Strength Of Schedule

We now know the results from the Saturday football conference championship games  and Alabama, Oregon , Florida State, TCU, Ohio State  and Baylor won their games Saturday.  Four of them will play in the playoffs that will be announced on ESPN today at 12:30.  Please note that the timing in not in conflict of any NFL game.  I hope you are aware of this but the playoff selection committee will also be deciding on where Carolina, Duke, State and ECU play in a bowl game.

Every week now for the last five or six weeks this committee has given us their rankings and from one week to the next it seems they have altered the top four just to see the reaction the fans would get to where ever their team was placed.  It seems to me that one of the five criteria that the committee looks at is conference champion.  So these past weeks they have played with 48 cards instead of 52 because until last night nobody knew who the aces were in the deck.  So all this speculations has been fun but you know like I know this has all been for TV ratings for ESPN.  There is no reason they couldn't lock up the committee this weekend in a hotel like college basketball and spit out the teams in.  Isn't life more fun with Bracketology in basketball over these ranking without knowing conference champions.

One of the five points of value to the committee is Strength of Schedule.  As of Thursday  before any game was played this weekend  the top team in Strength of Schedule was Auburn.  They are 21st in the voting so where does strength of schedule fit in.  Second is Mississippi who is 8th in the playoff voting. 

I know there has been plenty of conversation this year about the poor non conference schedule that N C State played  but they played the 20th toughest schedule in the country.  Alabama was first in the playoff voting but SOS was 34.  FSU 75, Oregon, 73, TCU 70, Ohio St 69 and Baylor was 148.  It is obvious to me that SOS only matters if you win.

I don't like this confusing method of every team on your schedule floats every week based on each team on your schedule and what they did.  The only time where a team is ranked is the week you played them.   I sure would love for the Wolfpack to have played Clemson towards the end of the year instead of the middle because Clemson wasn't nearly as good late in the season as they were when they hosted the Pack early in conference play.

 There is talk this morning that Oklahoma losing yesterday to Oklahoma State is bad for TCU and Baylor but both also played Okla St. Why should any game effect you if you were not involved in the game?  Here are my four  Alabama 1, Oregon 2, Florida State 3 and Ohio St  4.  To make this a national championship playoff that need a team from the north or Midwest.

Just for the matter of knowing Carolina is 57th in SOS, Duke 205 and ECU 201.  RPI voting is  State 43rd, Carolina 57th, Duke 28th and ECU 59th.  If you look at those numbers it all adds up to a popularity contest.  The committee can say they are going by five basic rules but in the end they will vote for who makes for the best TV ratings and we will all watch.  Unlike basketball where the underdog is exciting the first weekend  there will be no underdog announced today.

We live in a modern world right?  There are many things that are politically correct.  I can guarantee you one thing about this power five conference deal in college football.  The good ole boys still run college football  but there is one new member to the club ESPN.