College Football Playoff Rankings 2015 (ND #8...)

[MNIrishman]

I like it.

Also, I don't mind a 13th game for selfish reasons (another ND Saturday).

Also, if you attend the game, by that point in the season you stand a chance of being called out of the stands to play.

 

[nsisk157]

Also, if you attend the game, by that point in the season you stand a chance of being called out of the stands to play.

Last two years have been an aberration, or at least i hope...cheeky though.

 

[GATTACA!]

I've long said that with our travel considerations during the season a second bye while playing someone on "championship weekend" would be awesome... I've just always thought there was a rule against doing that? I'm pretty sure we're not allowed by the NCAA to schedule BYU or anyone but Hawaii for that weekend or a 13th game?

This is correct. Plus the game would have to be at Hawaii every single year.

 

[gkIrish]

What if we entered into an agreement with the Big 12 to play 2 of their teams every year? One home, one away. One played at the beginning of the season and the other during conference championship week.

We would play all 10 teams in 5 years. Ideally we could agree to pair one of their top 5 teams with a bottom 5 team to keep it balanced. Over 10 years we would see each team at home once and away once.

Not sure if the ACC deal prohibits this sort of thing but I'd be surprised if it did.

UMass
TCU
Western Michigan
@Virginia Tech
BYE
Syracuse
USC
@Louisville
Navy
BYE
@ NC State
Duke (Shamrock Series)
@ Stanford
@ Iowa St. (during conf. champ week)

made a bunch of edits trying to make the schedule realistic.

 

[johnnycando]

I mean we've played their marquee programs the last 4 years with OU and UT.

I doubt it would be a problem.

 

[Irish#1]

Our schedule on paper is tough enough every year. This year happened to be a really unlucky year because USC and Texas were both not elite. If we miss the playoffs it's because we didn't beat Clemson, not because we didn't have a good enough schedule. Win all your games. Iowa & Oklahoma St. had shit schedules but all they had to do was win all their games.

People talk about playing a tougher schedule, but until that season you don't know who is going to be good and who isn't. Before the season started, everyone thought GT was going to be a very very good team and Navy would just be a pain in the butt for one week.

Every team has these same issues. Schedules look easy or tough, but until the season is about half way over, you don't really know how it's going to shake out.

 

[PANDFAN]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Best record vs schedule per FEI degree of difficulty:
1. Clemson
2. ND
3. Alabama
4. Iowa
5. Mich St
6. Oklahoma
<a href="https://t.co/PvaJSKKpEu">https://t.co/PvaJSKKpEu</a></p>— Brian Fremeau (@bcfremeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/bcfremeau/status/668792967310786560">November 23, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[NDohio]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Best record vs schedule per FEI degree of difficulty:
1. Clemson
2. ND
3. Alabama
4. Iowa
5. Mich St
6. Oklahoma
<a href="https://t.co/PvaJSKKpEu">https://t.co/PvaJSKKpEu</a></p>— Brian Fremeau (@bcfremeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/bcfremeau/status/668792967310786560">November 23, 2015</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Look back 15 posts...

 

[Bogtrotter07]

That's okay.

I wonder if that is what the committee looks at?

 

[IrishinSyria]

People talk about playing a tougher schedule, but until that season you don't know who is going to be good and who isn't. Before the season started, everyone thought GT was going to be a very very good team and Navy would just be a pain in the butt for one week.

Every team has these same issues. Schedules look easy or tough, but until the season is about half way over, you don't really know how it's going to shake out.

Kind of. The advantage of being in a conference is that you know somebody will be good. When we play half the ACC, there's a real chance that our half is not the good half. When that's the case, we're left hoping stanford, USC, or our marquee match up is good enough to make up for that.

 

[irishfanjho15]

Kind of. The advantage of being in a conference is that you know somebody will be good. When we play half the ACC, there's a real chance that our half is not the good half. When that's the case, we're left hoping stanford, USC, or our marquee match up is good enough to make up for that.

Or that they will be propped up by lack luster divisions. When the teams in the conference don't even play all the conference teams this argument holds a lot less weight. Iowa's best win this year was against Pitt, yet they are the B1G west champs. That's pitiful.

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Or that they will be propped up by lack luster divisions. When the teams in the conference don't even play all the conference teams this argument holds a lot less weight. Iowa's best win this year was against Pitt, yet they are the B1G west champs. That's pitiful.

It's also not true.

Iowa beat the current #17 team in the country (Northwestern) by 30 points on the road. That's arguably a better "best win" by the rankings than Notre Dame beating current #16 Navy by 17 at home.

 

[Booslum31]

Or that they will be propped up by lack luster divisions. When the teams in the conference don't even play all the conference teams this argument holds a lot less weight. Iowa's best win this year was against Pitt, yet they are the B1G west champs. That's pitiful.

