Heather Dinich said it on Finebaum’s show. Now she’s posting it at ESPN: Georgia, you’re on notice.
1. Can Georgia overcome a weak nonconference schedule?
Austin Peay, Middle Tennessee, UMass and Georgia Tech — four teams that combined for a 24-24 record last year (including the 8-4 record from FCS Austin Peay) — give the Dawgs little to no wiggle room. Georgia Tech is the only Power 5 nonconference opponent, and the Yellow Jackets finished 5-6 last year.
The importance of strength of schedule is not up for debate within the selection committee meeting room. Alabama earned a spot in the top four last year, but in the committee’s lengthy final deliberations, its game against FCS Mercer was certainly a part of the debate against Ohio State for the fourth spot.
“If you want to be considered for a spot in the college football championship, you need to go out and schedule up,” former selection committee member Tom Jernstedt. “When the bracket is so small, there aren’t many things you can use to separate Team A from Team B, C and D, and someone that can demonstrate that they went out and made a real effort to schedule up, that’s important. If you schedule down and end up undefeated, that should not be rewarded for scheduling down. You constantly encourage people to schedule up so the committee really has something to work with as it goes through its deliberations.”
Georgia faces Florida, a road trip to LSU, and gets Auburn at home. One loss would put it in a precarious playoff position. In 2016, Washington was hammered for its strength of schedule all season. Last year, Wisconsin’s résumé was under the microscope. Now it’s Georgia’s turn.
Again, as someone who thinks our home schedule blows, I’d like to be more sympathetic. But her case would be more honest with the inclusion of the SECCG, as well as noting that ‘Bama has a similar scheduling weakness. In the meantime, she’s got a hammer, if anyone needs one.
Get The Picture 
Funny, I remember Alabama getting into the CFP despite not even reaching the SEC Championship Game and not having a single impressive win out of conference. Their close win over a deeply terrible Florida State? Not even as impressive as Georgia’s win over South Carolina. And yet, there they were.
If Georgia wins the games, we’re in the playoff. It’s as simple as that. They can miss me with all this BS about the schedule. And hey, Heather Dinich, since you’re a nationally renowned ACC apologist and fan, why don’t you suggest to Georgia Tech that they take a look at their intercollegiate football program and see if they can gain some measure of competence there to help us out?
All that said, the schedule is a joke and Butts-Mehre should be ashamed of itself.
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I think we’d get a pass on MTSU and UMass if Austin Peay were not front and center. Get ready, Dinich won’t be alone. We’ll hear it all summer and fall.
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Uh, we don’t have Alabama’s reputation or resume yet. That’s what got Alabama in last year. Given the same resume, most (all?) other schools would have been left out…including us.
Maybe that changes in a few years but we’re not there yet.
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That third sentence should say “Given the same schedule and results” instead of “Given the same resume”.
I shouldn’t have used the word “resume” to describe Alabama’s schedule and results from last year when I used the same word in a broader context in my first sentence to describe Alabama’s success over the last decade or so.
Just wanted to clarify.
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So much dumb. Go 11-1 and win the seccg and you’re in. Go 12-0 then lose the seccg maybe you’re still in depending on how the other conference championships and ND end up, and maybe you’re not. It’s that simple. The non-conference schedule is irrelevant to our chances of getting into the playoffs.
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Damn, Derek continues to bring the goods.
I don’t think I know who you are anymore.
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Dress smart. Be smart.
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I absolutely agree that our non conference schedule stinks. However, I would really like to see how our entire schedule lines up against other potential playoff contenders. That would give me a much better feel for any potential impact down the road should SOS actually come into play during playoff discussions. I did a quick Google search and don’t think there are any reliable SOS calcs out there yet.
All that being said, I am of the camp that conference championships matter. If we win the SEC we’re in.
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These are the same people (ESPN) who give UCF airtime proclaiming their MNC.
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Word.
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and the same media who had people claiming a 1 loss ND could get in over UGA if UGA’s 1 loss was to Bama in the SECCG.
