Michigan stays at #3 in CFP
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:47 PM ^
Obligatory: Beat OSU.
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:50 PM ^
LSU over USC is the only interesting one here IMO. And by interesting I mean bullshit.
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:52 PM ^
Tennessee over Penn State is interesting, though not as important in terms of the playoff.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:01 PM ^
I agree. Both PSU and Tennessee have two losses, but both of Tennessee's were pastings. PSU was in it to win it with anOSU and got manhandled by Michigan. Thus, seems like Tennessee's losses are substantially worse. I guess the PSU problem is they don't have a signature win, and won't be picking one up when they eviscerate Sparty.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:13 PM ^
It's really the signature win thing. Both Tennessee and LSU are getting a lot of mileage out of the wins over Alabama.
That said, Tennessee got spanked by number 1 and unranked AT HOME, whereas PSU got spanked by number 3 save was competitive against number 2.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:56 PM ^
The only reason to rank LSU and Tennessee that high is in order to keep the Alabama ranking high. I think the bludgeoning by South Carolina probably exposed all three, at least to anyone without deep SEC bias.
Even Louisville's silly ranking is 100% about keeping Clemson where they are.
November 22nd, 2022 at 11:19 PM ^
I was surprised about Louisville as well but then saw they have wins over UCF, Wake and NC State which is a solid collection of wins compared to anyone else vying for 25th. Whomever gets put there is going to seem undeserving.
November 22nd, 2022 at 11:24 PM ^
I agree. They kept Texas in to make Bama look better.
November 23rd, 2022 at 12:03 AM ^
How do you keep Tennessee that high after getting spanked and Hooker is done?
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:31 PM ^
Tennessee vs South Carolina wasn't in Knoxville.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:30 PM ^
Remember when that PSU win at Auburn was eye-opening? We thought we learned a lot about PSU. Turns out we learned a lot about Auburn instead.
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:00 PM ^
In all actuality though, who has Alabama beaten this year? Their best win is what? Texas? Ole Miss?
November 22nd, 2022 at 11:16 PM ^
Yes and yes? Two ranked wins (both on the road) which is two more than PSU. The committee seems to be much more forgiving of close losses than big losses (in USCs case as well), which does make some sense.
The reality is that after the top four undefeated teams, there is a huge dropoff. It's either one loss teams that haven't looked great / are barely scraping by teams or two loss teams.
November 22nd, 2022 at 11:14 PM ^
Right. PSU has zero wins over currently ranked teams. So...seems fair.
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:08 PM ^
What is Penn State's best win?
Doesn't come close to Tennessee's wins over Bama and LSU.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:38 PM ^
USC would win in a neutral sight with non SEC referees
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:16 PM ^
USC lost by 1 pt in a night game at Utah that was horribly reffed. That's the definition of a good loss.
November 23rd, 2022 at 11:20 AM ^
Yeah, but they don't really have any good wins. In fact, they have a lot of "bad" wins.
One score games against Arizona and Cal? Three point wins against Oregon St and UCLA (with all due respect those are not great teams)?
They have no defense.
November 23rd, 2022 at 1:29 PM ^
USC is your typical Lincoln Riley team, deathstar offense paired with a porous defense. I don't fault the committee for looking at them as kind of half of a team.
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:18 PM ^
Neutral site*
(unless you meant something about a bland color palette, or...)
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:34 PM ^
They positioned LSU to be in if they beat Georgia, and if they do beat Georgia then they would deserve to be in. Wouldn't they?
November 23rd, 2022 at 6:47 AM ^
That would put both LSU and Georgia in
November 23rd, 2022 at 11:22 AM ^
Yes, they would deserve to be ahead of UGA if they beat them, I think.
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:30 PM ^
Committee will do ANYTHING to get a 2nd eessss eeeee seeee team in, regardless of whether they have 2 losses, 3 losses, doesn't matter.
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:54 PM ^
This shows that they really want two SEC teams in.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:02 PM ^
but does it really matter? If GA beats LSU, no way does LSU get in.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:08 PM ^
Yes, you're exactly right. But if LSU pulls the upset, does the committee put LSU in and take Georgia out? I'd imagine LSU in but Georgia stays in at 3 or 4. Winner of The Game goes to #1 (assuming they win the B1GCG), loser drops out and TCU at 2?!?
