Week 14 winners and losers: Who is best poised to capitalize on Alabama's loss?

Yahoo ^ | November 30, 2019 | Sam Cooper and Nick Bromberg

[C19fan]

It was a good run, Alabama. Hell, it was more of a good run. It was a great run. The No. 5 Crimson Tide’s 48-45 loss to No. 15 Auburn on Saturday dropped Alabama to 10-2 and out of the College Football Playoff. Barring some last weekend insanity it will be the first time in the College Football Playoff era that Alabama hasn’t been one of the four teams playing for the national championship. When the penultimate set of College Football Playoff rankings come out on Tuesday, Alabama will be closer to No. 10 than it is to No. 4. And the door will be wide open for someone to seize the fourth and final playoff spot.

[dfwgator]

Granted it won’t be perfect, but what it should do is make it a little bit clearer as to who the best teams are.

[chimera]

More likely they'll just try to get a big lead early, and put it in cruise control.

Probably not a bad idea. Get comfortably ahead and then let the scrubs play out the garbage time. I'm looking at the Big 10 conference championship game and it's a re-match between Ohio State and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes ran away from Wisconsin in their regular season matchup and I can very well see Ryan Day benching his starters after a quarter or two to keep them healthy if they are sure they'll get a top-4 final rank. But the seniors and the alumni sure would like an undefeated season peg to hang their hats on.

[DugwayDuke]

Alberta’s Child wrote: “That’s why I say the conference championship games should be eliminated entirely.”

I have to disagree. You give some great examples of why it is ludicrous to think that one can determine which team/teams are the best. I do not believe we can determine which is the best team in college football but we can determine which team ‘wins’ the championship.

Even if determining the best team is an impossible task, we still need a way to cull the flock. I believe the best and fairest way is on the field through the conference championship game.

You maybe the better team but if you cannot win your conference championship game then you forfeit the right to play for the national championship.

And, no, I do not want to see an eight team playoff nor do I believe the “G” teams have a right to play for the national championship.

[drellberg]

1) Perennially 2-3 teams stand out while teams 4-8 each year just aren’t clearly better than one another. The CFP committee navel gazes and without setting down any precedent-setting reasons picks their “fave.”

2) The CFP committee shows no reference to conferences or conference champions. They are wrecking conferences. Look soon for the ultimately much, much stronger conferences soon to turn around and wreck the CFP.

3) between them the Big 10 and PAC 12 dominate the largest media markets in the US. The SEC and Big 12 markets are tiny in comparison. Do not expect these conferences to roll over so that the SEC can always send 2 of the 4 teams in the CFP.

4) The CFP committee plays lots of politics — they have both opportunity and motive. Look for them to try to muscle Utah in at #4 if they can. The chance to include the PAC12 happens maybe 2 years in 7. It’s unwise to pass it up.

5) Look for the Big 10 to go 6-2 or better in bowl games this year.

[KC_for_Freedom]

Bama had lots of ways that things could have gone differently, including having their all year quarterback on the field. But to lose by a kick hitting the upright? ouch. And to give up a first down with too many men on the field, double ouch. On the other hand, Auburn played a superb game and never let down.

War Eagle

[Alberta's Child]

In 2012, Wisconsin finished the regular season with a 7-5 record, yet they won the Big Ten championship. Any playoff system that lets a team like that contend for the national championship is ludicrous.

[dfwgator]

Any more ludricrous than allowing an under .500 basketball team that wins their conference tournament into the tournament?

[Rebelbase]

Please shove the THE to a dark place. It’s annoying.

[NormsRevenge]

Da golden-tarnished Gophers are lucky that they don’t play North or South Dakota.

It seems adjoining states can beat them with impunity as Iowa and Wisconsin proved handily..

What an ugly way to end a drive for a championship, even if Ohio State was the next wood chipper on the schedule.

I like Clemson for some odd reason to win it all.

PS.. Too bad about Michigan. As usual , they got handled.

[dfwgator]

Clemson has just kind of been ignored, probably because the rest of the ACC is so lame.

[Svartalfiar]

Meh. All I really know is Jesuit beat Klein Collins, so we’re playing Spring Westfield next weekend for regional finals.

[dfwgator]

Still, my favorite result for the entire season was FIU beating Miami.

I just love it that Miami can’t even claim “The 305”.

[Alberta's Child]

Basketball? LOL. I wouldn’t care if they let preschoolers play in the NCAA basketball tournament.

[DugwayDuke]

Alberta’s Child wrote: “In 2012, Wisconsin finished the regular season with a 7-5 record, yet they won the Big Ten championship. Any playoff system that lets a team like that contend for the national championship is ludicrous.”

We need to drop the idea that we’re trying to find the best team in college football. That cannot be done. We are trying to fairly and efficiently place four teams into a playoff to determine a champion. In that case, even that Wisconsin team would not be ludicrous.

[subterfuge]

Georgia that lost to the crappy Gamecocks is top 4 in the country? And Alabama with two losses is better than Ohio state? Ridiculous. And I’m an SEC fan.

[subterfuge]

The article presumes AL would have been in the top 4 had they beat Auburn, and that would have been the case.

[dfwgator]

Assuming UGA loses to LSU, and Utah and OU win their Conference Championship games, it will be between Utah and OU for the fourth spot. That’s a tough call, hard to say which conference is better. And we know how suspect OU’s defense is, so I think Utah might beat them out.

[dfwgator]

It could be worse. You can be 0-9 in the Big 10 like Rutgers.

Speaking of Rutgers, I see Schiano is returning, they had some success when he was their coach.

[Richard Kimball]

Secondly, I thought Alabama was 5 in the standings, so not in the top 4.

Note: Rant not aimed at you, Alas Babylon! ESPN makes an annual push to get two SEC teams into the playoffs. Their hope, before Alabama lost, was for a one loss Alabama and LSU to get in.

People falling for the SECSECSEC junk that ESPN pushes are being manipulated by the same techniques the press uses against the president.

Take a look at the schedule for the conference championship games (screen capture from ESPN.) Click to open full size in new window.

ESPN DID NOT include the rankings for Utah, Oregon, Baylor, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Wisconsin or Clemson int their championship game match ups. They DID include rankings for Georgia and LSU. Notice they threw in Boise State being ranked #20, cause they're a G5 and won't get into the playoffs.

For everyone saying, "oh, the SEC is just so much better," Alabama has one win against an opponent that was ranked at the time they played. That was Texas A&M. A&M got bumped up to 24, specifically so Bama could play a ranked opponent. They had two losses, and their best win was Arkansas, but THEY'RE SEC WEST!!!

Alabama's OOC opponents were Duke, New Mexico State, Southern Mississippi and Coastal Carolina. The SEC plays one less conference game than any of the other P5s, and yeah, that's the level of talent most of them play out of conference. Since all conference games will have a .500 winning percentage, playing one less conference game and adding a game padding their resume. SEC also schedules one of their patsies for the chosen ones (Bama) late in the season. Bama played Coastal Carolina last week.

But yeah, keep listening to this guy.

[ml/nj]

And Alabama with two losses is better than Ohio state? Ridiculous.

I just don't think the Big 10 (or however many) is very good this year. Michigan had to squeak by Army at home; and they along with Penn State are Ohio State's biggest conquests.

ML/NJ