I’m pleasantly surprised at how this field played out. It’s too bad that Army could not get a shot. And all the whining about Bama is both funny and already tiring.

If they had won that game they would be in the playoffs.

It's the top 5 conf champs (by CFP ranking) that get into the playoff. None of the conferences are guaranteed a bid. If Army beats ND and somehow got a CFP ranking higher than Clemson, they would have gotten the spot and Clemson would be out. There was a discussion about this a few weeks ago. I would say that 99 times out of 100 it will be the P4 conf champs and one other one that are selected. It will be difficult for two G5 conf champs to get in, almost need a perfect storm.

team that could have created chaos (and increase people complaining) because they still have 1 more regular season game to play (the Army-Navy Game). Since the game doesn't count towards bowl eligibility and the FBS Playoffs, Army could lose the game and still qualify for the FBS Playoffs because yesterday's poll was the final poll that counts towards the FBS Playoffs.

…then you actually have to win the easy games. Bama dropped one to a swooning OU and that cost them.

about inputting subjective criteria looking to the future. One thing that concerned me is Saban talked about a 30 team break away for tier 1. 30!!! They already have 34 in the B1G. I could see 48, but 30 would be disastrous IMHO.

That's too small of a group. That would essentially become a minor league farm program for the NFL. With the vast majority of college teams outside of that group, I think they would represent college football. But that would be very subjective. Don't know how the majority of people would feel. But 30 schools certainly would not represent the majority of college. I would be fine to be excluded from that 30 group. Because I would feel like we were still part of what represented college football. It would not be the elite of college football, but with the majority of schools being represented it would feel more like college football, at least to me. I'm sure some would disagree. The larger that number gets above 30, The less I would feel that way.

The way Saban talks, a 7-5 SEC team should get in. The SEC gets the benefit that they don't get penalized for one less conference game, thus one additional loss for 8 teams. No ESPN guy brings it up, maddening. 2nd, the SEC starts off with a 1 game advantage over the ACC and Big 12.

I think maybe just the top 4 champs should get in, then at larges. Then SMU and Bama both get in but Clemson doesn’t. That may have been the right field, although I don’t agree with Bama being ranked above Miami, given the committee’s comments about SMU over Bama. Still, we will argue about the last team in and the first team out as long as a committee has to select the field. We need three leagues and certain finishing positions in each league based on record get into the playoffs. 16 team playoff is the way to go. 6 SEC, 6 B1G, 2 Big XII, 2 ACC. Collectively bargained pay structure. Rankings don’t matter. Computers don’t matter. Selection committees don’t matter. (ND, this is your turn to join a conference). It’s all heading this way at a glacial pace.

champions. Oregon may have been better off losing to PSU.

If the SEC or B1X is having a great year, then let them actually earn their playoff bids.

save the playoffs. It's how an upset allows a 3 loss ACC team to get in, and it will be difficult in the future to not allow a 1 loss team in their conference championships that loses. it also allows Clemson, and all other schools to schedule tough OOC games without penalty. Clemson gave up an at large selection by playing SC and Georgia, but they were the best team in the ACC this year. You can't leave out the conference champs anymore, nor should you. If the ACC and B12 want the big bucks, play the tough OOC schedule, and stop padding wins.

Acc should do that too. The worst is to lose near the end. That game is probably more important than playing a brand name. ** Edited by Truthahn at 12/8/2024, 7:46:36 PM

Guess they were tired of USC-E playing a "cupcake" the week before they met while they had a tough conference game, so they started doing the same. They just moved one of their cupcake games to the week before playing their in-state rival.

have the luxury of scheduling cupcakes late in the season.

schedule tough OOC games without penalty." The only reason Clemson is participating in the FBS Playoffs this year is because it secured 1 of the 5 automatic bids by being the ACC champion. If Clemson was not the ACC champion, then it is difficult to determine if they would have still received an at-large bid or not. If Clemson had not received an at-large bid, then a case could be made that the committee didn't "reward" Clemson for scheduling OOC games with Georgia and South Carolina this year. If you are trying to make the point that the ACC and Big XII will need to beef up their OOC schedule to have a shot to secure an at-large bid in the FBS Playoffs, then you might be better served to use an ACC or Big XII team that received an at-large bid to the FBS Playoffs because the team played a difficult OOC schedule that year. SMU is the only example you could use this year and I am not sure they received it because of their difficult schedule. 2024 OOC Opponents Nevada 3-10 Houston Christian (DI-FCS) 5-7 BYU 10-2 TCU 8-4