Nick Saban influenced the College football playoff committee
The SEC and ACC have a systematic advantage over the Pac-12, Big-10, and Big-12 in making the College Football Playoffs. The committee has set college football back 10 years by putting Alabama in the playoffs top 4.
Have any of the happenings in this last month of college football looked amateur?
Florida State continues their coaching search. Who will it be? Franklin, Sumlin, Taggart, Strong.
College Football Playoff: The Bullshit Edition!
The College Football Playoffs teams were announced this morning and the Top 4 are:
1. Clemson
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Alabama
As we see there is one ACC team (Clemson), one Big XII team (Oklahoma), and two SEC teams (Georgia, Alabama). This leaves the Pac-12 and Big 10 completely out of the playoffs. The ACC and SEC have a systematic advantage in the College Football Playoffs and we the fans are getting screwed. College Football Playoff Committee screwed up putting Alabama in the top 4. They’ve set college football back at least 10 years.
We will NEVER see schedules get better until the committee punishes teams that don’t win their conference and don’t play good non-conference games. As a college football fan, you should absolutely be disgusted. I’m assuming that all of you are like me and love college football and enjoy watching good games and debating other fans. If that’s the case, there is no way you should be ok with a team that didn’t win their conference and played a bad non-conference schedule to be in the top 4.
The committee has essentially said that it is acceptable to lose your conference, play eight conference games while playing three non-power 5 teams, including an FCS team and get into the playoffs. Do not give me the “everybody does it” line. Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Notre Dame, USC, Miami, Cal, and others managed to schedule at least 2 power five non-conference games.
If you have a weak schedule, you should at the very least have to win your conference to get in the top four. If you’re as good as everybody “thinks” you are, then you should have won your conference! However, the committee clearly doesn’t value those things as highly as they should. This is not a diss to Alabama, but a diss to the broken system of college football. The fans continuously get screwed, and will continue to get screwed until the schedule imbalance is fixed. The worst part about it is that fans sit up and co-sign this nonsense and don’t demand better.
I’ve long said that college football schedules are consistently manipulated by the SEC and ACC, who have an advantage. Pac-12, Big XII, and Big 10 teams have a significantly smaller margin for error when trying to compete for championships. Let me explain how this works by using this table:
You can clearly see why the ACC and SEC have a win-loss advantage. Notice that there is a seven loss difference between the ACC/SEC, and Big 10 which all have 14 teams. Seven more losses means an additional game for each team in the BIG 10 against a team that could possibly beat you. Imagine how easy the path to the championship would be if Ohio State could sub out that Iowa game for Mercer. Now, lets compare those numbers to the Pac-12, which has 12 teams and 54 total conference losses. That is only two losses less than the ACC and SEC, despite having two more teams.
If that was too complicated, an easier way to explain all this is by looking at the average number of losses per team in each conference. SEC and ACC teams will lose a half game less than all other conferences.
In theory, all this would not be a big deal if the conferences made up for that conference game with a competitive non-conference game. However, in most cases that is NOT what happens.
One of the biggest conversations when comparing teams is comparing how many losses each team has. However, all wins are not created equal. I’ve heard the argument that the Big XII, Big 10, and Pac-12 “play themselves out” of the playoffs by losing too much in conference. The reality is playing 8 conference games instead of 9 conference games creates a systematic advantage for the SEC and ACC.
Now that we are all on the same page in terms of wins and losses, I’ll explain the manipulation of the committee rankings. The current formula to manipulate your way into the playoffs is: play eight conference games, one mandated power 5 team, two non-competitive FBS games, and 1 FCS team. That FCS game often presents itself in November. It is commonly referred to as a “November Cupcake”, which is a glorified bye week against teams like Mercer, Citadel, or Wofford. The “November Cupcake” is an important component for highly regarded SEC teams to move up in the playoffs because of timing. When other conferences have ranked matchups in November, SEC teams play “November Cupcakes”. This gives them an opportunity to move up the rankings without playing a competitive game, and one of the teams from the other conference has to lose. This is the formula how you consistently end up with top 10 matchups amongst SEC teams late in the season, which makes the conference appear stronger.
I contend that the committee absolutely blew it for college football by putting Alabama in the playoffs. They confirmed that conference championships and schedules don’t matter. This whole system is broken and, in order to fix it, we have to break it again. It stinks for college football fans and gives the SEC and ACC have a systematic advantage while screwing over the Pac-12 and the Big X.
