You know, I thought it would take a few years for the debate over the fourth playoff slot to metastasize into a reason to grow the postseason. But I’m starting to think the whole Baylor-TCU debate could push that timetable up.
Baylor losing to Kansas State would make the matter moot, of course, but if the Bears win, it’s kind of hard to rebut the AD’s argument:
“If we can beat Kansas State, we’re 11-1, we’re Big 12 champions, we have the tiebreaker over TCU — despite the interesting discussion about that — and we feel like we’ll have three top-15 caliber wins, including a win over one of the other five top-six [teams],” said McCaw. “We feel our resume stacks up as strongly as anybody’s.”
Unless you’re Gary Patterson, who’s come up with the rationalization of the season.
“I would tell you the most even playing field was the West Virginia game,” said TCU’s Gary Patterson. “We both had to go there, we both had to play a team that’s tough to beat in Morgantown, and we were able to get it done.”
More relevant than head-to-head? My, that’s convenient for the coach who won there.
If Baylor beats KSU, it wouldn’t surprise me to hear the WWL spend more time chewing over the decision between the two than the rest of the field combined. And, guaranteed, Jeff Long will live up to being Jeff Long.
Get The Picture 
If Baylor is left out for TCU fire the whole damn committee.
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Yep. This is supposed to be about playing the game on the field. If it is just about a bunch of ninnies on a committee sitting around talking about “schedule strength” and “game control” let’s tank the whole thing.
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Baylor beat TCU. The OOC schedule is irrelevant.
I also like how FSU is going to get knocked out with one loss to an ACC team, but somehow tOSU will slide in despite losing to a 6-6 ACC team (at home).
I’m convinced the purpose of the whole enterprise is to create false controversy.
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Agreed. Its a cheap way to get material for the talking heads. I hate it.
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…by 3 points…at home… 3 points, at least, is Vegas’ estimate of how much home field is worth. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for people to call that game a toss up and start looking at other factors.
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I think it’s totally unreasonable. They played. Baylor won. How is that not the end of this rediculous discussion? We’re not talking about Vegas odds…we’re talking about the ACTUAL game. That was won. By Baylor. They’re turning the season into the off-season by talking & talking & talkng some more as opposed to the games being the central focus.
I haven’t liked this committee crap from the jump. Now I’m starting to hate it. I’m not surprised, however, that it’s just as screwed up as it’s always been. “Same as it ever was..” David Byrne
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Why don’t we centralize Power and decision-making even more, and then sell it as a body of experts. I hate it as well.
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I agree with this….
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And since we are now in the realm of “Game Control” that beating aOSU took was the very definition of said “concept”. Va.Tech did the controlling.
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The whole thing is created to sell shit on TV.
If you think the Magical Mystery Tour Playoff Committee exists for any other reason, I got some stock I need to talk to you about.
All the conversation, any controversy that can be created, all that does is make TV time more valuable.
And, ultimately, that’s all that matters.
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I just immediately tune out playoff talk on ESPN. They have created this situation for our “entertainment”, and it is already tired. College football commentary has now just become an endless and worthless playoff debate. It all takes precedent over rivalries, analysis (a long lost art) and pageantry. Of course I might just be bitter about us not making the playoffs but whatever.
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Man, i couldn’t agree with you more. It’s so worthless and tiresome, it actually made ESPN even more unwatchable than it was.
Interesting that a conference without a conference championship game is going to be whining the loudest should both teams win this weekend.
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I’m with you. The only reason the poll was released before the final one was to create a controversy for people to discuss. None of them matter until the last one. Assuming Baylor beats K-State, they’ll probably jump TCU. Even if they don’t, why does anyone not a fan of either team care? The difference between the two is negligible.
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I favor going back to the computers like the BCS, only picking the top 4 rather than the top 2.
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I would prefer that to the current committee. Ideally, a committee with some clearly defined criteria that takes into account computer rankings, advanced metrics and the like would do it. And they wouldn’t announce it until all of the data is in. Not unlike the basketball committee.
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TCU got screwed in that game at the end. I think anyone who watched that game would not have a problem with TCU over Baylor into the playoff.
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You would be wrong.
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Baylor beat TCU at home. And it took a miraculous finish. To say they are the better team just because they won head to head by three points at home is ludicrous (see Indiana and Missouri, or Georgia vs. UF or USCe). What happens if they played on a neutral field, or at TCU?
Using head-to-head as one factor is smart. And in this case, maybe the way to go since everything else on their resumes is so similar. But it is not the end-all solution unless we’re in the playoffs, and even then the best team doesn’t always win.
Also, the OOC schedule if far from irrelevant. If we allow it to become irrelevant, a) we’d be subjected to more crappy games, and b) there would be no way to compare strength of conferences until the playoffs.
OSU in September =/= OSU the rest of the year. They clearly have a better resume than FSU since then. If FSU loses and OSU wins, that’s an easy call for the committee.
