NCAA Playoff Committee Rankings 2014 (Unranked)

[Irish Insanity]

So, apparently the bag men pay more than just the players......

 

[Wild Bill]

TCU is losing this weekend. Kansas State is going to finish the year 8-4. Oregon has Stanford, Utah, and the Pac 12 championship (potentially). And the SEC will basically kill itself, there is no way more than 2 SEC teams make the playoff.

We have the easiest road out of all the 1 loss teams. If we beat ASU and Stanford beats Oregon, things are going to look a lot different.

State has an easier path, in my opinion.

 

[GBdomer]

Hey Koon here you go!! If you have time to post on IE you better make time you watch the fucking tube.

Committee Chair Jeff Long Explains Rationale Behind Rankings
29 minutes ago
The College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its first Top 25 ranking on Tuesday evening on ESPN. Mississippi State topped the initial ranking, with Florida State, Auburn and Ole Miss rounding out the top four, respectively.

Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long, the selection committee chair, joined the ESPN telecast to explain some of the rationale behind the rankings. With Ole Miss edging out Alabama, Long was asked how big of a factor head-to-head matchups were.

"Well as you would expect, there is a lot of discussion about head-to-head," Long said. "But you have to remember that head-to-head is only one of the criteria we're using. We're also using how those teams performed with the other teams they played on their schedules. So head-to-head is important, but it's not the only factor obviously."

The Oregon Ducks came in at No. 5, significantly higher than a one-loss team that beat them, No. 12 Arizona. Long was asked how that was different from the Ole Miss-Alabama situation.

"You look at Oregon, they not only beat Michigan State, but they went on the road and had a good win at UCLA. So I think their body of work -- as you guys have said and we use a lot in the room as well -- is better than that of (Arizona)."

The Big 12 didn't have a team in the top six of the rankings. TCU was the top-ranked Big 12 team, coming in at No. 7. Long was asked what that means about how they view the strength of the Big 12 as a conference.

"Again, I think it's important for me to point out, we really don't look at is as a conference. We look at the games that Kansas State has played; they played an excellent game at home in a close loss to Auburn and then the Oklahoma win was important for them. So again, we don't analyze it by conference. We look at those teams and evaluate the teams they played and the success they had, or the failures they had."

The Ohio State Buckeyes came in at No. 16, mostly because of a home loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies early in the season. Long was asked if the committee viewed that as an albatross.

"Well, I wouldn't call it an albatross, but it was not a good loss for them. But Ohio State has opportunities on their schedule to play up, as many of these teams do. We're still early in this process and, while I wouldn't get that excited about Ohio State's placement, we do think that based on the other teams that they've played to this point in the schedule, this is where they deserve to be ranked."

 

[GBdomer]

TCU is losing this weekend. Kansas State is going to finish the year 8-4. Oregon has Stanford, Utah, and the Pac 12 championship (potentially). And the SEC will basically kill itself, there is no way more than 2 SEC teams make the playoff.

We have the easiest road out of all the 1 loss teams. If we beat ASU and Stanford beats Oregon, things are going to look a lot different.

So every other team is screwed besides ND? got it

 

[tko]

we need to come out and wax the rest of these bummy teams we play to make an impression.

I've never seen a ND team do this, so here's to hoping. Opponents play us too damn tough for us to wax on, wax off week in and week out.

 

[woolybug25]

TCU is losing this weekend. Kansas State is going to finish the year 8-4. Oregon has Stanford, Utah, and the Pac 12 championship (potentially). And the SEC will basically kill itself, there is no way more than 2 SEC teams make the playoff.

We have the easiest road out of all the 1 loss teams. If we beat ASU and Stanford beats Oregon, things are going to look a lot different.

How could we possibly have an easier road than say... MSU? The best team they have left to play is OSU? Next week... with an injured backup QB?

 

[DogDaysIrish]

Well, I'm Pollyanna still.

A). I can see MSU losing another game. That would put no B1G team ahead of us.

B). I can see the Big 12 cannibalizing, and everyone there having at least two losses.

C). I can see Oregon losing another game. That would put all PAC-12 teams behind us.

D). I can see only one SEC team ending up with one loss [and none undefeated].

E). This would leave only top ranked FSU plus us and a few others. Our only loss would be to them.

I do not see any of the above as extremely unlikely.

I'd view it as fairly likely quite frankly.

 

[Huntr]

How could we possibly have an easier road than say... MSU? The best team they have left to play is OSU? Next week... with an injured backup QB?

By the time our wins are as good as their wins, our loss will be better than their loss.

 

[NCND]

Thanks Michigan and Stanford. ND, just win baby.

 

[peoriairish]

They beat Bama. That's a better win then Oregon, TCU,MSU, ND and every 1 loss team has.