Can Penn State actually shock Iowa this weekend? Is there even a chance?

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Can Penn State actually shock Iowa this weekend? Is there even a chance?

No. Because they play Nebraska. And, yes, I think Nebraska could beat Iowa.

 

[Booslum31]

No. Because they play Nebraska. And, yes, I think Nebraska could beat Iowa.

Thanks...I was mis-informed!

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Thanks...I was mis-informed!

Michigan State plays PSU, so they're in the mix this weekend!

 

[BeauBenken]

This is correct. Plus the game would have to be at Hawaii every single year.

...an annual trip to Hawaii would probably be a nice recruiting pull.

 

[IrishLion]

Saw this on Twitter and thought it was interesting:

Unofficial Playoff Committee SOS Ranks - CFB Matrix

It's the SOS rankings that the Playoff Committee uses. The only team in the top 6 that has a tougher SOS than ND, ACCORDING TO THE COMMITTEE, is Bama.

ND checks in at #40.

Oklahoma is at #50, Clemson at #56, Oklahoma State at #72.

It's based first on opponents' records, then on opponents-opponents' records. So if ND and Oklahoma both win this weekend, I'd imagine they will get similar bumps in the committee's SOS rankings.

EDIT: They are "unofficial" rankings, but they are formulated based on what the committee has said about making their own SOS rankings.

 

[Legacy]

Here's a cool interactive graphic tool for SOS (with links to stats)

BCF Toys - Chartball SOS

Find Iowa. (Sort by conference)

 

[IrishJayhawk]

Here's a cool interactive graphic tool for SOS (with links to stats)

BCF Toys - Chartball SOS

Find Iowa. (Sort by conference)

Nice.

And note...I'm not saying that Iowa has as difficult a schedule as Notre Dame.

But their top 3 wins are Northwestern (#17), Pitt (#27, receiving votes) and Wisconsin (#31, receiving votes). That's very similar to Notre Dame beating Navy (#16), Temple (#25) and Pitt (#27, receiving votes).

Of course ND also has USC and Georgia Tech. The schedule is much deeper than Iowa's.

 

[irishfanjho15]

It's also not true.

Iowa beat the current #17 team in the country (Northwestern) by 30 points on the road. That's arguably a better "best win" by the rankings than Notre Dame beating current #16 Navy by 17 at home.

Holy crap, totally forgot about NW. Good catch. I still think giving a team credit in a conference were they do not even play all the teams in the conference is BS. The Big 12 is the only conference that has a legit champion in my opinion. It is what it is.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Holy crap, totally forgot about NW. Good catch. I still think giving a team credit in a conference were they do not even play all the teams in the conference. The Big 12 is the only conference that has a legit champion in my opinion. It is what it is.

A NW team that beat Stanford

 

[Sherm Sticky]

Holy crap, totally forgot about NW. Good catch. I still think giving a team credit in a conference were they do not even play all the teams in the conference. The Big 12 is the only conference that has a legit champion in my opinion. It is what it is.

You mean the conference that couldn't decide who was the champion last year?


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[irishfanjho15]

You mean the conference that couldn't decide who was the champion last year?


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They had a champion. It was Baylor. Just because the commish thought a ploy would get one into the playoff doesn't change that Baylor and TCU had the same record in conference and Baylor won head to head.

I get what you're saying but everyone knows Baylor was the conference champ.

 

[woolybug25]

You mean the conference that couldn't decide who was the champion last year?


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Then added a tie breaker this year which states that if two teams tie, the team that scored more total points over the season is the champion.

Leave it to the Big12 to completely disregard anything but high flying offense. A team could throw down shutouts in almost every game and not be the champion if a team wins the the same amount of games but win in shootouts every week.

"True champion" my arse. The Big12 has the worst method of any conference.

 

[irishfanjho15]

Then added a tie breaker this year which states that if two teams tie, the team that scored more total points over the season is the champion.

Leave it to the Big12 to completely disregard anything but high flying offense. A team could throw down shutouts in almost every game and not be the champion if a team wins the the same amount of games but win in shootouts every week.

"True champion" my arse. The Big12 has the worst method of any conference.

Nevermind, I thought it was changed to record and then head to head. If that's the case then eff them.

 

[NDWorld247]

Then added a tie breaker this year which states that if two teams tie, the team that scored more total points over the season is the champion.

Leave it to the Big12 to completely disregard anything but high flying offense. A team could throw down shutouts in almost every game and not be the champion if a team wins the the same amount of games but win in shootouts every week.

"True champion" my arse. The Big12 has the worst method of any conference.

This isn't true. Tiebreaker between two teams is head to head. Point differential is the 3rd tiebreaker for a 3-team tie and even then it's just between the three tied teams.

