If you’re one of those folks who has a vested interest in seeing the SEC get two teams into this year’s CFP, yesterday brought you some good news and some not-so-good news. The good news is that Texas’ upset of Oklahoma put the Big 12’s chances on life support. With the Pac-12’s shot already being measured for a casket, that likely puts two P5 conferences on the outside looking in.
An undefeated Notre Dame team is in.
Would you like her to spell out the consequences?
Assume No. 1 Alabama wins the SEC, No. 3 Ohio State wins the Big Ten and No. 4 Clemson wins the ACC. There could be a debate whether a one-loss Georgia team, whose only loss would be to Alabama in the conference championship, is simply better than undefeated Notre Dame. Or the committee could consider Georgia and Notre Dame at the expense of Clemson.
I have a feeling I know which way the committee goes.
Get The Picture 
I don’t want a scenario where there is a debate for 2 SEC teams meaning I want 3 1 loss or less teams from the other 4 conferences in the P5 or 2 and an undefeated ND. The scenario creates a situation where the SECCG is a play in game. I don’t want UGA to have to face Bama twice. If an OSU beats Iowa, Bama never gets in last year.
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Don’t care how the dawgs get in, just get in…..can’t win if you do not play.
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While I agree, we are discussing various possibilities here.
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I’ve thought the same scenario. We need multiple teams with a loss jockeying for a position in the playoff. Any undefeated team from a P5 conference and ND go in ahead of a one-loss SEC team…even if the SEC team is clearly better. I just can’t see the committee not taking the chance to avoid the backlash. But, I would say the loser of the SECC, if that’s the only loss, certainly deserves a shot over any one loss team from the other P5 conferences.
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We really need ND to lose at least once, twice would be better. Trouble is, if you look at what teams remain on the ND schedule, it doesn’t look like anyone can beat the Irish. I mean, FSU ain’t sh!t this year and Syracuse….no way. I’m fine with ND getting in–in fact would love it if the Dawgs got to play them in the playoff–but if ND gets in as a practical matter we have to win the SEC to get in. That means we have to beat Bama in the SECCG.
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Teams will lose. It’s not like there are going to five undefeated teams heading into championship weekend. Georgia could be one of them that takes a loss. Beat Bama, and it all works out fine.
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Why is ND being fellated for beating a VT squad that lost to Old Dominion? I know of course, year in and year out it’s the most annoying thing about the football season to me. I know they were nice to us, but I always hate the Golden Domers.
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Come on, now. They hammered a ranked team on the road and have looked pretty solid so far this year. Hate all you want, but right now they look like they’re as much in the “after Alabama” mix as any of the other 5-6 teams.
But as the Senator implied (and I’m sure you know), it won’t matter who they’ve played if they go undefeated.
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At this point in the season, I don’t think our CV is markedly better than ND’s. If they go undefeated and we lose a game along the way, then I’m not going to begrudge them their shot. The only exception would be if we come into the SECCG with one loss and then defeat a 12-0 Bama. Then I would raise hell if we somehow were denied a playoff spot.
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Vandy 17 ND 22
Vandy 13 UGA 41
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I said “markedly” better. They beat Stanford and VT, which is arguably a little more impressive than us beating USCe and Mizzou. But, our schedule gets tougher in the second half of the season and theirs stays about the same (not too difficult).
I do think we’re better – or at least more talented – but barring us playing them in the playoffs (assuming both teams get that far), there’s likely not going to be a way to definitively prove it.
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Comparing scores is fool’s gold.
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Not sure why they even keep score then eh?
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VT lost to an FCS school.
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VT isn’t a good football team. I think Mizzo or USCe beats them if they played.
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They do not play a conference championship game, that’s enough for me to disqualify’em…
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Neither did Bama last year, nor Ohio State the previous.
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Yep, and neither should have been in imo. If you can’t win your conference, you should not be allowed in the playoffs. Otherwise, throw out conference championships….they have no meaning.
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Bama very much deserved to be in more so than a 2 loss Big10 champ.
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Agree on Ohio State, they lost to PSU in a regular season game and then got blown out by Clemson in the playoffs. Penn State won their conference that year. OSU should not have been in there at all. As far as Bama goes, my argument is….the Dawgs proved they were the best in the SEC last year, why invite Bama to the national stage??? To me, they have been disqualified….again, if not…no reason to have the championship playoff games.