That perpetuates my point. If Bama lost to Ole Miss, and barely squeaked by Arky, why is Bama sitting at 6? Their wins are barely better than ours. Playing a little of devil's advocate here but I hope y'all can see my point.

 

[woolybug25]

Question... does the loser of the Auburn (3) v Ole Miss (4) game this weekend fall out of the top 10?

 

[arrowryan]

How could we possibly have an easier road than say... MSU? The best team they have left to play is OSU? Next week... with an injured backup QB?

OSU will play them tough and they will probably have to play Nebraska again in the Big 10 championship game. Beating the same team twice is never easy, especially when the second game is on a neutral field.

MSU and ND both have manageable schedules to end the season. You could definitely make an argument for both about who has the easiest road to go

 

[IrishinSyria]

Well, I'm Pollyanna still.

A). I can see MSU losing another game. That would put no B1G team ahead of us.

B). I can see the Big 12 cannibalizing, and everyone there having at least two losses.

C). I can see Oregon losing another game. That would put all PAC-12 teams behind us.

D). I can see only one SEC team ending up with one loss [and none undefeated].

E). This would leave only top ranked FSU plus us and a few others. Our only loss would be to them.

I do not see any of the above as extremely unlikely.

A) MSU's only likely loss is it to Ohio State. Does a 1 loss Ohio St program jump us with a win v. Sparty?

B) Agree the Big 12 could cannibalize, but I think it's at least equally probable that one of Baylor, TCU, or K St makes it through with only one loss. Doesn't matter which one does it, any of them will have a better resume than us at the end of the year than we do.

C) Who might Oregon lose to? Hopefully Stanford, but Utah probably has the best shot. If Utah wins out, they may very well jump us.

D) At this point, I'm concerned a 2 loss SEC champion gets picked ahead of us. Also, Georgia's a very real threat to jump us.

E) Our Florida St loss is the best thing we have on our resume right now. The committee obviously doesn't think much of it. A close loss will not look any better as the year goes on.

A lot of stuff is going to have to go our way.

 

[Rhode Irish]

OSU will play them tough and they will probably have to play Nebraska again in the Big 10 championship game. Beating the same team twice is never easy, especially when the second game is on a neutral field.

MSU and ND both have manageable schedules to end the season. You could definitely make an argument for both about who has the easiest road to go

Of all the years for us not to play them....wish we could just settle it on the field.

 

[HoosierMP33]

Look....no need to panic or get crappy with the ranking....

Ole Miss will lose to Auburn *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Miss St will lose to Ole Miss AND 'Bama *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

'Bama will lose to Auburn *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Auburn will lose to Georgia *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Georgia will lose SEC title game *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

That solves the SEC puzzle.

Nebraska will lose at Wisconsin *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Mich St./OSU will leave one team eliminated.

Mich St./OSU will lose in title game *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

That solves the B1G problem.

Oregon loses to Stanford OR in PAC-12 title game *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

PAC-12 problem solved.

K-State will lose to TCU *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

TCU will lose to West Virginia *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Baylor will lose to K-State *poof*they're gone. (2nd loss)

That solves the Big 12 problem.

FSU wins out.

ACC solved.

FSU and ND left standing out among a myriad of 2 loss teams....

Granted, not all of this can/will/is going to happen and saying all of this is going to happen is very unrealistic....but so is acting like we're out of the playoff's or that it's impossible for us to get in....This is the best case scenario for ND...some of this that I laid out will happen tho....question is....will enough of it happen for us to make the playoffs? That is the real question....WE ARE ND!! GO IRISH!!!!

 

[Woneone]

Thanks Michigan and Stanford. ND, just win baby.

This is what bothers me about them releasing the initial poll so early.

What if Stanford wins out? What if UNC keeps winning?

With the initial poll release, it's going to be harder and harder to go back and judge "quality wins" after the fact. We were judged that beating Stanford in week 4 was not a quality win.

It is now in the books as a "non-quality win". If they win out, are they a better win than WVU, whom apparently is Alabama's quality win? What if Kansas State shits the bed from here on out? Does that alone move Auburn down? I doubt it.

The initial poll is released. My guess is from here, it's a week by week gauging. What did you do this week compared to everyone else? And since some teams got a head start, they're going to be tough to chase down.

 

[Irish Insanity]

Question... does the loser of the Auburn (3) v Ole Miss (4) game this weekend fall out of the top 10?

Expect them to land at 7. 3+4=7

 

[anarin]

Question... does the loser of the Auburn (3) v Ole Miss (4) game this weekend fall out of the top 10?

I'd say no.

For some reason these SEC teams do not fall far. I'm actually worried that a 2 loss SEC team could be ahead of ND at 1 loss.

If they would stop bull$hitting on the playoffs and make it ATLEAST 8, then arguments wouldn't be nearly as great. You would get a true champion.