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She’s not wrong. UGA is fine at 12-1 and winning the SEC. I’m less inclined to think they’d be fine at 12-1 and NOT doing so. It all depends on what the national landscape looks like, obviously, but UGA doesn’t have Bama’s cache, so if it enters the SEC title game I suspect it’ll have to win it to get in.
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It’s hard to proclaim her correct so early. We don’t know how other conferences will shape up, nor do we know if any programs on UGA’s schedule emerge in 2018.
Per Sagarin, Wisconsin wound up 47th in SOS and Washington 57th. Meanwhile, it took ‘Bama running through the CFP to hit 27th.
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Agree it’s too early. I should say, “I suspect she’ll be proven correct.”
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“…if it enters the SEC title game I suspect it’ll have to win it to get in.”
And I’m fine with that. It’s also true, at the same time, that I’d like to invite Ms. Dinich to bite my shorts.
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Yeah I think a 12-0 UGA team playing Bama would be an incredible test of the committee’s views on OOC.
-Washington plays Auburn to open the season
-Ohio State plays TCU
-Clemson plays Texas A&M
-Bama plays L’ville, but it doesn’t matter because Bama’s Bama and will get the necessary love.
-Wisconsin’s slate is bad again
UGA is going to lose the OOC argument against anyone. The hope is that it looks so good against the rest of the slate to overcome it.
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Kind of think we need to play the games.
What if TCU does the 5-7 el foldo? Tech could win 8-9 and be a schedule asset. Oregon State (on Ohio st schedule) was 1-11 last year.
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Of course we need to play the games. But it’s March. Looking ahead and guessing is what we do.
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No way around it. The schedule is awful, outside of conference. Hopefully, LSU will be much improved and provide a great game for both teams that will help both teams.
2019 – Notre Dame comes back on the schedule with the other Western conference team being A&M, along wit Auburn.
2020 starts the season with Virginia (that’s 2 and 1/2 years from now, but right now would appear to be a slight upgrade over say a Georgia Tech). But the other western team is Alabama, making it a monster game. 99% sure it is away.
Add to this, that by the time you get to 2019, UF should be much better and by 2020, UT should be very competitive. And if USC continues to get better, the East will be the better of the two conferences. Especially with the departure of Saban becoming more imminent by the year.
2021 – couldn’t find the data. Just my opinion, but would love to see Clemson added back into the schedule in a permanent home and away. That’s three and 1/2 years from now and a lot could change, but Clemson should be on the schedule 90 miles away; very similar programs – made for TV and would ‘shut up’ the schedule critics, especially as the East gets better and better.
Just my thoughts…
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We need LSU to look very good all season long…except for the ass-kicking we deliver in Red Stick. That would go a long way toward putting this all to bed.
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2019 1 to 1 1/2 year from now – sorry
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One more thought about Clemson… Would hate to lose a home game, since we do this with UF as it is. But how cool would it be, if Georgia/Clemson was played in MB Stadium ‘early’ in the year “every year” with the crowd being 50-50… Massive game for both, but still time to recover the team that loses…
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Try selling that to the crowd who wants the WLOCP to move to home/home.
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That would benefit Clemson for sure.
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I have said it before, Clemson is a fun game, a game with history and it is easy to hate a close neighbor who wears orange. Clemson gains more from playing UGA as they must recruit Georgia to compete nationally. Look at how their program fell after the UGA/Clemson rivalry ended and they have brought the program back with making playing SEC teams a priority.
I want to see a Clemson home and away once a decade.
I want to see UGA move back to what Damon Evans seemed to pursue, playing GT and another respectable P5 program/BCS crasher. Ideally the home game for the other P5 school would be on the years UGA plays at historic Mark Richt field at Bobby Dodd and the away trip or neutral site game on the years the Nerds come to Athens. It doesn’t have to be ND, or Oregon, Az State and Colorado are fun places to visit and national names which generates positive press from the bobble heads.
