2022 Watch Party: BOWL SEASON

[Wild Bill]

Who are you talking about? Everybody? lol. I have said TCU didn't belong in the playoffs ever since it was announced.

There wasn't a more deserving team and Georgia would have beaten everyone in country by a couple scores the way they played tonight so who gives a shit.

 

[fightingirish26]

Who are you talking about? Everybody? lol. I have said TCU didn't belong in the playoffs ever since it was announced.

So a team that didn't belong in the playoffs then goes on to ACTUALLY WIN A GAME and now you're double and tripling down on it? Whack.

TCU not belonging in the playoffs this year is probably leader in the clubhouse for worst take of 2023 so far.

 

[NDFAN2008]

If TCU didn’t belong then neither did Michigan. Facts are both belong and deserved to be in the playoffs whoever played Georgia tonight woulda got boat raced Idc who it is. Stetson Bennet is gonna have a nice NFL career whoever decides to pick him up. I think he will be a good backup and may even a starter one day. Kid might not be sexy but he does all the right things and has a set of balls on him. This Georgia team might be right there with being close to as good as the burrow LSU team. They have a bunch of dawgs on defense. They had freshman all over making plays last night and a previous walk on getting two touchdowns

 

[tko]

TCU’s offensive game plan was set up by Chip Long and Brian Kelly.

 

[IrishLax]

On paper, TCU was always going to get boat raced. They did not have the players on defense to match up physically with Georgia.

But when I knew it was over was when Kirby Smart gave his pregame interview and said “it’s time to hunt”… like you could just tell he knew without a shadow of a doubt what they were about to do to TCU. He must’ve flipped on the film after Ohio State and been like “this is who we play? Are you kidding me?”

 

[stlnd01]

Who said anything about ranking teams based on recruiting rankings or recent success? That (and returning talent) is only good as a starting point for preseason polls. My point is that resume, stats, and being deserving are a very poor substitute for watching teams play and intelligently and knowledgeably assessing them based on how they perform. Resume and stats are just a small part of that. The rest is knowing enough about the game to be able to look at a team play and accurately determine how they'd likely perform against other teams.

Nearly 60 years ago, there was an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies in which Jed went to a horse track. He consistently picked the winner in every race despite frequently going against the advice of the "experts" and the stats. He'd later explain that he didn't need a racing guide or any stats because he could look at the horses and just tell by watching them which ones could actually run. That's what I'm talking about. Some people can watch the teams play and know. Most can't. They get totally hung up on resumes and stats and where a team "deserves" to be ranked. This is why you end up with a TCU or Cincinatti or other "deserving" team in the playoffs instead of one of the less shiny resume teams who'd beat the crap out of them.

Of course TCU and Cincy don't have the horses to run with Georgia. You don't need to be some football savant to know this. It's pretty obvious just by looking at them on the field, let alone their 247 ratings.

But, like Cincy last year, TCU performed better in the regular season than a bunch of teams with "better" football players, and they won a playoff game. They absolutely earned their shot. And that needs to count for something. Otherwise why bother with the whole exercise?

 

[MacIrish75]

TCU is my national champion, I don’t care

 

[NDFAN2008]

On paper, TCU was always going to get boat raced. They did not have the players on defense to match up physically with Georgia.

But when I knew it was over was when Kirby Smart gave his pregame interview and said “it’s time to hunt”… like you could just tell he knew without a shadow of a doubt what they were about to do to TCU. He must’ve flipped on the film after Ohio State and been like “this is who we play? Are you kidding me?”

Yeah TCU's defense was atrocious and there offense didn't really face a good DL all year except for Michigan and then last night they got exposed. If you are comparing our team next year I think our team next year will be 10-15 points better than this years TCU team and better than this year's Michigan team. But if anyone was gonna beat Georgia you would of had to catch them on a an off night and hope they beat themselves.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

I still can't believe that was a "championship" of anything.

 

[Irish#1]

The best news of all, is that this game replaces the 2012 NCG for talking about a team being way overmatched and wasn't deserving of being in the game.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Why???? I don't get it brother..... Why worry than any other team than the Irish?

WHO cares who plays the Irish opponents or their conference(s)?????

I don't get it....

I don't think it's really that complicated. Of course everyone on this board wants ND to succeed above all else. But there's also hours of football to be consumed outside of ND each and every week. People cheer against rivals, or for the underdog, or for the opponents on our schedule to win to boost SOS, etc. Having a rooting interest, however small or large, makes a game more enjoyable to watch.

Schadenfreude: "pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune." I love watching scUM and USC lose. Just like they love watching ND lose. You're most definitely in the minority saying "Who cares" because millions of fans across the country think it's funny when we lose. Perception matters, and when your enemy gets knocked down, it can be just as enjoyable as us winning. Not to mention the competitive advantages of seeing scUM or USC fail, since we have such a large recruiting presence and directly compete with both schools.