Even Nick Saban (Alabama’s Head Coach) agrees with me when asked about college schedules and teams being deserving of playoff bids:
“I think it’s subjective to some degree because we don’t all play each other. I could get into my theory on this. I personally want to play all Power 5 conference teams every week. I know people say we played Mercer College and we couldn’t get a game with anybody else. All right so… If we all had to play twelve teams from the Power 5 conferences, we would have a better feel for which conferences were the strongest and there would be more crossover play… and maybe even play more conference games. Fans would like it better. You guys [the media] would like it better. You’d have a better inventory to show people. We wouldn’t have these games that people don’t really want to come to, players don’t really want to play in. And I think you’d have a better idea of who the best conferences and the best teams were.”
-Nick Saban on “College Football Playoff Selection Show” (December 3, 2018)
So here’s my solution:
1. Change the college football playoffs to eight teams.
2. Take the five power five champions and three at-large teams.
3. One of the at-large teams has to be the highest ranked non-power 5 team.
I am also open to two solutions to solve the scheduling imbalance and increase the greatness of college football for fans:
1. 9 conference games, two power 5 games, and one FBS non-power 5 game to continue to give money to the little guys.
2. 8 conference games, two power 5 games, one FBS non-power 5 game, and one FCS game to continue to give money to the little guys.
Both of these options would give the fans a much better game experience and generate more revenue for athletic departments. Teams would be more encouraged to schedule home and home non-conference games against good teams. This would make selling season tickets much easier.
This would also alleviate a lot of the nonsense discussion about resumes and strength of conferences when choosing playoff teams. The committee would have more data because teams would have played more common opponents. My plan would cause television ratings and revenue increases as well. That’s more money for the NCAA, coaches, sponsors, and athletic departments to keep out of the hands of the players. And isn’t that the #1 goal of college football?
College Football Playoffs: The Bullshit Edition
The College Football Playoffs teams were announced this morning and the Top 4 are:
1. Clemson
2. Oklahoma
3. Georgia
4. Alabama
As we see there is one ACC team (Clemson), one Big XII team (Oklahoma), and two SEC teams (Georgia, Alabama). This leaves the Pac-12 and Big 10 completely out of the playoffs. The ACC and SEC have a systematic advantage in the College Football Playoffs and we the fans are getting screwed. College Football Playoff Committee screwed up putting Alabama in the top 4. They’ve set college football back at least 10 years.
We will NEVER see schedules get better until the committee punishes teams that don’t win their conference and don’t play good non-conference games. As a college football fan, you should absolutely be disgusted. I’m assuming that all of you are like me and love college football and enjoy watching good games and debating other fans. If that’s the case, there is no way you should be ok with a team that didn’t win their conference and played a bad non-conference schedule to be in the top 4.
The committee has essentially said that it is acceptable to lose your conference, play eight conference games while playing three non-power 5 teams, including an FCS team and get into the playoffs. Do not give me the “everybody does it” line. Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Notre Dame, USC, Miami, Cal, and others managed to schedule at least 2 power five non-conference games.
If you have a weak schedule, you should at the very least have to win your conference to get in the top four. If you’re as good as everybody “thinks” you are, then you should have won your conference! However, the committee clearly doesn’t value those things as highly as they should. This is not a diss to Alabama, but a diss to the broken system of college football. The fans continuously get screwed and will continue to get screwed until the schedule imbalance is fixed. The worst part about it is that fans sit up and co-sign this nonsense and don’t demand better.
I’ve long said that college football schedules are consistently manipulated by the SEC and ACC, who have an advantage. Pac-12, Big XII, and Big 10 teams have a significantly smaller margin for error when trying to compete for championships. Let me explain how this works by using this table:
You can clearly see why the ACC and SEC have a win-loss advantage. Notice that there is a seven-loss difference between the ACC/SEC, and Big 10 which all have 14 teams. Seven more losses mean an additional game for each team in the BIG 10 against a team that could possibly beat you. Imagine how easy the path to the championship would be if Ohio State could sub out that Iowa game for Mercer. Now, let’s compare those numbers to the Pac-12, which has 12 teams and 54 total conference losses. That is only two losses less than the ACC and SEC, despite having two more teams.
If that was too complicated, an easier way to explain all this is by looking at the average number of losses per team in each conference. SEC and ACC teams will lose a half-game less than all other conferences.
In theory, all this would not be a big deal if the conferences made up for that conference game with a competitive non-conference game. However, in most cases that is NOT what happens.
One of the biggest conversations when comparing teams is comparing how many losses each team has. However, all wins are not created equal. I’ve heard the argument that the Big XII, Big 10, and Pac-12 “play themselves out” of the playoffs by losing too much in conference play. The reality is playing 8 conference games instead of 9 conference games creates a systematic advantage for the SEC and ACC.