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2017 Bama deserved to go over a 2 loss anOSU Big10 champ or 2 loss PAC champ
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Pretty simple….under the current format, it is my belief that if they both were eliminated in the SECCG and the Big 10 CCG…they don’t belong. Therefore, they should be eliminated as a playoff contender . Hence, they have been eliminated in their conference championship game….Otherwise, the conference championship game has no meaning. Just do away with it if you are not going to make it count. No reason to have the championship game (other than money). The two examples you gave in Ohio State and Alabama…they both should have been eliminated from consideration imo. One got blown out by Clemson, the other one got a second chance.
In a national playoff, only conference champs should be considered imo…the lowest rated one is left out. No good reason to give someone who didn’t win their own conference another chance. Not with only 4 teams being invited….under this format only conference champs should be considered.
No perfect system unless you invite them all …and only then, maybe.
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The Conference championship still has meaning and is a point on the resume but it is not a trump card. Pretty simple don’t drop a game to Iowa when the other resume is a 1 loss team with experience winning championships
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2 different views, just don’t agree with yours…. & no biggie.
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Since there are only four spots in the CFP and there are five power conferences, some champ isn’t getting in regardless. Does that make one championship meaningless?
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Take the 4 highest rated ones…
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That’s not what they do. It’s the four best, regardless.
The only way you’re going to make the CFP a full-blown culmination of what you want is to realign the P5 into four two-divisional conferences, with the conference championships essentially being the first round. I’d actually prefer that, but we’re a long way from there right now.
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Yes, I know….or, just open it until & invite’em like division 1-AA. Probably no perfect system. But we can better the one we have now imo.
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Meaning, take 4 of the best 5 highest rated champions.
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Notre Dame isn’t in a conference.
It’s highly likely that a one-loss loser of the SECCG would be higher ranked than at least two of the P5 champs.
What you’re suggesting is watering down the field because the power conferences deserve placement. Doubt that will have a beneficial effect on regular season scheduling.
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They left TCU out for not being in a conference a few years ago. Good enough for them, it’s good enough for ND. But we all know that is more than likely not gonna happen if they can find a way.
It’s a national playoff, not regional. If you are going to have conference championship games, make them count….disqualify the ones that do not make it. Again, otherwise throw out the conference championship games altogether …cause they are meaningless.
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When was TCU not in a conference?
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Meant..”Conference”championsh game.
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Ah. Gotcha.
Still, a big difference between no conference championship game (Big 12 has a round robin regular season) and no conference at all.
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I believe it was ’14 the Big-12 did not have a championship playoff game. If my memory serves me correct, TCU was ranked # 2 or #3 at the end of the regular season. When the conference championships were played in other parts of the country, another team jumped TCU. The BCS selection committee left out in the cold….I believe it was OSU that squeezed in. The reason, they did not have a conference championship game.
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Whenever the discussion dives into this rabbit hole I immediately hold back and remind myself that it’s all subjective and generally doesn’t mean a whole lot IF you’re searching for a valid, uncontested, national best football team at that particular moment when everyone else was not invited. It’s entertainment. It means a lot to those “in the arena”. It’s just fun for the rest of us to experience. It’s not a real title validated by the performance on the field unless you’re willing to grant the committee judicial powers where whatever they say is actually the law of the land.
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Concur….as imperfect as it is, it’s the best we have had to date. I wouild hate to have been a Penn State fan in the old system. Thinks they got focked (no pun) plenty.
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I tend to agree with you. If UGA and Bama both make it to the SEC championship and are 12-0, I don’t think the loser should get into the CFP, no matter how great a game.
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Alabama got to watch Georgia and Auburn in the SECCG. I don’t know if that extra rest and film were enough to make much of a difference in the NC game, but Alabama won only by a cat’s whisker.
(btw..cannot mention that game without reminding everyone that Tyler Simmons was not off-sides. That was the single biggest F-job in favor of Bama in history. Without it, UGA gets the NC trophy. Don’t tell me that it’s time to let it go. Like the Jasper Sanks’ non-fumble, I will never let it go).
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The fact that Bama won the whole thing last year completely blows up and invalidates this argument forever. CCG’s prove nothing.
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This one is pretty easy. If we want to be in we have to beat Bama. Then it’s Notre Dame versus a one loss Bama. Notre Dame is for sure in versus UGA, Nd versus Alabama would cause the committee to throw a conniption.
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If OSU loses a game, do they get in over a one loss SEC team?
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If they are Big10 champ and the 1 loss SEC team isn’t a SEC champ.
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One of those playoff spots is reserved for ND. Imo, they easily have the best chance of going undefeated. They play the cupcake ACC schedule but not it’s best programs like Clemson or the Florida schools. Then they don’t have to play a conference championship. ND basically told all of cfb that they were gonna do it however they wanted and everyone just took it. It basically delegitimizes everything and everyone in cfb.