What makes college football so special is the tradition, pageantry and the rivalries that have been forged over 100+ years; there's plenty of evidence that the human brain is wired to get as much pleasure out of an enemies defeat as they are their own team's victory:

The pleasure and pain of our brains and sports

In an excerpt from "This Is Your Brain on Sports," the question is answered why the agony of the other team's defeat feels just as good as the thrill of a home team's victory.

www.espn.com

 

[Irishcop]

How did TCU end up ranked number 2 after last night? Or is this not the final rankings?

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Who said anything about ranking teams based on recruiting rankings or recent success? That (and returning talent) is only good as a starting point for preseason polls. My point is that resume, stats, and being deserving are a very poor substitute for watching teams play and intelligently and knowledgeably assessing them based on how they perform. Resume and stats are just a small part of that. The rest is knowing enough about the game to be able to look at a team play and accurately determine how they'd likely perform against other teams.

Nearly 60 years ago, there was an episode of The Beverly Hillbillies in which Jed went to a horse track. He consistently picked the winner in every race despite frequently going against the advice of the "experts" and the stats. He'd later explain that he didn't need a racing guide or any stats because he could look at the horses and just tell by watching them which ones could actually run. That's what I'm talking about. Some people can watch the teams play and know. Most can't. They get totally hung up on resumes and stats and where a team "deserves" to be ranked. This is why you end up with a TCU or Cincinatti or other "deserving" team in the playoffs instead of one of the less shiny resume teams who'd beat the crap out of them.

So the “eye test”? That can only be part of the equation IMO. A team can look great beating a bunch of average to below-average teams. Once they get more than one loss, it’s hard to justify them being one of the 4 best in a four-team format. I mean how many “off nights” can you give a team? Your idea makes sense in a vacuum w/ everything being equal.

In reality, CFB is far too regionalized. Just tune into the SEC Network & you can instantly tell that none of their talking heads watch anything but SEC teams. Same for B1G Network talking heads. And then you still have built-in biases that are impossible to remove b/c at the end of the day you have a committee made up of humans making the choices.

IMO, the only way to get what you’re talking about is forming two super conferences and then going w/ a true playoff.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

The best news of all, is that this game replaces the 2012 NCG for talking about a team being way overmatched and wasn't deserving of being in the game.

While last night’s game was much worse, don’t think for a minute that it removes the 2012 game from the conversation of overmatched teams in championship games. Look no further than Twitter last night when the topic came up.

 

[NDohio]

So the “eye test”? That can only be part of the equation IMO. A team can look great beating a bunch of average to below-average teams. Once they get more than one loss, it’s hard to justify them being one of the 4 best in a four-team format. I mean how many “off nights” can you give a team? Your idea makes sense in a vacuum w/ everything being equal.

In reality, CFB is far too regionalized. Just tune into the SEC Network & you can instantly tell that none of their talking heads watch anything but SEC teams. Same for B1G Network talking heads. And then you still have built-in biases that are impossible to remove b/c at the end of the day you have a committee made up of humans making the choices.

IMO, the only way to get what you’re talking about is forming two super conferences and then going w/ a true playoff.

I wish the CFP would have adopted the BCS format of picking the top teams while going to the four team playoff. The BCS ranking were typically pretty good and a combination of the polls and computers did a nice job of pitting the top two teams against each other. I hate that we now have a (biased) committee picking the top teams.

 

[Dale]

Just tune into the SEC Network & you can instantly tell that none of their talking heads watch anything but SEC teams. Same for B1G Network talking heads.

The SEC Network is not heavily biased to the SEC because of region or because of lack of eyes on other games, they are heavily biased towards the SEC because they are told to be, paid to be, so. The SEC does a better job than every other conference of being on the same page from top to bottom.

 

[Dale]

This is where an army of analysts and walk ons that had real offers probably and underclassmen highly rated recruits come into play.

 

[T Town Tommy]

While last night’s game was much worse, don’t think for a minute that it removes the 2012 game from the conversation of overmatched teams in championship games. Look no further than Twitter last night when the topic came up.

I dunno. 2022 Georgia would not have ran over 2012 Notre Dame. Bama had an OL for the ages, a nasty defense, and just outmuscled everyone running the ball. Throw in a QB that could deliver the ball to a great WR and it would be tough sledding for most anyone. Further, 2012 Bama would probably beat 2022 Georgia by double digits. Finally, 2012 Notre Dame would beat 2022 TCU as well. I just don't think the two games are comparable. At least that's my take.

 

[IrishLax]

Like many said, this year's field was historically weak. All teams had flaws. Georgia probably should have lost to Ohio State if Marvin Harrison Jr. didn't get knocked out of the game or they simply don't shank that final kick.