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look on the bright side, now the Athletic Association can blame the CFP Committee for “picking on us” because of our schedule if we get left out. Maybe they can even demand more donations to pay for a better schedule, lol.
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If it weren’t for GTP, I wouldn’t know who or what a Heather Dinich was. The few times I read/listened to her predictions she was wrong. I think I’ll wait until the season to assess our chances. I do concede that this is a lean time of year for football writers, but still…
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She’s stupid. Is Georgia as SEC champion at 12-1 in? Yes or there better be 4 undefeated P5 conference champs. Is Georgia in at 11-2 as SEC champions? Probably not and probably shouldn’t be unless there’s chaos. Is Georgia in at 12-1 and not the SEC champion or 11-1 and not in the SECCG? Probably not and probably shouldn’t be.
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I could see UGA winning the East with 2 losses, and then UGA is 1 game away from winning the SEC against Bama or a rematch game against Auburn or LSU.
Is it likely not very? As I doubt UGA beats Bama if they aren’t good enough to enter the SECCG with 1 loss or less. The scenario could be in play.
The media would explode if a 2 loss UGA upset an undefeated Bama team in the SECCG. We might explode when Bama still gets the invite and UGA doesn’t.
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What do you get that in July she will hype GA Tech and she will call South Carolina a contender in the East. Then she will complain about our schedule despite beating South Carolina on the road. She will completely ignore her hype of those two teams.
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I guess it’s a sign that we’ve moved up in the world when we have lackeys for other conferences trying to talk us down in March. Success in sports can be measured by the haters.
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I know we all have fun bagging on McGarity, but Georgia should probably be advocating a drop of divisional play in football. We are between a rock and a hard place in having a (1) permanent ACC opponent and a (1) permanent neutral site game whle still trying to have 7 home games per year in Athens.
It probably wouldn’t help the non-conference schedule but at least you would have variety and (likely) stronger teams rotate on the schedule more often if you are not beholden to Vanderbilt, Kentucky and Missouri every single year.
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I love how the situation needs reinventing the wheel for some. Just go to a nine-conference game schedule and quit playing I-AA teams.
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Part of the strength of the SEC in the post season has been that it doesn’t produce 2 loss conf champs thanks to the 9 game conf schedule. How is it working for the PAC?
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Well, shit, let’s dumb it down some more, then. Who’s for a seven-game schedule?
The PAC-12’s problem isn’t the number of conference games it plays. It’s that it hasn’t generated many dominant teams lately.
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It doesn’t generate dominant teams as they have so much parity. 8 is the ideal number.
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So Alabama and Georgia weren’t dominant last year, just lucky to be in a conference with a bunch of bad teams?
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How did you get that? the comment was in reference to the PAC.
The SEC is and has been at the ideal schedule to create championship level programs. Current scholarship limits prevent teams from building the depth to sustain a longer SEC schedule and regularly produce dominant teams.
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Just maybe the “problem” with the PAC is that it’s banner football program hasn’t hired a decent coach since Pete Carroll left nine years ago.
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You would miss Vanderbilt ? You like playing in Baton Rouge and Tuscaloosa once per decade ?
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really it’s more like once every 12 years. And I don’t even know who Texas A&M is.
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Vanderbilt has its uses. And the whole point to adding another conference game is to shorten the cross-division rotations. We wouldn’t be waiting a decade with a nine-game schedule.
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Adding a 9th game still leaves you 1 year slower in a rotation than the old 6-2 format when the conference had 12 teams. To each his own, but I didn’t even think that was enough. A 9th game, without any fewer permanent games, just adds further inflexibility to the schedule. That gives us 2 games to play with which means absolutely zero compelling non-conference games (which is something I’d actually be OK with if we played the entire SEC more)
I’m all for a 9th game just not under the current E-W format. Just flat out tired of being beholden to Kentucky, Vanderbilt and Missouri when its clear we have a logistical problem that is enough to get the fanbase riled up over Jacksonville and Georgia Tech and make the front page of ESPN.
