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Neither #12 ranked Arizona St nor #9 ranked Boise St should have received a 1st Round CFP Bye. Should 3 Loss, #11 ranked Alabama have gotten in?

someone who didn't lose badly to a 6-6 team
Do quality wins matter?

Are you in favor of SMU getting an at-large bid at 11-2 with zero quality wins and SOS of 75 over 'Bama with 3 wins over currently ranked teams (most in country) plus at LSU with SOS of 17?
 
No matter where the line is drawn...12 teams, 16 teams...somebody is going to be on the edge and not make it. If you've lost 2 or more games you have nothing to bitch about. Just win.
 
No matter where the line is drawn...12 teams, 16 teams...somebody is going to be on the edge and not make it. If you've lost 2 or more games you have nothing to bitch about. Just win.
Keep saying, if nothing else…release the criteria the committee is judging by.
 
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Skat’s contact balance is so good. He’s really fun to watch. Dudes hilarious too, with the heisman pose. Love this guy.
 
Remember that the people deciding these things work at ESPN and are doing so to line their own pockets. Don't be fooled at all by whatever committee is in place. It is ESPN and those that stand to make millions personally.

They do not give a shit about any sort of actual merit and will lie to arrange the outcome short and long term based on money. Alabama doesn't belong at all. Conference championships matter or this is just ice skating
 
Total BS if that happens. Arizona State would wipe the carpet with them. AZ State deserves a first round bye. No team wants to play them next.
In a year like this, declarative statements like this always strike me as silly.

There’s ultimately no clear and obvious 3rd and 4th seeds that should get byes.

Imo it will be an interesting argument if Clemson beats SMU tonight. I think ASU gets a bye in that scenario as well as Boise.
 
Dec 8, 2024 Update:

The FINAL CPF selections have been made.

The 4 teams that received a 1st round bye were #1 ranked Oregon, #2 ranked Georgia, #9 ranked Boise State and #12 ranked Arizona State.

The 2024 CFP Field:

On Dec 20 & Dec 21, First-round matchups (on campus):

#9 seed Tennessee at #8 seed Ohio State
Winner plays: #1 seed Oregon

#12 seed Clemson at #5 seed Texas
Winner plays: #4 seed Arizona State

#11 seed SMU at #6 seed Penn State
Winner plays: #3 seed Boise State

#10 seed Indiana at #7 seed Notre Dame
Winner plays: #2 seed Georgia

CFP Top 25:

(Teams in BOLD made the 12 team field)

1. Oregon (13-0)................1st Round Bye
2. Georgia (11-2)
...............1st Round Bye
3. Texas (11-2)
4. Penn State (11-2)
5. Notre Dame (11-1)
6. Ohio State (10-2)
7. Tennessee (10-2)
8. Indiana (11-1)
9. Boise State (12-1)..........1st Round Bye
10. SMU (11-2)

11. Alabama (9-3)
12. Arizona State (11-2).....1st Round Bye
13. Miami (10-2)
14. Ole Miss (9-3)
15. South Carolina (9-3)
16. Clemson (10-3)
17. BYU (10-2)
18. Iowa State (10-3)
19. Missouri (9-3)
20. Illinois (9-3)
21. Syracuse (9-3)
22. Army (11-1)
23. Colorado (9-3)
24. UNLV (10-3)
25. Memphis (10-2)


i




The 4 quarterfinal games, on Dec 31 and Jan 1, will be played at:

* Fiesta Bowl (State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ)
* Peach Bowl (Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA)
* Rose Bowl (Pasadena, CA)
* Sugar Bowl (Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, LA)

The 2 semifinal games, on Jan 9 and 10, will take place at:

* Orange Bowl (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami, FL)
* Cotton Bowl (AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX)

Jan 20: The CFP National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA.

 
Jim is the Executive Director of the Reese's Senior Bowl, an 18-year NFL Scout, 6x Super Bowl participant & 4x Super Bowl champion.

Full text of his tweet:

As someone with access to college tape and staff of 11 former NFL scouts that logged hundreds of hours evaluating this CFB season, it's easy to see why SEC coaches are upset with final playoff bracket.

Based strictly off future NFL talent, Alabama, South Carolina, & Ole Miss (and you can even throw in Florida, Texas A&M, and LSU for that matter) are all easily in Top-12.