Last night's ass kicking was because TCU was a horrible mismatch for Georgia. They simply did not have the big bodies to match up with them, it was was style issue.

 

[WilliamWallace]

I dunno. 2022 Georgia would not have ran over 2012 Notre Dame. Bama had an OL for the ages, a nasty defense, and just outmuscled everyone running the ball. Throw in a QB that could deliver the ball to a great WR and it would be tough sledding for most anyone. Further, 2012 Bama would probably beat 2022 Georgia by double digits. Finally, 2012 Notre Dame would beat 2022 TCU as well. I just don't think the two games are comparable. At least that's my take.

We were a good QB away from winning both of those Georgia games.

Hell, it seems like we’ve always been a good QB away!

 

[WilliamWallace]

Like many said, this year's field was historically weak. All teams had flaws. Georgia probably should have lost to Ohio State if Marvin Harrison Jr. didn't get knocked out of the game or they simply don't shank that final kick.

Last night's ass kicking was because TCU was a horrible mismatch for Georgia. They simply did not have the big bodies to match up with them, it was was style issue.

Yeah this season definitely set up nicely for anyone to have a shot. Not that I want ND beating a lousy team for a nattty but I’d have taken it. With the upcoming season of New QB’s there may be another good chance.

 

[Rack Em]

Like many said, this year's field was historically weak. All teams had flaws. Georgia probably should have lost to Ohio State if Marvin Harrison Jr. didn't get knocked out of the game or they simply don't shank that final kick.

Last night's ass kicking was because TCU was a horrible mismatch for Georgia. They simply did not have the big bodies to match up with them, it was was style issue.

I think it was more of a points issue, but okay whatever.

 

[Jiggafini19Deux]

LOL.

Was Kirby Smart really building this narrative for the past week? Talk about ridiculous.

 

[Bishop2b5]

TCU is my national champion, I don’t careView attachment 3052553

I'm not sure this was a good thing. It might've been more satisfying for Michigan to have made it to the NC game full of confidence and bravado, and then get the absolute living hell beaten out of them by Georgia. Seems more humiliating than losing a close one in the semis to TCU.

 

[GoldenAura]

I'm not sure this was a good thing. It might've been more satisfying for Michigan to have made it to the NC game full of confidence and bravado, and then get the absolute living hell beaten out of them by Georgia. Seems more humiliating than losing a close one in the semis to TCU.

I respect your point but I would never want Michigan fans to have the satisfaction of saying they won a playoff game and made it to the championship game (regardless of how that went).

 

[CoachB]

Except TCU did deserve to be in the playoff. Alabama lost to the only two good teams they played all year, UT got boatraced by a mediocre South Carolina team, Clemson sucked, and USC choked their shot to get in.

The reality is that this season had one great team in the middle of an all-time program run and a bunch of decent teams fighting for 2nd place.

Eh, Alabama would have gone unbeaten against Michigan's schedule too. Michigan would have had at least two losses against Bama's.

 

[tussin]

Eh, Alabama would have gone unbeaten against Michigan's schedule too. Michigan would have had at least two losses against Bama's.

Michigan beat Ohio State. Bama lost to Tenn and LSU. I don’t see the point you’re trying to make as it relates to this years field.

No one is arguing that Bama is less talented than the playoff teams, but thankfully the Team Composite Rankings don’t determine the field.

 

[ShamrockOnHelmet]

I'm not sure this was a good thing. It might've been more satisfying for Michigan to have made it to the NC game full of confidence and bravado, and then get the absolute living hell beaten out of them by Georgia. Seems more humiliating than losing a close one in the semis to TCU.

You don’t hate Michigan enough…

 

[Dale]

Michigan beat Ohio State. Bama lost to Tenn and LSU. I don’t see the point you’re trying to make as it relates to this year’s field.

No one is arguing that Bama is less talented than the playoff teams, but thankfully the Team Composite Rankings don’t determine the field.

Exactly. I don’t get the influx of well this would have gone this way and this team is better than that. We just played the season! Alabama lost to LSU and Tennessee. Barely snuck by Texas and Ole Miss. These real things happened.

 

[Old Man Mike]

Most of the commentary in this thread makes some sense and is at least honestly debatable.
I just want to add a less relevant side remark: People (some) are equating TCU with Cincinnati.
I don't feel that's correct. Cincinnati played decently against Alabama, and trailed by 11 in the third
and picked off the Alabama quarterback at that time. It wasn't an utter thrashing, (27-6 or
something like that) even though they no real answer to the Alabama OLine push on rushing plays.
They had two NFL corners who could really play. Saban said that they belonged, and gave his
team trouble. Coachspeak, OK, but Smart could not say that the other evening without everyone
rolling eyeballs. It's my opinion that Cincinnati deserves more credit for that team.