College football

[Vrede too]

Yep, it was the refs.
https://www.yahoo.com/sports/latest-col ... 24551.html

UM officials reacted angrily and swiftly.

“Really ??” UM athletic director Dan Radakovich said on X. “What put Bama over the top of Miami for the last spot in is that Miami went 1-2 in their last 3 games (by an average of 4.5 pts, to a ranked Syracuse and [Georgia Tech] team that just took [Georgia] to 8OT). Bama went 2-1 (to 5-7 Auburn, destroyed by [Oklahoma], and beat FCS Mercer).”

billy says, "So, what else is new?"

Yep, it looks like #12, currently Miami, gets bumped out of the Playoffs by the Big 12 winner, while #11, currently the vile and hated Bama, is in the Playoffs, albeit with a road game.

Boise State makes the College Football Playoff as Big 12's 1st-round bye chances dim

... Boise State will hang on to or improve on its No. 10 ranking in the final College Football Playoff rankings that come out Sunday. That would almost certainly make the Broncos no worse than the fourth-best conference titlist and in line for a first-round bye.

The Big 12 title game on Saturday pits No. 15 Arizona State against No. 16 Iowa State.

The winner is in the playoff. But the only realistic route left for either team to earn a bye (and the extra $4 million that comes with it) would be to combine that win — preferably a convincing one — with a loss by the Atlantic Coast Conference leader, No. 8 SMU, which plays No. 17 Clemson.

GoSMUGo, keep Dabo out of the Playoffs!

... The rest of the drama involves Alabama, SMU and Miami (sort of)

Barring something completely unexpected, it will take either a loss by SMU, a change of heart from the selection committee or both to knock Alabama out of the bracket. If the Tide make it, the Southeastern Conference will have four teams in the playoff.

The assumption is that SMU is in the Playoffs win or lose. So, I'm either rooting for Clemson or Bama to also be in. Yuck.

Since the selection committee placed the Crimson Tide at No. 11 last week, one spot ahead of Miami, it looks very much like the Tide will stay ahead of the Hurricanes of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The way last week's ranking shook out, that meant Alabama was in and Miami was out.

Not surprisingly, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, who saw undefeated Florida State passed over by Alabama in last year's four-team bracket, is not happy.

“Decisions by the committee should be based on facts, not on perception,” said Phillips, whose talking points include Miami’s two losses compared with three for Alabama. “Not on the league that you come from, not in the geography of where you sit, but on your resume: What have you done? ... Who did you lose to and who did you beat?”

Locks and near locks

Boise State's bid is a done deal.

Oregon, top-ranked and the only undefeated team in the country, is in, too. But Saturday's game against No. 3 Penn State is for the Big Ten title and a first-round bye.

If Penn State prevails, then there's an argument that the Nittany Lions could end up with that top seed.

In the SEC, it's No. 2 Texas vs. No. 5 Georgia. Sadly, Bevo will not be in the building. The winner gets a bye and a championship. The loser should still be in, but if that loser is Georgia, the Dawgs could be on the road for the first round....

A handful of teams aren't playing this weekend and don't have much to worry about. No. 4 Notre Dame should get a home game. (Maybe the Irish, an independent, should get a bye, too, but that's a topic for another day.)

No. 9 Indiana, one of four Big Ten teams projected to make the playoff, will probably be on the road....

I guess I'll still root for Clemson to lose. Watching a game for its likely impact on a 3rd school, Bama, is too complex, and too annoying when that 3rd school should be Miami, anyhow. Oh well, if Bama is in it will probably have the 12 seed and a road game vs the 5 seed. Hah.

... The quarterfinals and semifinals will be hosted by the New Year's Six (the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange, Peach, Rose, and Sugar bowls) on a rotating basis.

The championship game will continue to be held at a separately determined neutral site....

In most cases there will be no homefield advantage to these games.

[Vrede too]

Go Football:
(FCS numbers are seeds, not any national ranking)

12:00 PM ABC
Big 12 Championship, Arlington, TX
(in progress, Iowa State down 10-17 2:00 left in the second)
16 Iowa State 10-2 vs 15 Arizona State 10-2 (-1.5)
Might be a very good game. Or not, 19-45.
PAC-12 refugee ASU - preseason picked LAST in the Big 12 - made its case for a 1st round bye over Boise St. We'll see.

GO:

2:00 PM

ESPN+
FCS Championship - Second Round
14 Montana 9-4 > @3 South Dakota State 10-2 (-21 disgusting)
A loss won't count in my tally.
Griz beat the spread 18-35. Next year.