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You said “a decade”. Does that mean you’re changing your answer?
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Not trying to get into a cross-examination. Now, it’s way too little (12ish years). Same format + 9th game = rotating school in Sanford every 6 years. I guess that’s better but I think “The Roommate Switch” would be freaking awesome.
But speaking of cross examinations, it is rich the guy to tight to move on dropping vandy and kentucky (“reinventing the wheel” he says) wants to redefine the whole landscape of amateurism.
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A new defense of amateurism! Tradition!
By the way, since you’re in favor of blowing up the divisions, but keepin’ it real on amateurism, should we refer to that as “rich”, too?
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Are you or are you not intrigued by the idea of playing only Florida, Auburn and either USC/UT on a permanent basis and seeing the other 10 on equal footing, playing everyone no less than every other year ?
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It beats what we have now, but I’m not sure “intrigued” would describe my feelings.
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Which is the way it was for decades prior to fixing a rotation in ’92.
UGA trips to Baton Rouge and Knoxville were iconic as it was a special rare trip.
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I’d be happy to go back to the 91 SEC roster. Arkansas and S Carolina bring zero to the table (other than making the SECC game possible. TAMU and Missouri were likewise money grabs. It will never happen because of TV money, which is all the suits care about, but the league would be a lot more fun. Who cares about going to Columbia (either one), Fayetteville or College Station?
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Amen and Amen
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I’m sure some how some way UGA will get screwed.
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I think the only way it comes into play is if we go undefeated and then lose the SECC. Which could happen……
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Agree with the bad ooc schedule pulling us down unnecessarily in the Committee’s eyes, but Dinnich’s pronouncements follow an old road through ESPN of siding with the BiG and Pac-12 teams in what I call The Old Rose Bowl Crowd (notice the team examples given for comparison with UGA’s schedule).
Expect Delaney to lend his voice in concert in attempting to diminish our team’s success before the Committee meets after the 6th game. The first part of the season will dilute the SC game’s importance to each team and will shape the viability of UGA team’s chances in the second half of the season by magnifying the importance of certain other games on our schedule according to what Dinnich wants you to think.
Setting us up for the Playoff Committee to view UGA as slightly unworthy when they first meet is the new game in town in trying to shape BiG and Pac-12 as stronger in comparison, even though the season would be just beginning to gel for all teams.
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The OOC schedule does suck. No argument there. But, Heather, iron my shirt and get me a beer..
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Georgia fans made the transition to foil hat bammers really quickly.
I guess you got to dress for the job you want.
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To quote Major League – “I guess there is only one thing left to do… when the whole fuckin’ thing.”
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Win not when
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She’s just trying to keep Kirby from throwing a game away again this season just to set up the west division to our liking in the SECCG.
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Can somebody please explain to me how Ohio State can play a schedule full of cupcakes each year but are are still in the playoff talk all year round? Especially with little Herbie and his homerism.
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I despise Ohio State, their fans, Urban Meyer, and Herbie but…
Ohio State played Oklahoma, Penn State, Michigan State, and Wisconsin last year. That matches up pretty well against our schedule. I’m not saying they should have got in the playoff but their schedule was decent.
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Didnt OSU play oklahoma last year?
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Didn’t OSU get curbstomped by oklahoma last year? FIFY
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Not sure about Oklahoma. But tOSU sure as heck got curbstomped by Iowa.
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https://goo.gl/images/DN3Nfi.
Jog any memories?
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Man, beating that douche was one of my all-time highlights last year.
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ESPN can keep Heather in her role for another 25 years and she still won’t know jack shit.
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There’s an enjoyable aspect to UGA having a weak schedule. Everyone mentions Georgia Tech as evidence. Makes me giggle inside.
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Our schedule this year deserves criticism. It would be one thing if the east was strong but it’s not – not even close and hasn’t been for years.
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I think the answer to Georgia’s problem is to have an injured quarterback…in Heather’s world, that excuses every loss.