 

[nd_fan]

So much for the "we win and we are in" nonsense

 

[arrowryan]

So every other team is screwed besides ND? got it

That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if ND can win out, there is a good chance they get in

 

[no.1IrishFan]

I hope every player on the team takes this a a giant kick in the d!ck!

Barring huge upsets in front of us, we need to start crushing opponents if we want a realistic shot at #4.

 

[koonja]

It sucks that Taylor Kelly didn't play against UCLA, cause they'd be undefeated and ranked ~ 5-7 right now.

Nightmare scenario is them shitting the bed this week. Not so much worried about them losing after our game, because we'd have already staked our position based on that game.

 

[Woneone]

Question... does the loser of the Auburn (3) v Ole Miss (4) game this weekend fall out of the top 10?

My initial reaction was "No", but looking at the standings, I think the one takeaway for me is that the filtering seems to go:

1.) Record
2.) Perceived Quality Wins
3.) Bad Loss

Looking at it that way, I'd think they'd fall to the top of the 2-loss teams, maybe staying ahead of the few bottom 1-loss teams.

 

[GBdomer]

as Aaron Rodgers would say

R-E-L-A-X

 

[woolybug25]

Expect them to land at 7. 3+4=7

I'd say no.

For some reason these SEC teams do not fall far. I'm actually worried that a 2 loss SEC team could be ahead of ND at 1 loss.

If they would stop bull$hitting on the playoffs and make it ATLEAST 8, then arguments wouldn't be nearly as great. You would get a true champion.

So much for the "we win and we are in" nonsense

Yeppers. It's setup now that even 2 loss SEC teams will be put in front of us. So now we have a system where they don't even have to beat eachother. Just show up, beat your cupcakes and scream "ess see see" and boom... you're in the playoffs.

 

[arrowryan]

The thought of an 11-1 ND team not making it is kinda scary though

 

[peoriairish]

Question... does the loser of the Auburn (3) v Ole Miss (4) game this weekend fall out of the top 10?

Ole Miss at 4 proves that they won't. All they talk of these teams playing each other and their gone means nothing to me anymore. Especially the SEC teams. It may partially depend on how badly they lose, but I think overall, it doesn't matter.

 

[tko]

Yeppers. It's setup now that even 2 loss SEC teams will be put in front of us. So now we have a system where they don't even have to beat eachother. Just show up, beat your cupcakes and scream "ess see see" and boom... you're in the playoffs.

You are so due for Nico Fertitta to fkn de-cleat you, LOL.

 

[BGIF]

Based on the Long's comments in the "Committee Chair Jeff Long Explains Rationale Behind Rankings" article ... Hello Sun Bowl.

I thought this format sucked when it was first announced. Still do.


Here's their Top 25 with Sagarin's Strength of Schedule following the Won Loss Record.


1. MissSt (7-0) 17
2. FSU (7-0) 41
3. AUB (6-1) 2
4. Miss (7-1) 7
5. ORE (7-1) 34
6. ALA (7-1) 3
7. TCU (6-1) 48
8. MSU (7-1) 63
9. KSU (6-1) 37
10. ND(6-1) 36
11. UGA (6-1) 22
12. Arizona (6-1) 49
13. Baylor (6-1) 54
14. ASU (6-1) 30
15. NEB (7-1) 58
16. OSU (6-1) 60
17. Utah (6-1) 38
18. OU (5-2) 11
19. LSU (7-2) 9
20. WVU (6-2) 13
21. Clem (6-2) 25
22. UCLA (6-2) 12
23. ECU (6-1) 114
24. Duke (6-1) 116
25. UL (6-2) 66

 

[Wild Bill]

Look....no need to panic or get crappy with the ranking....

Ole Miss will lose to Auburn *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Miss St will lose to Ole Miss AND 'Bama *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

'Bama will lose to Auburn *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Auburn will lose to Georgia *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Georgia will lose SEC title game *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

That solves the SEC puzzle.

Nebraska will lose at Wisconsin *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Mich St./OSU will leave one team eliminated.

Mich St./OSU will lose in title game *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

That solves the B1G problem.

Oregon loses to Stanford OR in PAC-12 title game *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

PAC-12 problem solved.

K-State will lose to TCU *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

TCU will lose to West Virginia *poof* they're gone. (2nd loss)

Baylor will lose to K-State *poof*they're gone. (2nd loss)

That solves the Big 12 problem.

FSU wins out.

ACC solved.

FSU and ND left standing out among a myriad of 2 loss teams....

Granted, not all of this can/will/is going to happen and saying all of this is going to happen is very unrealistic....but so is acting like we're out of the playoff's or that it's impossible for us to get in....This is the best case scenario for ND...some of this that I laid out will happen tho....question is....will enough of it happen for us to make the playoffs? That is the real question....WE ARE ND!! GO IRISH!!!!

poof poof pass, brother.