All 4 teams with a bye in the CFP lost

[ThorneStockton]

Are you seriously trying to make the argument that the results of games don't matter for determining who the best team is? What's the fricken point then? Just look at which team gets the highest ranked recruits and brings in the most money and just determine them to be the champions. Don't even bother playing the games then. Come on, part of being a champion is being able to win when it matters the most. If they can't do that, then they don't deserve it.

No, I am not seriously trying to make the argument that the results of the game don't matter for determining who the best team is. If you read my post, that would have been clear.

Why are you talking about highest ranked recruits? Why are you mentioning most money? I am at a complete loss for why you think that I would think that?

 

[joelbc1]

Two things and both are subjective…
1) the “seeding” made no sense…it was (mistakenly) awarded by winning conference championships and not by the teams in the field. All conferences are not created equal!
2) There is not a “superior” team (or two) in this field. There are 4-5 really good teams but none are “better than the rest.” The teams in the semi’s will be competitive with each other.
My advice is get rid of giving byes to conference champions (because all conferences are NoT equal)… and that is going to happen in 2026…
No format will ever be perfect…remember that.

 

[Pinehawk]

What matters is how teams are playing NOW. During the playoffs. Championship time.

 

[torbee]

The BCS era would have put undefeated Oregon in the National Championship game.
And, now we know that would have been the wrong decision, after they got crushed by OSU.

Here's the thing no one ever wants to admit.

In ANY sport where single-game elimination exists, sometimes the "best team" is going to get upset and not be the champion. It's the nature of sport.

Obviously, you can't do series in football to decide a champion, which in my opinion, is why the obsession for "proving it on the field" is kind of a fool's errand.

FFS, an exceedingly mediocre Northern Illinois team beat Notre Dame in South Bend and ND may end up being champion.

Perhaps that's why our forefathers in their wisdom decided to forego a "tournament" for a sport not desgined to determine champions via tournament.

 

[gohawks50]

Are you seriously trying to make the argument that the results of games don't matter for determining who the best team is? What's the fricken point then? Just look at which team gets the highest ranked recruits and brings in the most money and just determine them to be the champions. Don't even bother playing the games then. Come on, part of being a champion is being able to win when it matters the most. If they can't do that, then they don't deserve it.

If rankings are going to be used to determine the teams the system for creating the rankings needs to be improved. They should be purely computer based. There is too much bias inserted when humans are involved.

 

[Formerly Rockymtnole]

....how was it better than an actual playoff that decides the true champion actually playing on the field? JFC, please tell me how it was "better"

You sure get worked up about this stuff.

I liked that it (largely) preserved the tradition of the bowls but at the same time added a championship game for the teams considered the best two. Took a lot of the human subjective element out of that decision. It wasn’t perfect but seemed like a good mix of old and new.

That said, a giant playoff is perfect for what college football has become.

 

[Pinehawk]

Notre Dame lost 2 months ago. That's why 1, or even 2 losses, aren't enough to knock a team out anymore.
BUT, you'd better be at your best when the playoffs arrive, because those are the only games that matter in regards to naming a Champion.

 

[millah_22]

If rankings are going to be used to determine the teams the system for creating the rankings needs to be improved. They should be purely computer based. There is too much bias inserted when humans are involved.

This is by design.

Transparency doesn't get clicks and views.

 

[ThorneStockton]

Here's the thing no one ever wants to admit.

In ANY sport where single-game elimination exists, sometimes the "best team" is going to get upset and not be the champion. It's the nature of sport.

Obviously, you can't do series in football to decide a champion, which in my opinion, is why the obsession for "proving it on the field" is kind of a fool's errand.

FFS, an exceedingly mediocre Northern Illinois team beat Notre Dame in South Bend and ND may end up being champion.

I'm not sure it's not wanting to admit - I think it's just difficult for some people to conceptualize/comprehend/appreciate - the concept. Then you factor in the 'passion' from sports stuff and logic/comprehension gets even harder.

I alluded to this same concept and was accused of wanting to ignore results, and determine champions based on recruiting rankings and financial performance. Like WTH?

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Obviously, you can't do series in football to decide a champion, which in my opinion, is why the obsession for "proving it on the field" is kind of a fool's errand.

Over the season, quality wins out but in a single game, anything can happen. A playoff doesn't end the discussion of who the best team really was - it just names a champion. Georgia - without their starting QB - beat Texas (for the second time) in the SEC championship. Texas is now in the semis with Georgia bounced by ND. Which of those three is the best team?

 

[Pinehawk]

Over the season, quality wins out but in a single game, anything can happen. A playoff doesn't end the discussion of who the best team really was - it just names a champion. Georgia - without their starting QB - beat Texas in the SEC championship. Texas is now in the semis with Georgia bounced by ND. Which of those three is the best team?