Now that we are all on the same page in terms of wins and losses, I’ll explain the manipulation of the committee rankings. The current formula to manipulate your way into the playoffs is: play eight conference games, one mandated power 5 team, two non-competitive FBS games, and 1 FCS team. That FCS game often presents itself in November. It is commonly referred to as a “November Cupcake”, which is a glorified bye week against teams like Mercer, Citadel, or Wofford. The “November Cupcake” is an important component for highly regarded SEC teams to move up in the playoffs because of timing. When other conferences have ranked matchups in November, SEC teams play “November Cupcakes”. This gives them an opportunity to move up the rankings without playing a competitive game, and one of the teams from the other conference has to lose. This is the formula how you consistently end up with top 10 matchups amongst SEC teams late in the season, which makes the conference appear stronger.
I contend that the committee absolutely blew it for college football by putting Alabama in the playoffs. They confirmed that conference championships and schedules don’t matter. This whole system is broken and, in order to fix it, we have to break it again. It stinks for college football fans and gives the SEC and ACC have a systematic advantage while screwing over the Pac-12 and the Big X.
Even Nick Saban (Alabama’s Head Coach) agrees with me when asked about college schedules and teams being deserving of playoff bids:
“I think it’s subjective to some degree because we don’t all play each other. I could get into my theory on this. I personally want to play all Power 5 conference teams every week. I know people say we played Mercer College and we couldn’t get a game with anybody else. All right so… If we all had to play twelve teams from the Power 5 conferences, we would have a better feel for which conferences were the strongest and there would be more crossover play… and maybe even play more conference games. Fans would like it better. You guys [the media] would like it better. You’d have a better inventory to show people. We wouldn’t have these games that people don’t really want to come to, players don’t really want to play in. And I think you’d have a better idea of who the best conferences and the best teams were.”
-Nick Saban on “College Football Playoff Selection Show” (December 3, 2018)
So here’s my solution:
1 1. Change the college football playoffs to eight teams.
2 2. Take the five power five champions and three at-large teams.
3. One of the at-large teams has to be the highest ranked non-power 5 team.
I am also open to two solutions to solve the scheduling imbalance and increase the greatness of college football for fans:
1 1. 9 conference games, two power 5 games, and one FBS non-power 5 game to continue to give money to the little guys.
2. 8 conference games, two power 5 games, one FBS non-power 5 game, and one FCS game to continue to give money to the little guys.
Both of these options would give the fans a much better game experience and generate more revenue for athletic departments. Teams would be more encouraged to schedule home and home non-conference games against good teams. This would make selling season tickets much easier.
This would also alleviate a lot of the nonsense discussion about resumes and strength of conferences when choosing playoff teams. The committee would have more data because teams would have played more common opponents. My plan would cause television ratings and revenue increases as well. That’s more money for the NCAA, coaches, sponsors, and athletic departments to keep out of the hands of the players. And isn’t that the #1 goal of college football?
TheWifeVsTheExpert #3- Championship Week
#TheWifeVsTheExpert #3 The Wife tries for redemption picking college football games against The Expert
How this all started:
My wife is a huge football fan and always has some commentary about my football analysis. I consistently let her know that I am not only a former player, I am an expert in college, NFL, and sports analysis. But does that deter her? Nope. She should just be quiet and not doubt me. In full transparency, she knows a lot about the game. However, I’ve forgotten more about football than she knows. I decided to give her an opportunity to pick games and give commentary on college football against me.
Last week, The Wife tried her hand at picking college football games against me, The Expert.
Although her effort was not good enough to beat me I have to give her credit for successfully picking 6 out of 10 games correctly against the spread. This week she has another opportunity to try and defeat me! We also have a debate about the games that you can download the podcast for or watch.
When Willie Taggart stays at Oregon, will all the Florida State, Oregon, and Texas A&M
Reaction: Jimbo Fisher to Tex A&M, Willie Taggart FSU Rumors
REACTION to Breaking News in College Football.
Jimbo Fisher resigned as Florida State head coach and accepted a 10yr $75 million guaranteed contract to coach Texas A&M.
Willie Taggart is still the coach of the Oregon Ducks but rumors are swirling about him leaving to coach the Florida State Seminoles.
#187 CFB Committee Meeting, Traveling Butts, Latest Jimbo Fisher TAMU, Willie Taggart, Tiger Woods
Travelling Buts story!
Latest information about Jimbo Fisher leaving FSU to Texas A&M.
Tennessee Vols coaching saga continues.