SEC ADs now have no incentive for scheduling tough non-conference opponents moving forward, which is too bad for college fans.



 
Jim is the Executive Director of the Reese's Senior Bowl, an 18-year NFL Scout, 6x Super Bowl participant & 4x Super Bowl champion.

Full text of his tweet:

As someone with access to college tape and staff of 11 former NFL scouts that logged hundreds of hours evaluating this CFB season, it's easy to see why SEC coaches are upset with final playoff bracket.

Based strictly off future NFL talent, Alabama, South Carolina, & Ole Miss (and you can even throw in Florida, Texas A&M, and LSU for that matter) are all easily in Top-12.

SEC ADs now have no incentive for scheduling tough non-conference opponents moving forward, which is too bad for college fans.



This of course totally ignores that Alabama was left out because of their 3 CONFERENCE losses. Their nonconference had nothing to do with it.
 
Not even a question.

Teams like Iowa have the money and the P2 will get the lions share of the playoff spots going forward. BIG12 will probably only get 1 team in most years as it stands right now.
For those questioning the influence of the Big10, SEC, Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN over the coming structure of CFB and CFP....

College Football Playoff redesign could come soon, including supercharged Championship Saturday with play-ins Automatic qualifiers could hit the CFP as early as 2026
By Dennis Dodd Dec 10, 2024 at 4:22 pm ET • 5 min read

a Few Nuggets:
For some, a reconsideration of the College Football Playoff can't come fast enough. Days after the announcement of the first CFP 12-team field there is already meaningful movement in changing the structure and format for 2026 sources told CBS Sports.

On the table is the continued sensitive subject of automatic qualifiers going forward. The question is how to implement such a structure seemingly preferred by the SEC and Big Ten.

One format being discussed is so-called play-in games
during the regular season that would decide at least some of those automatic qualifiers on the field.

The championship Saturday could be enhanced by not only the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds meeting for the league title but teams below those two playing for automatic berths.


Think of the top six teams – at least -- being involved in a massive championship Saturday three-game play-in. Using this season's Big Ten and SEC standings this is how it would look.

Big Ten

No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 2 Penn State.

No. 6 Iowa vs. No. 3 Indiana

No. 5 Illinois vs. No. 4 Ohio State


SEC

No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 Georgia

No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Tennessee

No. 5 LSU vs. No. 4 Alabama


The three winners would advance to the CFP. It is not known if or how a fourth automatic qualifier would be added. That fourth team could come from an additional play-in game or merely including the championship game loser.

"I heard rumors of it. I haven't studied it," CFP executive director Rich Clark told CBS Sports Tuesday. "Ultimately that's a Big Ten [and SEC] decision on how they play within their conference and a commissioner decision on how we look at that in regard to the playoff."


Earlier this year, the Big Ten proposed a 14-team playoff with three automatic qualifiers each for the SEC and Big Ten. There would be two each for the ACC and Big 12.

The pushback from other FBS conferences was significant. The issue was tabled under early next year.

The 12-team bracket would almost certainly have to expand to accommodate such a structure. The most commonly mentioned number is 14 teams beginning in 2026.


Such a change would lessen the need for the CFP selection committee to actually select teams. In this model, the SEC and Big Ten would determine some of their participants on the field on that championship Saturday.

"The commissioners are going to look at it … In the end, they're going to look at whether14 is a better number. That doesn't mean that is a foregone conclusion," CFP executive director Rich Clark said Tuesday from the Sports Business Intercollegiate Athletic Forum in Las Vegas.

Fourteen might be easier to sell to rightsholder ESPN than a jump to 16. Either way ESPN would be asked to pay more for a contract that already is at $7.8 billion beginning in 2026 and running through 2031.


Before the playoff expanded there were concerns from industry sources regarding how the impact of early-round games would have on the value of the contract.

In May, the CFP announced ESPN had sublicensed some playoff games to TNT.

The substantial change to the structure and format of the CFP would be the latest indicator of the influence of the SEC and Big Ten on the postseason. In the first field, the Big Ten ended without four teams. But there was outcry from Alabama and others in the SEC when the Crimson Tide, 9-3, weren't included in the field.

Alabama AD Greg Byrne posted an impassioned tweet regarding the situation that eventually got community-noted.