Not Georgia, they are out. We'll find out if Texas or ND are better if they get a chance to play.

 

[ICWestfan]

Best 8

What if you did highest ranked conference champs regardless of league, and then next best 4, seeding based on final poll? This is what we would have had this year-
1. Oregon (BIG) vs 8. ASU (B12)
4. PSU vs 5. ND
2. UGA (SEC) vs 7. Boise St (MW)
3. Texas vs 6. OSU

Best 8 would have been -
1. OU vs 8. IU
4. PSU vs 5. ND
2. UGa vs 7. Tenn
3. Texas vs 6. OSU

 

[hawkifann]

You think there isn’t greed to spare in the P4? And now the players are in the mix with NIL and the portal.

If you want to see true college football, watch the FCS. Montana State and North Dakota State play the championship game this week. Both QBs are Walter Payton Award finalists. MSU is undefeated and NDSU is THE dominant program in FCS. Should be fun.

I like the FCS playoffs for sure.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Not Georgia, they are out. We'll find out if Texas or ND are better if they get a chance to play.

Incorrect. Georgia won't be the champion. That's all the next games determine.

 

[Pinehawk]

Indiana gave Notre Dame a closer game than Georgia did.

 

[Pinehawk]

Incorrect. Georgia won't be the champion. That's all the next games determine.

Correct, the next games will determine the Champion. And, the best team. A team who will have run a gauntlet of 4 playoff games to win the Title.

 

[torbee]

Correct, the next games will determine the Champion. And, the best team. A team who will have run a gauntlet of 4 playoff games to win the Title.

Hottest team, for sure. Best team? Meh, maybe.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Indiana gave Notre Dame a closer game than Georgia did.

So Indiana is better than Georgia? Northern Illinois is better than ND? The discussion is over who the best team is...not who wins on a particular day. All the playoffs determine is who gets the trophy. It doesn't end the discussion on who has the best team.

 

[Pinehawk]

So Indiana is better than Georgia? Northern Illinois is better than ND? The discussion is over who the best team is...not who wins on a particular day. All the playoffs determine is who gets the trophy. It doesn't end the discussion on who has the best team.

Yes, it does. The hottest team in the playoffs, that wins the Championship...is the best team.
Forget your other metrics and comparisons. That is the current system to determine the best team. And, it's the most comprehensive system yet, where you do have to 'earn' it over multiple high stakes games.

 

[Incredible Hawk]

After they get through the top 6 teams, it really doesn't matter how many teams are included. 7-16 don't really have a legitimate shot at the title, so I'd be good w/ 6 teams.....

 

[hawkedoff]

?

If rankings are going to be used to determine the teams the system for creating the rankings needs to be improved. They should be purely computer based. There is too much bias inserted when humans are involved.

Who writes the programs to conduct the ranking?

 

[ThorneStockton]

What matters is how teams are playing NOW. During the playoffs. Championship time.

Thoughts on Michigan as the best team NOW? They just beat Alabama and a Ohio State team that is rolling in the playoffs.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Correct, the next games will determine the Champion. And, the best team. A team who will have run a gauntlet of 4 playoff games to win the Title.

LOL...Georgia played Texas twice and won both games. The first time was on Texas' home field when Texas was ranked #1 and once when a first-round bye was on the line. But if Texas wins the trophy, they're a better team than Georgia?

 

[Pinehawk]

After they get through the top 6 teams, it really doesn't matter how many teams are included. 7-16 don't really have a legitimate shot at the title, so I'd be good w/ 6 teams.....

Except teams seeded #7 and #8 have a good chance to win it all this year. Notre Dame and Ohio St.
They may even be favored in their games, I haven't checked yet.

 

[gohawks50]

?

Who writes the programs to conduct the ranking?

Someone who doesn't like sports? AI?

 

[hawkedoff]

LOL...Georgia played Texas twice and won both games. The first time was on Texas' home field when Texas was ranked #1 and once when a first-round bye was on the line. But if Texas wins the trophy, they're a better team than Georgia?

Yes. Just like Iowa WBB was the second best team in the nation the last two years.

 

[Pinehawk]

LOL...Georgia played Texas twice and won both games. The first time was on Texas' home field when Texas was ranked #1 and once when a first-round bye was on the line. But if Texas wins the trophy, they're a better team than Georgia?

That was back when they had a different QB. Quite a different team these days.
That makes a big difference. Just ask Florida St after last year.
(btw, Texas won't be winning the Championship).

 

[tarheelbybirth]

Yes, it does. The hottest team in the playoffs, that wins the Championship...is the best team.
Forget your other metrics and comparisons. That is the current system to determine the best team. And, it's the most comprehensive system yet, where you do have to 'earn' it over multiple high stakes games.