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Agreed. Don’t lose to WVU by 2 TDs. And play somebody out of conference at least TCU beat Minn.
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As if they thought for ONE SECOND Minn would be ANY GOOD AT ALL when they scheduled that game..I have a hard time with that point. I think UGA knew Clempson would be a tough out when they booked them however…
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It is still somebody from a Big 5 conference. And regardless of what they thought before the season, its a better resume.
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So lose in Sept, not November…& head to head isn’t the most important factor. Got it.
This shit is just as screwed up as the BCS was and virtually the same.
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Head to head is important yes but its not the whole story. A team that barely loses by 3 points on the road and wins every other game including one out of conference against a good Big 10 team in Minn (while Baylor played nobody) has an argument against a team that also lost by 2 TDs to an average team in WVU.
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So a playoff is supposed to clear up & clean up CFB. A true Nat’l Champ – yet other vague, arguable factors determine who’s in as opposed to who actually won a head to head match up. Hell, doesn’t the NFL even look at head to head first for playoff spots & positioning? I just think the head to head should win out. Otherwise, it’s just as arbitrary as its always been.
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TCU lost by 3 on the road in a game that could have gone either way.
TCU OOC – Minnesota, Samford, SMU
Baylor OOC – SMU, Northwestern St, Buffalo
TCU by a nose with better OOC and the L coming on the road.
Fully agree with TCU getting the nod.
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And Baylor losing by 2 TDs to WVU
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Yep. The “whoever won the head-to-head should go” argument is lazy, and in my opinion, the Big12 has brought this upon themselves by not having a CCG and declaring co-champs. Baylor has a test this weekend by way of what I am assuming is random scheduling, while TCU lucked out with ISU; the remaining Power 5s have a test by way of structure, which creates an inequality. There is some merit to the round-robin structure but ISU/KU – and some others having down years – aren’t helping the conference’s cause. Obviously don’t know if Baylor/TCU would be in opposite divisions in a hypothetical situation, but we would not be hearing a single peep from either school or the conference as a whole if a rematch was on tap for this weekend.
I think the committee has it right with TCU unless something drastic happens on Saturday.
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So Bama beats FSU in the Sugar, but Oregon loses to TCU on a last second hail mary, we should still have Bama vs. Oregon in the Championship game ’cause Oregon’s record, ranking, etc….?
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No because the playoff is different and they would’ve just lost that day not 2 months ago and they wouldn’t have been competing with a team that lost by 2 TDs to WVU. That is why the 8 team playoff is coming. Pick the conference winners and 3 wild cards for situations like this
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Why should the timing of prior events matter? If it matters this week, then one more weekend should not matter. Of course I’m being absurd and the playoff represents a “closed contest” but the logic of who qualifies is so subjective now, how can you really have any faith in the process? And I’m not being argumentative, but how in hell does “3 wildcards” not create even more chaos and controversy?
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Because then you have the ability to take more than one team from a tough conference or when there is very little discernible difference between two teams.The 5th and possibly 6th teams can make arguments (even though in the old BCS they would’ve not been in consideration anyway) but the 9th or 10th teams would have less argument with likely multiple losses and didn’t win their conference. Its the Big 12s fault too because they don’t have a championship. And they need to send a message you better schedule some out of conference games against the Big 5 conferences or you will be penalized.
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How long before we hear about a “play-in” game for the 4th spot?
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“It’s NOT a play-in game! It’s the first round of the tournament!”
– NCAA
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that was intended for AusDawg’s comment
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Somebody let the SEC know that we’re coming to play Bama tomorrow. Art Briles has given us permission based on our 34-0 beatdown of Mizzou in Good Columbia.
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My favorite part of the Baylor-TCU game was the post game interview of Baylor’s qb who made the comment that God was looking out for Baylor that day. Yes, against Texas Christian University.
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Body of work my friends, body of work. I agree with The Committee that TCU is a better team and the results of one specific day, in a close game, shouldn’t be the end all. And the conference isn’t even designating one of them as “the Big 12 representative” (obviously to squeeze out two spots in case Baylor beats K State and other falter. I hate the historical “poll mentality” where others have to fall to someone before you move up, and it doesn’t matter what your schedule is like (looking at you FSU and ohio). I hope we have total chaos after this weekend with three at the top falling, would help speed up the 8 team solution (you knew that was coming, right?)
This is why all 5 conference champs should get a ticket end and leave the grumbling for the 3 at large selections, a lesser argument since most of them would have had their fair shot and put themselves into a position of not controlling their own destiny. Works for us in the SEC to get that divisional slot.
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One team gave up 58 points. Another gave up 61 points. Why should either team even be considered as one of the best 4 teams in the country?
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The magic number is somewhere between 58 and 44
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The whole upper deck of this Pac 12 play off game is empty-kinda like the ACC championship games of the past-will be interesting to see how many show up tomorrow
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