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If it was good enough to leave TCU out a few years ago, should be good enough for ND.
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Should be, but probably won’t be. I don’t like it any better than you, but media bias for ND is a real thing. And don’t forget that this is ESPN’s playoff. ND puts eyes on the tv, so basically it’ll go the way Mickey wants it to.
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CFP=4 Best, right? I think they got it right last year in spite of the SEC (bama) fatigue and I trust they will get it right again.
ps. IMO, Clemson is the weaker of the current top five. They will get the CCG bump that ND does not get. 13-0 is still better than 12-0. Bonus, if Brian Kelly has a bowel movement between now and Dec 5, they’re in. But I think his constipation costs the Irish a win somewhere. Kelly. Jim Delaney. Must be all that north food they eat…
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Oh I knew there was something gnawing at me. No mention of the defending national champions. I think UCF will go undefeated again. How does that play into the scenarios?
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The Orlando newspapers and the Nevada Dental Association will just have to work harder, I guess.
The serious answer: They don’t have a realistic shot, IMO, under the current set-up, which is unfortunate.
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Not at all?
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If they go undefeated and don’t get in, I hope they play a good SEC team again in a bowl game. Some team to clean up the mess Auburn left CFB with last winter.
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Disney is all about some ND today. No. 3 in the power rankings. They’ll need to completely flop somewhere to be left out.
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UGA Goal 1: Win the SEC East and have 0 or 1 regular-season losses.
UGA Goal 2: From that point, try to win three straight games, all against strong teams. Don’t worry about who the opponents are, just look at the next team up.
It’s simple. And if we fail to accomplish one or both of those two goals, be happy and thankful that we have a program that is consistently in this conversation.
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Let’s just keep playing games every Saturday and let others do the same. All this hand wringing about who gets in and who doesn’t matter if we do our job every Saturday between now and the first weekend of December.
We control our own destiny. If we don’t do our job and leave it for others to judge, we’ll that is our fault
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Don’t forget all the talk last year about potentially putting a one loss Notre Dame team in ahead of a one loss Georgia sec champ team. And we beat them at home. If not for the fighting Richts at Miami exposing them….
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…the fighting Richts at Miami…LOL! Gold, I tell ya! Gold!
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If the Irish are 12-0, they’re in. Wins over Michigan, USC, VaTech, and Stanford… not to mention the ratings bonanza. Looking at their schedule, the only outside shot at a loss would be Northwestern or USC.
It doesn’t matter for us, though. Get to Atlanta, win in Atlanta, and we should be in.
Beat LSU.
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Agree a 1 loss SEC champ in Bama, UGA, UK, or Vandy.
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LSU, UF, KY, and AU are going to be tough, physical games. Odds are we drop one of those. We’re in the playoffs only if we win in Atlanta. One thing that is certain though and this is ND has to come to Athens, GA next year and I can’t wait.
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I think Alabama, Georgia, and a couple of other SEC teams pus Clemson, easily beat tOSU, ND, etc.
If UGA gets in, I hope they get ND or tOSU.
By the end of November, Georgia is going to be hell on wheels.
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Yep. I don’t gara if ND gets in as long as we do, and get to play them first. 🙂
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UGA’s best chance is to beat Alabama in the SECC that keeps them out of the playoff. We need ND, Clemson and another OSU to win out. If BAMA gets beat up throughout the year and in the Iron Bowl, then maybe we have a chance to beat them in the SEC championship game. I don’t think we can beat them twice, under any circumstances. Historically, you don’t beat Saban:
1) when he has a month to prepare;
2) in a revenge game (assuming we beat them in SECC game);
3) coaching against a former assistant
We’s be facing long odds in a playoff matchup with BAMA. If we were to beat them, we’d probably be seeded #1 and they’d be #4, meaning UGA/Bama would be the semifinal. TV wouldn’t like the back to back rematch.
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Too soon, still hotter than hell, and most big game tests, and injuries, are yet to be heard from. Win the SEC, and all this is about what the other guys have to worry about. Conversation for us is: are we good to enough to earn our seat at the table on our own? Right now I would say definite no. I hope by early November we will look more like a legit contender.
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Just beat Bama in the SEC CG. Then we don’t have to worry about getting left out. Simple.
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I’d never complaint about making the playoff, but honestly, if Bama smashes us in the SECCG I wouldn’t have much interest in going, and I certainly wouldn’t spend the money to go watch it live. As for the committee, what would be he point in letting us in? If Bama proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are better than us on a neutral field then what would be the point in giving us another shot? Seems like a waste of time.
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