ESPN+
FCS Championship - Second Round
10 Rhode Island 11-2 > @7 Mercer 10-2 (-10, ut-oh)
10-17

3:00 PM ESPN+
FCS Championship - Second Round
@1 Montana State 12-0 (-17.5) > unseeded UT Martin 9-4
A win won't count in my tally.
49-17. Woohoo, all the way!

4:00 PM ABC
SEC Championship, Atlanta, GA (unfair )
2 Texas 11-1 (-2.5) > 5 Georgia 10-2
TX FG with 0:18 left, 16-16, 19-22 OT, crap.

7:30 PM ESPN
Sun Belt Championship, Lafayette, LA (unfair )
Marshall 9-3 > @Louisiana 10-2 (-6)
31-3 stomping

8:00 PM

CBS
Big Ten Championship, Indianapolis, IN
1 Oregon 12-0 (-3.5) > 3 Penn State 11-1

ABC
ACC Championship, Charlotte, NC (somewhat unfair )
8 SMU 11-1 (-2.5) > 17 Clemson 9-3

[Vrede too]

0-1 so far.

Go Football:
(FCS numbers are seeds, not any national ranking)

12:00 PM ABC
Big 12 Championship, Arlington, TX
(in progress, Iowa State down 10-17 2:00 left in the second)
16 Iowa State 10-2 vs 15 Arizona State 10-2 (-1.5)
Might be a very good game. Or not, 19-45.
PAC-12 refugee ASU - preseason picked LAST in the Big 12 - made its case for a 1st round bye over Boise St. We'll see.

GO:

2:00 PM

ESPN+
FCS Championship - Second Round
14 Montana 9-4 > @3 South Dakota State 10-2 (-21 disgusting)
A loss won't count in my tally.
Griz beat the spread 18-35. Next year.

ESPN+
FCS Championship - Second Round
10 Rhode Island 11-2 > @7 Mercer 10-2 (-10, ut-oh)
10-17

3:00 PM ESPN+
FCS Championship - Second Round
@1 Montana State 12-0 (-17.5) > unseeded UT Martin 9-4
A win won't count in my tally.
49-17. Woohoo, all the way!

4:00 PM ABC
SEC Championship, Atlanta, GA (unfair )
2 Texas 11-1 (-2.5) > 5 Georgia 10-2
TX FG with 0:18 left, 16-16, 19-22 OT, crap.

7:30 PM ESPN
Sun Belt Championship, Lafayette, LA (unfair )
Marshall 9-3 > @Louisiana 10-2 (-6)
31-3 stomping

8:00 PM

CBS
Big Ten Championship, Indianapolis, IN
1 Oregon 12-0 (-3.5) > 3 Penn State 11-1
Ducks hold on. 45-37, perfect season

ABC
ACC Championship, Charlotte, NC (somewhat unfair )
8 SMU 11-1 (-2.5) > 17 Clemson 9-3
SMU TD with 0:16 left! 31-31.
CRAP, Clemson walkoff 56 yard FG, 31-34
Silver lining, this probably knocks Bama out. FU refs, you failed

2-3 today, 2-4 this week

[O Really]

Well shit.

[Vrede too]

Well shit.

Why? Clemson?

[O Really]

Well shit.

Why? Clemson?

Clemson, Georgia, but go Ducks.

[Vrede too]

Well shit.

Why? Clemson?

Clemson, Georgia, but go Ducks.

TX is safe, albeit losing their bye. Perhaps the big question is whether "the refs" will dump #8 11-2 SMU in order to give Bama a slot that should belong to Miami, anyhow.

... The final CFP selection committee rankings will be released starting at noon ET Sunday.

Cool, no waiting until Tuesday.

... Selection committee chair Warde Manuel left wiggle room Tuesday when asked directly whether SMU could fall behind No. 11 Alabama (9-3) with a loss when he responded, "potentially yes."

Another question is . . .

Arizona State advocates for CFP bye after winning 1st Big 12 title

No. 15 Arizona State made its case for a top-four seed in the College Football Playoff after a 45-19 domination of No. 16 Iowa State to claim its first Big 12 championship.

The 11-2 Sun Devils were projected as a No. 12 seed after last week's rankings with (12-1) Boise State, which won the Mountain West on Friday night, projected at No. 4. The top four seeds are required to be conference champions. As the top Group of 5 qualifier, the Broncos would keep that No. 4 seeding if they ranked higher than the Big 12's champion in the final CFP rankings....

I'm inclined to think Blufield should get it, but I'm not doing a deep dive into their schedules. Boise State's sole loss was to #1 OR by 3 points on a 25 Yd walkoff Field Goal in week 2. I like both teams and don't have a personal preference.

