory
MSU #79
WCU 7-5 FCS opponent
Auburn #59
Missouri #23
Oregon
Cal #121
Stanford #5
Utah #73
CU #110
Oregon State #76
Arizona #102
Dont count the Noles out just yet. I suspect if they played against the defenses like Bama and Oregon had to defeat. They would have a lot less closer games at the end.
texas (and OU) saved baylor, iowa state's, tech's, TCU's, and to a lesser extent, west virginia's, okstate and kstate's asses.
when that conference implodes the only teams sure to end up in one of the 4 super conferences from the xii are texas, OU, and kansas.
but, until that time, texas will continue to be the hero gotham deserves.
The Big 12 shouldnt be surprised they are penalized for the lack of a conference championship game. The writing has been on the wall for years. Even in the old BCS system. That championship games is one more quality opponent to count. TCU playing Iowa State and beating the nations worst defense 55-3 is nothing worthy to talk about. Baylors win a lot better. But that is just another regular season matchup.
The Big 12 shouldnt be surprised they are penalized for the lack of a conference championship game. The writing has been on the wall for years. Even in the old BCS system. That championship games is one more quality opponent to count. TCU playing Iowa State and beating the nations worst defense 55-3 is nothing worthy to talk about. Baylors win a lot better. But that is just another regular season matchup.
Except Bama and Oregon are in the top 3 SOS while FSU is 15th, rendering your entire argument moot. You can't just look at defenses, nor 6 games.