Alright hypothetical time...what if 12-0 Indiana meets 12-0 Ohio St in the BTC game? Regardless of outcome, they are both locked in with first round byes. What do they honestly have to play for? Especially OSU who is fresh off a national championship and is clearly "the hunted". Do they rest...
We would not be favored on a neutral field vs IU right now, nor would any of the SEC teams mentioned in the previous posts. The only team that would be favored right now against IU would be Ohio St.
Pitt is not going to be able to run the ball because nobody is running the ball on this defense. They will have to throw into a secondary leading the nation in interceptions. Its really that simple.
I think the committee looks at similar teams in terms of resume and asks who would win on a neutral field. I think ND wins every one of those what ifs.
Form, eye test, whatever matters. And when you don't look the part AND the resume (SOR, wins against ranked teams, etc) is questionable, there isn't much else to turn to.
The initial rankings set the stage for the remainder of the regular season. Being slotted ahead of TTech or Vanderbilt may be influenced by the most recent data points. Those nuances absolutely matter when ND likely will be compared to other 10-2 teams across multiple conferences. If they...