[O Really]

Well, at least Bammer is out. There's that.
I think I'll root for Ducks.

[Vrede too]

Well, at least Bammer is out. There's that.

I love the sound of Bammers whining in the afternoon:
Fans enraged after Alabama football miss CFP cut for SMU, Indiana
Alabama football fans are upset.

I think I'll root for Ducks.

16-0 has never been done. Fuck #2 GA and #6 PSU, but I'd also be cool with #3 BSU, #4 ASU and #5 TX. I don't mind #7 ND, either. Will a dark horse make a run? Who even is a dark horse with this excellent field? I'd say that the 12-team Playoff is already a success.

OR - Pac-12 refugee, Big Ten champ
BSU - Group of Five
ASU - Pac-12 refugee, Big 12 champ
TX - Big 12 refugee, SEC #2
The OG teams may be reconsidering their arrogance and greed.

BSU & ASU both got byes thanks to the upsets in other games.

Weird that loser SMU got seeded above winner Clemson. No matter, TX and PSU are both buzzsaws to have to face.

Go TX, TN (upset?), SMU (upset) & ND!

[Vrede too]

Go TX, TN (upset?), SMU (upset) & ND!

https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... asontype/3

GO:

Friday, December 20
8:00 PM ABC/ESPN
@7 Notre Dame (-8 ) > 10 Indiana

Saturday, December 21

12:00 PM TNT/Max
11 SMU > @6 Penn State (-8.5 )

4:00 PM TNT/Max
@5 Texas (-11 ) > 12 Clemson

8:00 PM ABC/ESPN
9 Tennessee > @8 Ohio State (-7.5 )

[Vrede too]

USA TODAY's prediction. Zero surprises except for 7 Notre Dame > 2 GA (possibly injured QB), then 7 Notre Dame > 6 PSU. I approve of this message!

Then, it will be 1 OR > 7 Notre Dame in the final.


Vegas says:
College Football Playoff champion odds

Oregon (+325)
Georgia (+350)
Texas (+375)
Ohio State (+450)
Penn State (+700)
Notre Dame (+1200)
Tennessee (+2500)
SMU (+3500)
Clemson (+4000)
Arizona State (+4000)
Indiana (+5000)
Boise State (+5000)

I would place a bet on Oregon, then maybe one on Texas as a backup. Boise State gets no respect . I might bet on it and Arizona State for the huge return.

Not really, the idea of profiting from CTE leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Let's go theoretical.
$100 on Oregon returns $325 minus house cut.
$50 on Texas returns $187.50 minus house cut.
$25 on Arizona State returns $1000 minus house cut.
$25 on Boise State returns $1250 minus house cut.

[O Really]

Wait why is Georgia in the playoffs? Did they miraculously change the FSU rule about not including teams that lost their starting QB? Of course, it was bullshit last year and it's still bullshit but they could at least put up a pretense. So what if they win the conference or even if they were previously undefeated. Bump 'em or admit you were wrong to do it to the 'Noles.

[Vrede too]

I edited my post above while you were posting, sorry.

Wait why is Georgia in the playoffs? Did they miraculously change the FSU rule about not including teams that lost their starting QB? Of course, it was bullshit last year and it's still bullshit but they could at least put up a pretense. So what if they win the conference or even if they were previously undefeated. Bump 'em or admit you were wrong to do it to the 'Noles.

It's not yet clear that Beck is lost? Fta:

Notre Dame over No. 2 Georgia

Here’s the first major upset of the playoff. One thing to keep in mind is the potential availability of quarterback Carson Beck, who was injured just before halftime of the SEC championship game and underwent an MRI on Sunday. Even if he’s back in the lineup, will Beck be healthy enough to deliver against the nation’s best pass defense? Notre Dame has allowed opponents to complete just 48.7% of attempts with 17 interceptions against just nine touchdowns.

Still, any FSU or Georgia dis is fine with me, no matter how weak.

IMO, the more upsets there are the stronger the justification for the 12-team playoff, though I expect it to be fun even without many upsets.

[O Really]

I object to anything where a "selection committee" makes the picks. Let the records speak. If win-loss is the same, move on to game stats. Can you imagine if NFL "selected" playoff teams? What about picking golfers to make the cut from a lot with the same scores? Love 'em or hate 'em, by any criteria other than slivery snakeness FSU earned their ticket to the playoffs last year. Do better.

[Vrede too]

I object to anything where a "selection committee" makes the picks. Let the records speak. If win-loss is the same, move on to game stats. Can you imagine if NFL "selected" playoff teams? What about picking golfers to make the cut from a lot with the same scores? Love 'em or hate 'em, by any criteria other than slivery snakeness FSU earned their ticket to the playoffs last year. Do better.