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:20 PM ^
Georgia is in unless they get absolutely demolished
November 23rd, 2022 at 5:38 AM ^
And they’d still be in. They’d chalk it up to “an off day” and nothing more. We could lose to OSU in triple overtime and still go to the rose bowl. OSU could lose in triple overtime and maybe possibly get in.
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:02 PM ^
In that scenario I would see them putting Georgia at 2 or 3 and then placing LSU at 4 so that they could get their prized SEC Natty matchup.
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:38 PM ^
That's the thing right, if LSU beats Georgia there's no way those teams are #2 and #3 and have a re-match in the semi-finals.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:10 PM ^
The Tennessee loss should have guaranteed that no second SEC team got in. It's like whack a mole with these guys.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:16 PM ^
If USC, Clemson & TCU win out there is no way LSU jumps them all.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:24 PM ^
Yes, but look out for South Carolina.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:40 PM ^
But as it stands now, LSU only has to jump the loser of The Game, which isn't that far-fetched given the current rankings.
LSU really only has to worry about getting jumped by USC, who could pick up 2 top-15 wins in the next 2 weeks.
Clemson is screwed with unranked ntUSC and top-20 UNC left. That's not enough ammunition to climb into the top 4 without a TON of chaos.
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:12 PM ^
IF LSU beats UGA they are not getting passed by USC.
November 22nd, 2022 at 9:10 PM ^
Chaos would ensue if USC, UM, TCU, and Clemson all win out…and LSU both loses to aTm but beats UGA. Unless conference championship games are entirely meaningless, it seems like you’d need to admit UM, Clemson, TCU, and USC. Aside from UM and TCU, everyone would have one loss, but all those other teams are Power 5 champions…LSU would win the SEC, but how can they reasonably pass a 1-loss team (especially if FSU gets pasted by UF). People can dream…
November 22nd, 2022 at 10:30 PM ^
A zero SEC team scenario? SCHWING!
No way LSU beats Georgia though.
November 23rd, 2022 at 11:27 AM ^
That wouldn't be as chaotic as if LSU wins out, would it?
But in the scenario that you propose, UGA would be in over Clemson if their loss to LSU is more competitive than Clemsons loss to ND which the committee has stated is a problem for Clemson (as it should be).
November 23rd, 2022 at 11:24 AM ^
Correct, it absolutely does not matter. Anyone complaining about this just has an SEC inferiority complex.
LSU either wins and then would deserve to be in or they lose and won't be close. So who cares where they are right now?
November 22nd, 2022 at 11:52 PM ^
Yes, they want 2 sec teams. If TCU and USC lose, then probably 2 BIG teams too.
November 22nd, 2022 at 7:59 PM ^
LSU is not the #5 team in the country.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:09 PM ^
it doesnt matter really. if they beat georgia they are in if they lose they out.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:02 PM ^
Looking toward the future, here's what the 12-team playoff would look like:
(Edited to correct the mistake caught by RXwolverine's keen eyes)
The main flaw here is the Alabama-Tennessee rematch in the first round, so I suspect the committee would move the SEC teams around a bit to avoid that. Flipping (9) Oregon and (10) Tennessee would resolve the issue.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:06 PM ^
so actually the best non power 5 team gets an automatic bid too so this isnt exactly what the playoff would look like. You would need to sub kansas st for ucf or cincinnati
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:10 PM ^
Good catch, I'll edit, but Tulane is #19, UCF is #22 and Cincy is #24.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:23 PM ^
Personally not a fan of a 12 team format with a bye for four teams (conference champs?). What if USC and Clemson both lose again, why should one of them get a bye?
If top 4 are not conference champs, then there is too big a difference between 4th and 5th place without necessarily a discernable difference between the two.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:45 PM ^
If you're "looking toward the future" you've got your #2 and #5 seeds backwards.
November 22nd, 2022 at 8:51 PM ^
Agreed, but I'd rather play at USC (and their Charmin soft D) than host Alabama-- even a diminished Alabama team coming north in December
November 23rd, 2022 at 5:42 AM ^
I’d love to host Bama in December. They wouldn’t be able to move let alone run in their snowsuits.