I would prefer the Big 12 have a championship game (I think), but love the fact everyone plays everyone. Much better situation than what happened in the Big 10 (Iowa not playing the three best teams in the conference).

 

[irishfanjho15]

This isn't true. Tiebreaker between two teams is head to head. Point differential is the 3rd tiebreaker for a 3-team tie and even then it's just between the three tied teams.

I would prefer the Big 12 have a championship game (I think), but love the fact everyone plays everyone. Much better situation than what happened in the Big 10 (Iowa not playing the three best teams in the conference).

Basically this is my problem with the expanded conferences, and that they only play 8 conference games. Funny how that works, expand the conference play less conference games.

 

[CoachB]

Just some quick research, lets compare Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma opponents wise from worst to first.

12th best - Akron over UMASS. Akron beat them 17-13 this year, so its a toss up
11th - Boston College over Kansas. Notre Dame's 11th best opponent has the top defense in the country. A defense that the Irish put up 450 yards on. Kansas is just putrid at a winless 0-11. 1-1
10th - Wake Forest over Tulsa. Tulsa lost to any decent AAC team. They just beat the chumps. Although they still scored 38 on OK. 2-1 ND
9th - Georgia Tech over Iowa St. Georgia Tech disappointed compared to expectations this year, however, they did beat Florida State and five of their losses were one score or less. Iowa St. lost to Toledo, which was one of the best non-conference schools the Big 12 played. 3-1 ND
8th - Texas over Kansas State. Texas already beat KSU. ND destroyed Texas 38-3, while OK of course lost to them. KSU's big wins? UTSA, South Dakota, IA St. and LA Tech in OT. Man, a murderer's row that Big 12 plays. 4-1 ND
7th - Virginia over Texas. This would be a toss-up IMO. Virginia has four losses by one score or less. 5-1 ND
6th - USC over Texas Tech. This is just laughable. USC would just destory Tech. Who is Tech's best win? Iowa St? USC beat a good Utah team by 18. 6-1 ND
5th - Pittsburgh over WVU. This is another blowout. Pittsburgh is 8-3. Their three losses are a combined 31-2. ND, Iowa by 3, and a 10-1 NC. Also, NC is getting a ton of credit for their offense. ND scored 42 on them, NC 26. Who is WVU's best win? Texas Tech? Really? Doing some research, man the Big 12 schedules just horrendously. There is no way they can make the playoff. 7-1 ND
4th - Temple over Tennessee. Tennessee would win in name only. At least OK scheduled somebody OK with a big name. Tennessee is 7-4 with their best win being Bowling Green? Missouri? Temple hammered a decent Penn St by 17, and a good Memphis team by 19. 8-1 ND
3rd - Navy over TCU. This would be a bloodbath. The TCU team that OK beat by one at home had no Boykin, no Dotson, and no All-conference center, and half their D out with injury. The same TCU team beat hapless Kansas by six the previous week. Just pathetic. TCU, when healthy beat a bad Minn team by six, Stephen F. Austin, SMU, Tech, Texas, KSU, IA St. WVU...I mean...just awful. They finally played an average OK St. team and lost by 20. Talk about getting propped up playing nobodys. Then the Cowboys get a bunch of credit for beating an undefeated TCU. Really? Is nobody paying attention? Hopefully the committee is. Navy's only loss is ND of course. They beat the Tulsa team by 23, the same team OK beat by 14. And crushed a good Memphis team that beat Ole Miss by 25. 9-1 ND
2nd - Stanford over OK St. This would be a bloodbath too. Stanford would destory OK St. The Big 12 doesn't like those physical teams that will pop them in the mouth. As an Irish fan, this game worries me though. Stanford is really good. If ND doesn't beat them, its a moot point. The Pac 12 was awfully good this year. Ok St. just wasn't good. Cent. Mi, Cent Ark, UTSA, Tex by 3, KSU by 2, WVU in OT, IA St. by 4, lost to Baylor with 3rd qb. Just not good. 10-1 ND
1st - Clemson over Baylor. #1 team in the country who beat the Irish by 2 at home in a hurricane on a failed two point conversion. Baylor might be OK but hard to say, because they haven't played anyone. 11-1 ND. Don't tell me Oklahoma plays a tougher schedule. That is just ridiculous. I get that haters are gonna hate and there are reasons people don't like ND, but lets at least try to stay in touch with reality here. The 12th place game in a toss-up. Other than that, the Irish opponents get the clean sweep. If they beat Stanford, I think there is no choice but to do the right and obvious thing, put the deserving team in the playoff and vote Irish!

 

[IrishinSyria]

I like your style, but I'm pretty sure vegas wouldn't agree with you on some of those.