It's already known the two power conferences have weighted voting in determining the future structure and format of the CFP. That fact is already written into the CFP contract with ESPN.

"Contractually they have influence on it," a person familiar with the negotiations said.

What is not known is the degree of impact that weighted voting has. In other words, could the seven other FBS conferences combine to overcome the power two conferences' influence?


"ESPN has said absolutely not [on automatic qualifiers] because then it's an invitational," said one Power Four administrator outside the Super Two. "They love the tournament style. It's a mini-version of the NCAA tournament. Yeah one [spot] for your champion but not multiple. Do you think the American public will put up with that?"

The two conferences announced earlier this year they had formed a joint advisory group. That sent shock waves through the industry. The leagues are also in talks about possibly playing a series of non-conference games against each other to ostensibly enhancing schedule strength..

It's almost certain there will be some changes to the structure and format. CBS Sports last week detailed how the SEC and Big Ten have "serious concerns" about the human element of the selection committee.



Adding those play-in games would decide things more on the field but also cause concerns about the AQs.

By the third week of January everyone involved will have had a full season to absorb a 12-team format. Change could come in CFP meetings among stakeholders as soon as February, according to one source.

Going to a play-in format for AQs would possibly challenge other conferences below the SEC and Big Ten to do the same. There will already be existing complications with the two power conferences most likely going back to rightsholders for more money to televise those play-in games.


One model mentioned for other conferences is declaring a regular-season champion and then playing an AQ game between the second- and third-place teams to get a second team in.

The first season of the 12-team playoff was largely considered a success because it created more interest in the back half of the season. CBS Sports noted at the beginning of November that as many as 45-50 FBS teams were still realistically in contention.

The idea of such a play-in isn't far-fetched. Yahoo Sports reported in the early days of modeling the four-team bracket there was discussion of seeding the field after the major bowls were played.


Early on, Notre Dame agreed to never getting a bye in return for not playing a conference championship game. That means in years when the Irish would be ranked No. 1, the highest they could finish was with the fifth seed. This season Notre Dame got the No. 7 seed after finishing fifth in the final rankings.
 
Jim is the Executive Director of the Reese's Senior Bowl, an 18-year NFL Scout, 6x Super Bowl participant & 4x Super Bowl champion.

Full text of his tweet:

As someone with access to college tape and staff of 11 former NFL scouts that logged hundreds of hours evaluating this CFB season, it's easy to see why SEC coaches are upset with final playoff bracket.

Based strictly off future NFL talent, Alabama, South Carolina, & Ole Miss (and you can even throw in Florida, Texas A&M, and LSU for that matter) are all easily in Top-12.

SEC ADs now have no incentive for scheduling tough non-conference opponents moving forward, which is too bad for college fans.



The amount of NFL talent on the roster should be completely irrelevant. The only thing that matters is wins and losses.
 
The amount of NFL talent on the roster should be completely irrelevant. The only thing that matters is wins and losses.

Agreed. And Bama had a couple really bad losses.

However, I still don't think #12 ranked Arizona St and #9 ranked Boise St should have received 1st round CFP byes. I am guessing that the SEC & B1G commissioners, ADs and head coaches agree. ;)
 
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Agreed. And Bama had a couple really bad losses.

However, I still don't think #12 ranked Arizona St and #9 ranked Boise St should have received 1st round CFP byes. I am guessing that the SEC & B1G commissioners, ADs and head coaches agree. ;)
In a perfect world idk that disagree, tho I would argue teams that finished 3rd in their conferences don’t deserve a bid either.

You want to say Texas/penn state deserved byes instead, that’s a better argument.
 
In a perfect world idk that disagree, tho I would argue teams that finished 3rd in their conferences don’t deserve a bid either.

You want to say Texas/penn state deserved byes instead, that’s a better argument.
This is all so funny. "If only we had a 4 team playoff". "If only we had an 8 team playoff" 'If only we had a 12 team playoff'. if if if.
NIL, Portal, Transfers. Blue bloods whining about having 3 losses and not getting to play for a National title. There is more controversy now than there ever was under the old system of voting after the Bowl games. According to Paul Finnebaum, mouthpiece of the SEC, 8 teams from the SEC deserved to be in over Indiana and SMU.

