CFB Playoff & Bowl Games
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TentakilRex
- Land O Insects between Quincy-Macomb-Jacksonville
This just a village idiot bowl.
IU was dominated.
Where’s McDonough today?
First two games been complete dog-water...
illinifan4249
- Space Coast, FL
I don't know if it is a majority but a significant amount of playoff games have been blowouts since they started so this isn't very surprising. Part of the reason I would rather just go back to the BCS. Also preferred how that made the Rose Bowl the pinnacle of achievement for B1G teams
It's SMU going to Penn State. What else would you expect?
Matchups are way too poor... if you want interesting games, put the true best teams in... pretty simple.
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Anyone with the brain of an ant knew SMU isn't a playoff team, but cried for it mightily to not have to see hated SEC schools. So why complain now?
Joel Goodson
- it's all ball bearings, nowadays
disclaimer: hardly a largest weasel fan
The overreaction to these games is so entertaining. Blowouts do not necessarily equate to “the wrong teams were in the playoffs.” Momentum in high pressure games often make games look more lopsided than normal. Prove me wrong.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Aren't they? I glance at Sagarin off and on through the season and his measures argue they're right on the cusp at worst.
I've got a fair amount of sympathy for SMU playing at Happy Valley three weeks into December and getting boat raced.
Neutral Point: Penn State was the best team SMU played all season. Doesn't mean anything that they lost but a substantial margin.
Pretty sure Ohio State would be after much bigger fish than Cignetti. Probably would want a bit younger coach too.
I believe IU drops off a lot next year.
Why? Cignetti is the real deal. Indiana will have even better players next year.
You are underestimating how hard it is to take Indiana from 3-9 to 11-2 in one season. Then to take James Madison from D2 to D1 and not skip a beat and continue to win. He’s a proven great coach in football and if you gave him the resources that Ohio State has wow. More likely if DeBoer flames out at Alabama, Cignetti will end up there if Dabo doesn’t take the job given Cignetti is a Nick Saban guy.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
A few problems with the way things work now:
1: Conference champions getting auto-buys. This creates bad matchups in the first round. Had today’s game been SMU vs Boise St, winner gets Penn St, that likely would’ve been a good game. Boise St likely wins, which gives us the same second round game, but a better first round matchup.
2: “Just put the best teams in” leaves the committee in a pickle. That likely means you’re putting teams in who have a worse record, like Alabama, which lowers the value of each regular season game.
Lots to figure out over the next few years.
1: Conference champions getting auto-buys. This creates bad matchups in the first round. Had today’s game been SMU vs Boise St, winner gets Penn St, that likely would’ve been a good game. Boise St likely wins, which gives us the same second round game, but a better first round matchup.
2: “Just put the best teams in” leaves the committee in a pickle. That likely means you’re putting teams in who have a worse record, like Alabama, which lowers the value of each regular season game.
Lots to figure out over the next few years.
Shame the guy at Slippery Rock who beat Cignetti regularly had to retire.
These are home games too, and the road team got blown out.
It doesn’t even matter and IMO nobody should really care. When it was a 4 team playoff, then you could make the argument that the 5th team left out (say Georgia last year) would have a legit chance to win the whole thing,
But whoever the 11th or 12th teams are….those teams are never going to win it all because there is a giant drop off in talent when you compare the top 5, to the 11th or 12th.
If 10 thru 12 are getting blown out by the top 5, it doesn’t mean 10 thru 12 are undeserving it just means that’s how football is.
Indiana for sure deserved to be there. They were a top 10 team. They weren’t a top 5 team. SMU is more questionable but whoever you would have put in instead of them would not have won the playoff, either. If Alabama can’t beat Vanderbilt or Oklahoma, they aren’t winning the whole thing.
I mean there will always be debate about who belongs unless you're talking about something like, 12 AQ conferences based on region with a union cba, salary caps, and revenue sharing amongst networks with only conference champs making the playoffs and byes based on strength of schedule.
But that won't happen because some pockets want to be lined more than others, so you'll just have super conferences with very uneven scheduling.
But that won't happen because some pockets want to be lined more than others, so you'll just have super conferences with very uneven scheduling.
they will lose their next gsme tho, Franklin can’t win the big game
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Cignetti is definitely a good coach, but father time is his biggest downside (unless you are looking for a coaching job at UNC). He is approaching his mid-60s. I highly doubt a blue blood program would be knocking on his door.
Now if he repeats success at IU next year (I am very skeptical he will strike gold in the portal two years in a row, as his first recruiting cycle has not been overly impressive), maybe the outlook would change a bit. They have three very tough road games (Iowa, PSU, and Oregon). They have another joke of a non-conference slate, but getting to 9+ wins would be remarkable.
Indiana got to the playoff by blowing teams out.
Nebraska 56-7
Purdue 66-0
UCLA 42-13
Northwestern 41-24
Michigan State 47-10
Purdue 66-0
They were absolutely one of the top 10 teams in football by every metric. They lost to two top 5 teams on the road, but blew out everyone else other than Michigan which was a close game (and the same Michigan team that played better at the end of the year and beat Ohio State).
Indiana made the playoff based on margin of victory within the conference. Illinois would not have come close to it as you can see in the common games.
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