Willie Taggart is still on the road recruiting. Won’t be leaving Oregon!
College Football Playoff Committee is meeting today to start the process of getting the rankings together that come out Sunday at noon ET. Are they trying to find a way to get Alabama in? Can Clemson Still Make it with a loss?
Tiger Woods is back playing golf. You should be excited and happy.
#186 Lonzo Ball, WIllie Taggart To FSU, Jimbo To Texas A&M, NFL Donating $89M To Social Justice
Lonzo Ball doesn’t suck, relax!
Reports have leaked that Florida state is actively looking to replace Jimbo Fisher with Willie Taggart if Jimbo Fisher leaves. Will he leave?
The man that Florida State would be replacing is Jimbo Fisher. Reports are that Texas A&M wants Jimbo Fisher to be their next head coach. The questions are: how likely is it and how much will it cost?
NFL has reached an agreement with the Players Coalition for the league to contribute $89 million over seven years to projects dealing with criminal justice reform, law enforcement/community relations and education.
#183 Greg Schiano, Coaching Carousel , NCAA Playoff Scenarios
Conference Championship games are this weekend and the final college football rankings are revealed on December 3rd. All your NCAA Playoff Scenarios are here!
Greg Schiano signed a memorandum of understanding with University of Tennesse to become its newest football coach. The backlash was immediate and fierce by everyone from Sarah Huckabee Sanders to former players. Tennessee later pulled the offer to Schiano and now left the program in a trick bag.
The Carousel that is college football coaching has gone crazy this year. There are so many job openings that many of them will likely be filled by people who just got fired at they previous job.
The Wife vs The Expert: College Football Week 12
My wife is a huge football fan and always has some commentary about my football analysis. I consistently let her know that I am not only a former player, I am an expert in college and NFL analysis. But does that deter her? Nope. She should just be quiet and not doubt me. In full transparency, she knows a lot about the game. However, I’ve forgotten more about football than she knows. I decided to give her an opportunity to pick games and give commentary on college football against me. This week is an easy slate of games so yes we are picking against the spread.
I will win this! Easy Work!
Updated: 11/19/17 Here are the Final standings:
Send any emails to unafraidshow@gmail.com
Jerk of the Week: Astros Fan Steals Ball
When I saw Astros fan Sarah Head catch Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig’s ninth-inning home run in Game 5 of the World Series I was impressed. I know women are dope and phenomenal athletes but it is something a little extra cool about a woman or kid catching a ball like that with ease. Do you understand what the chances are of catching a homerun game in a World Series game? That was dope.
Buddy’s wife caught a World Series home run ball and his friend STOLE IT AND THREW IT BACK! pic.twitter.com/Maaq8zj8Ia— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) October 30, 2017
Almost immediately being impressed changed to disbelief then anger when the dude two seats down from her snatched the ball out of her hand and threw it back on the field. I couldn’t believe this dude really snatched the ball out of her hand. So many fans cheered because in some ballparks, especially Wrigley Field (Cubs), fans are expected to throw opponents home run balls back. The idea is that they are trash and not souvenirs because a homerun is negative for your time.
It turns out that the guy who snatched the ball was her brother-in-law. I’m going to assume the man in between Sarah and the brother-in-law is Sarah’s husband. Do you see the look on his face and his reaction to his brother taking the ball from his wife?
I would have understood if he punched his brother in the face. Sarah said she was going to throw the ball back, but she didn’t get to make that decision. I get more and more irate every time I see this. And no, it’s not because she is a woman. First, he took the ball from her. Second, the husband tries to stop him and he is just so DGF that he threw the ball anyway. The level of disrespect and entitlement it takes to do this is through the roof. I don’t care if it’s a son, best friend, dad, or brother that is unacceptable. I would be willing to bet this not the first time he’s done something like this to his brother or sister-in-law. I believe we all have to agree he’s probably just that guy. He’s the uncle or dad who eats all the kids Halloween candy on the late night and acts like they did it.
Some will tell me, you aren’t supposed to keep the ball but I am not listening to any of that. Home runs and foul balls are a lot harder to catch than many people make it look. So, I don’t care who my team is. If I catch a homerun ball in the World Series it is going home with me, or it is going back to the player in some sort of trade.
I at least draw some comfort in the fact that the brother-in-law agreed to give her his Nolan Ryan signed bat and ball as penance. But then I realized she wasn’t really going to throw the ball back because she is taking memorabilia from her brother-in-law. Sarah bowed to social pressure and just said she would have thrown it back.
I can’t be the only person who feels like this. Right?