I miss all the bowl games that used to be relevant. The Outback and Capital One were played in front of 60-70,000 fans. Attendance will be 1/2 of that this year. Just rewatched the 2011 Insight Bowl. Unranked Iowa vs. 12th ranked Missouri in front of 50,000 +. I would bet that game was more exciting to watch than the Penn State, SMU game will be today. Sold out stadiums for some of the lesser bowls and looking forward to 5 or 6 top games on New Years Day. Hooking up 2 or 3 televisions in the same room so we could watch them all at once. Watching football from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. An then it was over, like college football was meant to be. Funny how it worked out then. After all of the Bowl games. it almost always played out that one team stood out and was voted National Champions. Every once in a while, there were two teams in that discussion. 1997 Michigan and Nebraska come to mind. Two different votes, each school claimed a title. Life went on just fine.
 
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Agreed. And Bama had a couple really bad losses.

However, I still don't think #12 ranked Arizona St and #9 ranked Boise St should have received 1st round CFP byes. I am guessing that the SEC & B1G commissioners, ADs and head coaches agree. ;)
I'm pretty OK that a 3 loss team that wasn't in line for a conference championship and lost to 2 pretty average teams isn't playing in the playoffs. Especially sweet that it's Bama that got snubbed.

Whether or not ASU and Boise are playing the first weekend or not they will be exposed or proven worthy the next round. They may surprise.

Just looking forward to it all.
 
I'm pretty OK that a 3 loss team that wasn't in line for a conference championship and lost to 2 pretty average teams isn't playing in the playoffs. Especially sweet that it's Bama that got snubbed.

Whether or not ASU and Boise are playing the first weekend or not they will be exposed or proven worthy the next round. They may surprise.

Just looking forward to it all.

What sucks is if you lose a key player to injury in the 1st round
 
What sucks is if you lose a key player to injury in the 1st round
Yeah, unfortunately that's part of the game, no matter which round they're playing. Most of these teams are pretty deep with talent on both sides of the ball and aren't restricted on one side like a team we all know all too well.
 
This is all so funny. "If only we had a 4 team playoff". "If only we had an 8 team playoff" 'If only we had a 12 team playoff'. if if if.
NIL, Portal, Transfers. Blue bloods whining about having 3 losses and not getting to play for a National title. There is more controversy now than there ever was under the old system of voting after the Bowl games. According to Paul Finnebaum, mouthpiece of the SEC, 8 teams from the SEC deserved to be in over Indiana and SMU.

I miss all the bowl games that used to be relevant. The Outback and Capital One were played in front of 60-70,000 fans. Attendance will be 1/2 of that this year. Just rewatched the 2011 Insight Bowl. Unranked Iowa vs. 12th ranked Missouri in front of 50,000 +. I would bet that game was more exciting to watch than the Penn State, SMU game will be today. Sold out stadiums for some of the lesser bowls and looking forward to 5 or 6 top games on New Years Day. Hooking up 2 or 3 televisions in the same room so we could watch them all at once. Watching football from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. A then it was over, like college football was meant to be. Funny how it worked out then. After all of the Bowl games. it almost always played out that one team stood out and was voted National Champions. Every once in a while, there were two teams in that discussion. 1997 Michigan and Nebraska come to mind. Two different votes, each school claimed a title. Life went on just fine.
Agree and disagree. The bowls have been on a steady decline for years in terms of attendance, not least because of how expensive they’ve gotten.

I never understood being okay with the co-national champs thing - no other sport does it that way. The whole - “this was how college football was meant to be”? That makes no sense to me. Every other level of competition in college football has managed just fine with playoffs. I’ve said multiple times now, the biggest problem I have with the playoffs now is that the selection committee has never released a list of criteria that they’re using to consider teams; so everything is completely subjective and open to second-guessing.
 
Yeah, unfortunately that's part of the game, no matter which round they're playing. Most of these teams are pretty deep with talent on both sides of the ball and aren't restricted on one side like a team we all know all too well.