It doesn't matter how many times you type it - all the playoffs do is determine the champion. Period.

 

[SolarHawk]

Interesting discussion with a work colleague this morning in TX, who is a UT alum.

Apparently, she and many other alums bought their peach bowl tix through the university alumni organization, which makes a certain amount of sense in light of typical practices. But of course, not that many people went to the QF game, and so apparently, the alumni organization charged them a boatload more than the tix available on the secondary market. On top of that, the seats were considerably worse (as in like upper v lower bowl worse). Now, staring at a semi-final game at jerry-world, the alums who bought and traveled at Atlanta are being told by the alumni organization that tickets are not available to them (presumably because of proximity and the simple likelihood that some cohort took a risk and bought the semifinal game instead of the quarters). Apparently lots of pissed alumni.

Which actually highlights an interesting playoff implication that I could easily see a college or university having "missed." My assumption is that in the past, universities have milked their distribution power over post season tickets for alumni for every penny they possibly could. But with three rounds of playoffs, the uncertainty of game outcomes, the accompanying geographic spread and aggregate cost, and the robust secondary market reseller platforms, the universities' power may have suddenly eroded, and dramatically so if the empty seats of the past weekend are any indication.

This is one of many reasons I see the schools getting together and revolting against the traditional bowls. The schools are gonna want the money a home playoff game brings and it’s absurd that these games are being played at neutral sites. Only the championship game should be a “bowl”

 

[TJ8869]

I’m just thankful that the NCAA is putting the well-being of the players first. It wasn’t that long ago that you played 11 games and then a bowl game. No conference championship games. No playoffs. 12 total games.

Now we’ve got some teams playing potentially 17 games. All that wear and tear is good for the lads.

 

[The Tradition]

They said having playoffs will eliminate all the arguing about who is the rightful champion.

LOL, I knew that wouldn't happen.

 

[Pinehawk]

Thoughts on Michigan as the best team NOW? They just beat Alabama and a Ohio State team that is rolling in the playoffs.

Is Michigan playing NOW?

 

[The Tradition]

I’m just thankful that the NCAA is putting the well-being of the players first. It wasn’t that long ago that you played 11 games and then a bowl game. No conference championship games. No playoffs. 12 total games.

Now we’ve got some teams playing potentially 17 games. All that wear and tear is good for the lads.

They're getting paid. No sympathy for them.

 

[tarheelbybirth]

That was back when they had a different QB. Quite a different team these days.
That makes a big difference. Just ask Florida St after last year.

So FSU with their starting QB was a better team? A team that deserved to be in the playoff? Could they have won it all if healthy? Like I said - the playoffs do not determine the best team. That discussion continues.

 

[SolarHawk]

Here's the thing no one ever wants to admit.

In ANY sport where single-game elimination exists, sometimes the "best team" is going to get upset and not be the champion. It's the nature of sport.

Obviously, you can't do series in football to decide a champion, which in my opinion, is why the obsession for "proving it on the field" is kind of a fool's errand.

FFS, an exceedingly mediocre Northern Illinois team beat Notre Dame in South Bend and ND may end up being champion.

Perhaps that's why our forefathers in their wisdom decided to forego a "tournament" for a sport not desgined to determine champions via tournament.

lol, you’re hanging on to an old archaic system because it brings you nostalgia. It’s over, get with the program. Playoffs are the way.

 

[SolarHawk]

So FSU with their starting QB was a better team? A team that deserved to be in the playoff? Could they have won it all if healthy? Like I said - the playoffs do not determine the best team. That discussion continues.

“Best team” is a very subjective term. The playoffs decide a champion, who many will believe is the best team that day. Ohio State wasn’t the best team against Michigan or Oregon in the regular season. They are the best team today though and I believe they are gonna roll to another Natty.

 

[ThorneStockton]

Is Michigan playing NOW?

No one is playing right NOW. They played three days ago. The same day as PSU.

Sure, Michigan lost to Texas and Oregon, but those were earlier in the season, we can throw those out by declaring NOW. So relative to now, beating Alabama and OSU is pretty compelling for best team.

 

[gohawks50]

lol, you’re hanging on to an old archaic system because it brings you nostalgia. It’s over, get with the program. Playoffs are the way.

I get that you like the playoffs and the "championship" being decided on the field, but why the anger toward the other bowl games? Why do you think it's important they cease to be played? What's wrong with having both like this year?

 

[Pinehawk]

Take your imaginary 'best team' title and give it to whoever you want if that makes you feel better. lol.

 

[Rifler]

They said having playoffs will eliminate all the arguing about who is the rightful champion.

LOL, I knew that wouldn't happen.

Rightful tournament champion?, sure,.. Best team?, probably not,.. But this at least puts football on par with basketball and the dance.