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Oh – you mean like we did last year.
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yes Austin Peay’s coach is 1-34. I respect MTSU coach, and U MASS has a lights out QB but thats all. Tech is unpredictable but could be a better team late season. Since CFP considers overall body of work who cares, win the SEC and we are golden. Strong OOC just gives u a better chance if u remain out of a champ game a la Bama …move along now.
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I care because I still want to be in the playoff if we don’t win the conference.
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The WWL’s darlings (Alabama, Ohio State, Texas & USCw) are the only programs that will get the benefit of the doubt if they don’t win the conference and finish with only 1 loss. If Ohio State had beaten Iowa, they would have been in over Alabama last year.
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So you think there’s no way Georgia ever gets in the playoff if we don’t win the conference? And therefore, there’s no point in caring about our out of conference schedule? And this is somehow related to the fact that Ohio State would have got in over Alabama if they had beat Iowa instead of lost to them by 31?
I won’t even bother to argue with you about Georgia not being able to get in the playoff without a conference championship. I flat out think that’s a ridiculous viewpoint. But can you expand on how you think the Ohio State hypothetical relates to out of conference schedules? Because if anything, I think it strengthens the argument that you need to play a tough schedule. Ohio State played a tougher schedule than Alabama and would have been in over Alabama.
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I would not say ever but it is an uphill battle until UGA wins a couple of national titles.
If the SEC CG is another Bama/UGA thriller coming down to last minute being the only loss, it could be possible if the pieces fall in UGA’s favor.
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It’s going to be a hell of a lot harder with this year’s schedule. I’ll give you that.
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No, I don’t think anyone other than the 4 schools I mentioned will get in the playoff if they don’t win their conference as long as they have only 1 loss. Yes, if Ohio State has beaten either Oklahoma at home or Iowa on the road, they would have been in (and deserved to be) over Alabama.
I’m making the point that those schools bring eyeballs. Can we do that eventually? Maybe.
You said the viewpoint about Georgia not getting in without a championship is ridiculous. I’m making the point that the committee at this point under the watchful eye of ESPN won’t let it happen for anyone other than those 4 (and ND).
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well, no, he’s not. They finished 8-4 last year, second in conference, and probably should have been in 1-aa playoffs.
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Playing Clemson cost Auburn a playoff appearance last year. No or one losses in the SEC is a proven path to the playoff and if you are not UGA you don’t even have to win the championship to get in.
I don’t see the committee valuing a “good” loss over no loss anytime soon no matter what they say
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I doubt it cost Auburn, Bama gets in off of their recent titles at 1 loss, and the SEC CG is a show down for the 4th spot with a W or L against Clemson. A close game against Clemson likely still helped as it was talked about through out the season.
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Yeah, I don’t think it cost Auburn either. Take away that game and they still had 2 losses and no conference championship.
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The Clemson loss certainly made it cleaner to dismiss Auburn out of the playoff. If they had beaten Clemson they would have wins over 3 of the 4 teams in the playoff. But still not be the SEC Champ and likely out. of the playoff.
People look at quality wins but in that scenario as with Ohio St as well last year, I also look at worst loss, LSU would be the worst loss between the 3 resumes of UGA, Bama, and Auburn. Ohio St. was pummeled by a mediocre Iowa team.
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And Clemson has Furman, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech before the meat of the acc schedule… Syracuse, Wake Forest, NC State. Why is this woman on tv.
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Add to that she was one that was arguing Wisconsin over Georgia at the end of last year. They had an even worse schedule. She’s an ACC homer worse that Paaawwwl that has zero professional credibility.
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Fellas I’m going to let you argue the finer points of this debate. The fact that we are in the spotlight and they are looking for stuff to nitpick already makes my one happy fan. I bet even the casual fans in Montana are weighing the merits of our schedule.
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Well, Washington got in in ’16; and Wisconsin would’ve been in had they won the B1G. I’m not sure I see her point?
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