True. But, at the same time, Detroit & KC sure want that bye in the 1st round of the NFL playoffs. ;)

IMO, Texas & Penn State fans, even though they have to play 1st round games, have to like their path to the Final 4. Will be fun to watch, no matter what. I just wonder if there will be tweaks in the near future that favor the Power 2 conferences.



i


CFP Top 25:

(Teams in BOLD made the 12 team field)

1. Oregon (13-0)................1st Round Bye
2. Georgia (11-2)
...............1st Round Bye
3. Texas (11-2)
4. Penn State (11-2)
5. Notre Dame (11-1)
6. Ohio State (10-2)
7. Tennessee (10-2)
8. Indiana (11-1)
9. Boise State (12-1)..........1st Round Bye
10. SMU (11-2)

11. Alabama (9-3)
12. Arizona State (11-2).....1st Round Bye
13. Miami (10-2)
14. Ole Miss (9-3)
15. South Carolina (9-3)
16. Clemson (10-3)
.................................................................................

17. BYU (10-2)
18. Iowa State (10-3)
19. Missouri (9-3)
20. Illinois (9-3)
21. Syracuse (9-3)
22. Army (11-1)
23. Colorado (9-3)
24. UNLV (10-3)
25. Memphis (10-2)
 
In this CBS Sports article, they write that tweaks to the CFP are likely coming (example: eliminating the automatic byes for conference champs is a simple tweak that should be considered and would likely improve competition).

Are Ohio State & Oregon the 2 best teams remaining, as they argue? If so, unfortunately, one of them is getting knocked out 2 ROUNDS EARLY.

CBS Sports writes that if you reseeded the 8 remaining teams, you'd have this:

#1 Oregon vs #8 Boise State
#4 Notre Dame vs #5 Texas
#2 Ohio State vs #7 Arizona State
#3 Georgia vs #6 Penn State

The story:

 
In this CBS Sports article, they write that tweaks to the CFP are likely coming (example: eliminating the automatic byes for conference champs is a simple tweak that should be considered and would likely improve competition).

Are Ohio State & Oregon the 2 best teams remaining, as they argue? If so, unfortunately, one of them is getting knocked out 2 ROUNDS EARLY.

CBS Sports writes that if you reseeded the 8 remaining teams, you'd have this:

#1 Oregon vs #8 Boise State
#4 Notre Dame vs #5 Texas
#2 Ohio State vs #7 Arizona State
#3 Georgia vs #6 Penn State

The story:

Admittedly, I don’t get why Ohio state was seeded that low.
 
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If alabama wanted in they should have not gotten crushed by a bad OU team and should have beaten vanderbilt. This is like the first team out in march saying "we got screwed", win literally one more game and you wouldn't have gotten screwed.
 
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Why would Herbstreit spin this? He’s an Ohio State guy
Where have you been my man? He’s become a total ESPN/SEC shill. He was dragging IU after the ND game but then basically defending Tennessee against OSU. He is just getting destroyed on social media.
 
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Where have you been my man? He’s become a total ESPN/SEC shill. He was dragging IU after the ND game but then basically defending Tennessee against OSU. He is just getting destroyed on social media.
Herbstreit lost a lot of credibility with how he tore into Indiana especially, then went radio silent when TN got demolished by Ohio State. Curious to see how he tries to spin SEC's performance today when he's on TV tomorrow.
 
Where have you been my man? He’s become a total ESPN/SEC shill. He was dragging IU after the ND game but then basically defending Tennessee against OSU. He is just getting destroyed on social media.

Apparently not seeing the same social media you were seeing. I think Kirk is probably the least bias commentator I can think of. The last thing I remember him being involved in was talking about the fringe fan bases…. Specifically Ohio State and how they wanted Day gone. He then made a harmless jab about ESPN’s first take and Steven A Smith/Shannon Sharp.

Then Sharp had some off the wall comment about Kirk
 
Apparently not seeing the same social media you were seeing. I think Kirk is probably the least bias commentator I can think of. The last thing I remember him being involved in was talking about the fringe fan bases…. Specifically Ohio State and how they wanted Day gone. He then made a harmless jab about ESPN’s first take and Steven A Smith/Shannon Sharp.

Then Sharp had some off the wall comment about Kirk
Overall I'd agree, but you apparently missed his diatribe after the Indiana playoff game vs ND.
 
#4 ranked PSU, unsurprisingly, beats #9 ranked Boise State 31-14 and advances to the Final 4. They will face the winner of #2 ranked Georgia/#5 ranked Notre Dame on Jan 9 at the Orange Bowl.
 
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