I hear you, but you can't compare to the NFL or golf, or go by just win-loss when the conferences are so unbalanced and schools can create their own non-conference schedules. I think reasonably "fair" computer models can be created taking into account strength of schedule and other objective factors, but that will sometimes result in 4-loss teams beating out 2-loss teams, which will generate its own outrage. Maybe the solution is to go with a wider vote rather than a Committee meeting in secret.

AP Top 25

1 Oregon (62) 13-0
2 Georgia 11-2 up3
3 Notre Dame 11-1 up1
4 Texas 11-2 down2
5 Penn State 11-2 down2
6 Ohio State 10-2 up1
7 Tennessee 10-2 down1
8 Boise State 12-1 up2
9 Indiana 11-1
10 Arizona State 11-2 up2
11 Alabama 9-3
12 SMU 11-2 down4
13 Clemson 10-3 up5
14 South Carolina 9-3 down1
15 Miami 10-2 down1

Assuming that there are still auto-berths,
13 Clemson is still in
12 SMU is out
11 Alabama is in
10 Arizona State & 8 Boise State still get byes
The same 4 teams - 3 Notre Dame, 4 Texas, 5 Penn State, 6 Ohio State - still get home games, though the seedings are slightly different.
Still 12 Clemson would play @5 Notre Dame instead of Texas.
Now 11 Alabama would play @6 Texas.
Still 10 Indiana would play @7 Penn State instead of Notre Dame.
Still 8 Ohio State would host still 9 Tennessee.



Now we know, sort of:

Georgia QB Carson Beck has elbow injury, but no timeline set
Dec 9, 2024, 04:51 PM ET

Was reporting delayed until after GA was seeded? If so,

To: christihurt@unc.edu, bubba.cunningham@unc.edu
Subject: Bill Belichick

Christi Hurt
Chief of Staff to Chancellor Lee H. Roberts

Bubba Cunningham
Director of Athletics

Re:
Bill Belichick on North Carolina coaching job: 'We'll see'
https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... ck-ongoing

Hello,

I have family and friends who are UNC alumni and have been a fan since before I became a third generation NC resident, and taxpayer, nearly 2 decades ago.

I am absolutely opposed to hiring Bill Belichick to coach Tar Heels football. He is too old to lead us far into the future, too unqualified to coach modern college football, and too reviled for being a serial cheater. If Belichick is hired I will cease being a fan of all Tar Heels sports - no games attended, no merch bought, no TV watched.

Just don't do it.

Sincerely,
(Vrede too, real name and contact info)

Okay, I don't attend Chapel Hill games or buy merch now, but they don't have to know that. I won't hold Chapel Hill's poor choices against UNCA.

Get on the team, send your own notes. Plagiarize if you wish, they'll just be tallied as pro or anti. Overwhelming anti might just make the difference.

[O Really]

So 'Canes are going to the "Pop Tart Bowl" and 'Heels are going to the Wasabi Bowl (for real)

Good grief.

[1 CAT FAN]

Always good to disappoint others here. Clemson ACC champions!

[Vrede too]

Always good to disappoint others here. Clemson ACC champions!

https://farm66.static.flickr.com/65535/ ... 1a8c_b.jpg

Where have you been since Joe shamed DonOLD by 7 million (!) votes in 2020? Oh, that's right, the Pussies got trounced by OH St in the semis 49-28 on 1/1/21, then didn't even make the Playoffs since. Ha-ha.

Only an insecure, desperate and pitiful "FAN" ignores his team ALL season, and for the 3 seasons before that, only to magically slither out from his cesspool after an extremely fortunate victory and having cowered from a season of failure:
Was the 2-seed in the ACC Championship solely because 2-loss Miami flubbed vs Syracuse by just 4 points the week before;
Lost to SC, how humiliating, got solidly beaten by Louisville and was utterly JV vs GA;
3 losses, the only such team to barely sneak into the Playoffs;
Tried oh so hard to lose to SMU with a miserable 3-17 4th quarter showing.
Dodged OT thanks to an SMU kick-coverage lapse with 0:16 left;
12th seed, last ;
Will surely get fish-slapped and stomped by #5 Texas, a team I've had the stones to visibly support all season. It will be a pleasure to watch, almost as much fun as watching your subsequent complete disappearance, wuss.

[Jasmine]

Bill Belichick to coach college football? That’s not going to last.

[O Really]

Bill Belichick to coach college football? That’s not going to last.

As a dues-paying alum association member, I've expressed my ummmm "opinion" vigorously to them, but since they didn't ask, I doubt if they care. How anybody could want Bellychick for their college coach is beyond me.